CM_KIT Magazine Fall 2022

THE PROFITABILITY ISSUE

The Profitability Issue

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Reducing labor needs and cutting costs put operations on the path to profitability.

THE FRIES HAVE IT

Fries are a customer-pleasing and profitable menu star.

p. 4 | FALL 2022 | SHAMROCKFOODSERVICE.COM

POPULARITY AND PROFITABILITY… NOW THAT’S ITALIAN

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When it comes to holiday profitability, the readiness is all.

Finding Profitable Opportunities

Faced with inflationary pressures, rising food costs and ongoing labor shortages, foodservice operators are “doing better with less” in their quest to maintain profitability.

At Shamrock Foods, we believe that your success is our success, and we want to help.

In this issue, our experts point to labor-saving ways and cost-cutting methods that help maintain profitability, even in the face of challenges. You’ll read about approaches such as streamlined menus, building craveable experiences for customers, strategic use of products that reduce prep needs, and cross-training that can reduce labor needs and costs. Tracking actual food costs, monitoring the supply chain and being ready and able to pivot quickly also keep costs in line. And, of course, Shamrock Foods has all the tools to help with these tasks. Our experts also weigh in on how to get your operation ready for a holiday season that’s not only the most wonderful time of the year but can be the most profitable. We offer insights into how amplifying up promotions, developing holiday menus and ramping up seasonal staff early all give you a competitive edge.

In terms of profitable culinary opportunities, we’ll share how popular segments like Italian fare can be leveraged satisfy guests and bolster the bottom line without putting a strain on your staff.

How are you achieving profitability? Email us anytime and tell us all about it. We’re listening.

Sincerely,

Ann Ocaña, Shamrock Foods Company Chief Marketing Officer

Ann Ocaña

“We believe that opportunities are everywhere and we’re here to help you identify them.”

GO-TO FRIES FOR TO-GO ORDERS

Thick-cut, coated fries hold heat and maintain crispiness.

GET ON BOARD

Menu signature fry boards. Arrange distinctive shapes, sizes and colors. Bountiful Harvest® has them all, including shoestring, steak-cut, crinkle-cut and skin-on chips – plus battered and seasoned sweet-potato, wedge, curly and lattice-cut. Serve with assorted tasty dipping sauces.

GO LONG!

Bountiful Harvest® Extra-Long Fancy (XLF) fries are consistently longer in length, adding drama and plate coverage that enhance perceived value.

PRESERVE INTEGRITY

Use well-ventilated packaging from ProPak® to prevent sogginess. Never overstuff fries in a container.

CREATE FRENCH-FRY FOMO

Run LTOs featuring exciting flavor profiles and toppings.

LOAD ’EM UP

“Fries can be very profitable when made into a totally different dish,” says Tim Maness, Shamrock Foods Business Review Specialist, Colorado. Examples: chicken-and-bacon waffle fries, street-corn fries, kimchi lattice fries, carne-asada fries, tikka-masala fries.

SET THE TABLE FOR SUCCESS

Managing staff training and hiring, navigating menu strategies, and controlling food and labor costs – you’re working harder than ever.

As a Shamrock Customer, you have full-access to our devoted team of industry experts, dedicated to your success.

From marketing resources to business reviews, food costs to menu inspiration, our team of restaurant consultants and category specialist will work with you to optimize your operation.

Why wait? Contact your Shamrock Foods Sales Representative to meet with one of our experts today. shamrockfoodservice.com

Trifoglio

Authenticity you can taste

Popularity & Profitability:

NOW THAT’S ITALIAN

The research firm Datassential reports that Italian fare is on 49% of U.S. menus. Diners love the craveable regional flavors, pleasing textures and variety. Operators love Italian food for its profit potential.

AN ITALIAN RE-BOOT

Get everything you need to succeed in the highly competitive Italian segment. Our Italian-food specialists have curated a delectable assortment of high-quality ingredients that you can easily and profitably cross-utilize throughout your menu.

Bella Bello by Shamrock Foods has all the bases covered – from authentic Italian pizza flour to meatballs to sauces to cured meats and carefully sourced cheeses. Even small amounts of specialty proteins and luxurious ingredients elevate pizzas, pastas and other Italian dishes in ways that command higher price points.

ELEVATE YOUR ITALIAN ENTREES

Use top-quality frozen raviolis, lasagna, pasta sheets, pizza dough and other prepared products that improve efficiencies and reduce labor needs.

For Italian meat and seafood entrees, add a generous amount of tortellini or ravioli from Villa Frizzoni® as a side for modest protein portions. It’s a move that holds down food costs and keeps prices consumer friendly.

“Pizza and pasta continually deliver as highprofitability menu items.” – Art Ortiz, Shamrock Foods Restaurant Consultant, California

RAPIDLY GROWING

MENU-ADOPTION CYCLES — ITALIAN CUISINE & PIZZA EMERGING

Bruschetta, charcuterie, frittata, appetizer meatballs, gnocchi, risotto.

INVITE GUESTS TO BRING IT HOME

Pizza and most Italian dishes travel well. They’re ideal for individual takeout orders, family-meal bundles and takeaway catering. Choose ProPak® containers and sturdy pizza boxes from Bella Bello to hold heat and preserve food quality. Offer your pizza doughs, housemade sauces and frozen entrées for retail sales.

RAPIDLY GROWING

Prosciutto, caramelized onions, mac and cheese, smoked mozzarella.

CATCHING ON

Pizzaiola, pasta fagioli, arancini.

Branzino, focaccia di recco, polpette, caponata.

CATCHING ON

Pulled pork, sopressata, burrata.

EMERGING

Crab, kimchi, crème fraîche, pork belly.

Source: Datassential, 2022

PREMIUM PIZZA PIES

Load up your signature pizzas with specialty tomato sauces and toppings such as artichokes, anchovies and piquant pepperoni from Bella Bello.

Innovate on your LTO pizzas with cost-effective seasonal produce that creates FOMO and provides fresh flavor at reduced food cost.

“Utilize high-quality, premium ingredients in a focused way to accent more modest ingredients.”

– Michael Stevens, Shamrock Foods Vice President, Emerging Accounts and Business Consulting

BECAUSE WE BOTH CARE ABOUT THE JOURNEY FROM PLANT TO PLATE.

Like you and your customers, we at Markon care about fresh food. But we want to work with all our partners to redefine fresh, together. We want to ensure that every step of the process is innovative, inspiring, and creative. So we can bring fresh approaches and fresh thinking to all of our premium farm-to-table produce, and you can bring the freshest ideas to your customers.

Top Ways to Achieve Labor Savings & Cost Control

Reducing labor needs and cutting costs can put you on the path to profitability.

“Finding products that can take away unnecessary prep tasks is very important right now.”

—Chef Thomas Vigil, Shamrock Foods Branch Chef, Colorado

WAYS TO EASE THE STRAIN ON LABOR

Cross-train.

Employees with multiple skills open up options for operating with reduced staff in a tight labor market.

Simplify menus.

“Do fewer things on your menu and do them better,” advises Jim Hargrove, Shamrock Foods Restaurant Consultant. “Having a smaller, tighter menu also helps with BOH burnout/turnover and FOH applications. Servers would rather learn a 40-item menu than a 125-item menu.”

Hargrove adds, if you feel you must offer “brand-ambassador” items that require more elaborate prep and have a higher food cost but which also drive traffic, consider running them once a week on slower days, or as LTOs.

Reduce prep.

“Be open minded about labor-saving methods like pre-cut produce, fresh-frozen products and premade products,” advises Ryan Elmore, Shamrock Foods Business Review Specialist, New Mexico. “Scratch kitchens will be harder to make profitable.”

Custom-cut proteins such as steaks from Gold Canyon Meat CO.® and fish from Pier 22 Seafood CO.® arrive in cryovac packaging, offer 100% yield and are ready to go without the need to put a knife to them, advises Tim Maness, Shamrock Foods Business Review Specialist, Colorado.

Pretrimmed, pre-cut, ready-to-use produce from Ready-Set-Serve® by Markon provides consistent quality and results.

“Cleaning Brussels sprouts is time-consuming and passing them through a mandoline is a potential hazard for inexperienced staff,” says Jeff Koppel, Shamrock Foods Branch Sous Chef, Colorado. “The cost difference between the two is negligible, and there are savings without the labor.”

“Only the hardestworking, most profitable, easy-to-execute items that use readily available ingredients should be on the menu.” —Jim Hargrove, Shamrock Foods Restaurant Consultant

WAYS TO CUT COSTS

Track food costs.

“The best way to enhance profitability is to know your actual food cost numbers and inventory,” Elmore says. “If you can save on food cost by managing inventory well, you might not need to raise prices as much.”

86 freebies.

Or charge for bread baskets, chips, etc. Serve water only on request.

Adapt.

“Be able to pivot quickly if a certain protein or commodity has a sharp rise in price,” Elmore says. “Be quick to pull items that aren’t profitable.”

Monitor bus tubs.

Seeing heaps of uneaten food on plates headed for the dishwasher? Reduce portions.

Employ plus-one and speed-scratch techniques.

“You don’t need nine products to make a signature dish,” says Jeff Pivin, Shamrock Foods Business Review Specialist, Arizona. Pivin tells of an operator who created a popular signature dessert simply by brûléeing a Brickfire Bakery® cheesecake. “Start with a highquality baseline product, add to it, and make it your own.”

“Determine what absolutely needs to be homemade,” Pivin adds.

Buy seasonally.

These items offer value and economy.

Cross-utilize.

“We will see more operators finding continued efficiencies through cross-utilization and repurposing strategies,” says Bo Bryant, Shamrock Foods Restaurant Consultant. For example, preportioned beef that can be used for dumplings or stew.

Create specs.

Cost out how many cream-cheese packets get served with bagels, the number of napkins to pack with takeout orders, etc.

SHAKEN. STIRRED.

SHAKEN. STIRRED.

WHATEVER,

AS LONG AS IT’S SHAMROCK FARMS.

WHATEVER, AS LONG AS IT’S SHAMROCK FARMS.

We make it easy to treat your customers to a delicious, festive cocktail with this delectable Eggnog Martini

We make it easy to treat your customers to a delicious, festive cocktail with this delectable Eggnog Martini recipe.

It’s made with real, delicious Shamrock Farms Irish Whiskey Eggnog, so it’s sure to be a hit on your next menu.

It’s made with real, delicious Shamrock Farms Irish Whiskey Eggnog, so it’s sure to be a hit on your next menu.

Shamrock Farms Eggnog Martini

Shamrock Farms Eggnog Martini

• 1 1/2 ounces vanilla vodka or favorite vodka*

• 1 1/2 ounces vanilla vodka or favorite vodka*

• 1 ounce amaretto liqueur

• 1 ounce amaretto liqueur

Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker, shake to chill and strain out into martini glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg and cinnamon stick.

Combine all ingredients with a shaker, shake to chill and out into martini glass. Garnish grated nutmeg and cinnamon stick.

• 2 ounces Shamrock Farms Irish Whiskey Eggnog

• 2 ounces Shamrock Farms Irish Whiskey Eggnog

• Ground nutmeg, for garnish

• Cinnamon stick, for optional garnish

• Ground nutmeg, for garnish

• Cinnamon stick, for optional garnish

Contact your Shamrock Farms sales representative for more info on Shamrock Farms full line of Seasonal Eggnogs.

Contact your Shamrock Farms sales representative info on Shamrock Farms full line of Seasonal

GET READY FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

Whether the weather outside is frightful or delightful, one thing is certain: holiday business is a boon to operators. Make a list, check it twice and start planning right away to make the holidays nice for your customers.

PLAN OUT THE FOOD

“Be proactive,” says Tim Maness, Shamrock Foods Business Review Specialist, Colorado. “Be ready for holiday parties and restaurant buyouts. Push the culinary envelope and try something new and exciting.”

Run holiday LTOs. “Running a special for a limited time reduces waste, provides consistency and generates a buzz around something different and exciting,” Estrada says. “This allows operators to take advantage of seasonal closeout items at typically lower prices.”

Create holiday-meal bundles. Time-crunched consumers appreciate convenience, especially during the holidays. Bundled meals for at-home dining and takeaway catering offer that, plus inflationbusting value grocers can’t provide.

Arrange for advance purchases. “If you serve turkey or prime rib, talk to your Shamrock Foods representative now about the supply chain, organization and storage,” says Jim Hargrove, Shamrock Foods Restaurant Consultant. “If you do a big holiday takeout meals program, start buying packaging supplies now.”

Offer smaller, holiday-focused menus. “Consider serving a holiday menu for a week or two prior to the day,” says Rodney Estrada, Shamrock Foods Branch Chef, New Mexico. “This will help control inventory and labor costs.”

Serve indulgence. Use luxurious ingredients. Rich whipped cream and luscious eggnog from Shamrock Farms®, for example, are holiday essentials. Eggnog – traditional and flavored – can be a key ingredient in signature French toasts, flans, crème brûlées, base sauces for apple pie and other desserts. And don’t forget the drinks. “Use cream or eggnog as an ingredient in cocktails, nonalcoholic beverages, milkshakes and more,” Hargrove says.

“Create and cost-out all your holiday menus ASAP.”

– Tim Maness, Shamrock Foods Business Review Specialist, Colorado

STAFFING

Make sure you have the employees you need for the season ahead of the season.

Line up holiday help. See if workers from previous holiday or summer seasons are available to return this season. Verify that your current staff can work during the holidays. Investigate how temp-staffing agencies may be able to help if you need it.

Lock in schedules. “Set schedules well in advance of the holiday season,” Maness says. Many operators have a “no-time-off” policy during the holidays. Let staff know well in advance if that’s your policy.

Study data. Analyze guest traffic and sales from previous holiday seasons and staff shifts accordingly.

Be transparent. Let the staff know how much a profitable holiday season means to your operation’s bottom line and how they benefit from it.

RUN HOLIDAY PROMOTIONS

“Use marketing to tell the story that it’s cheaper and much easier to buy a completely prepared restaurant meal for your family than it is to drive to the grocery store, select everything, stand in line, get it home, cook it, feed your family and then clean up,” Hargrove says.

Get the word out early. “Blast social media and websites with holiday-focused messages,” Maness advises. Announce holiday menus, catering services and privateparty options.

Ramp up your gift-card program. Restaurant gift cards are highly popular with holiday shoppers and profitable for operators. Gift cards give you money up front, and many are never redeemed. Sell them in value bundles.

“Make sure your POS is ready for these transactions,” Maness advises. “Dedicate an area or employee specific to giftcard purchases.”

“Strategize when to buy to avoid the holiday purchasing rush of classic items.”

– Jim Hargrove, Shamrock Foods Restaurant Consultant

BUILT ON A LEGACY OF DELICIOUS The Heritage Burger

We start with 80/20 Premium Angus Chuck, ground from whole muscle pieces of USDA upper 2/3 Choice beef. Then, we add in ground Premium Angus brisket for an even more intense beef flavor. As an indulgent finishing touch, we mix in Gold Canyon Premium Duroc pork belly which is known for superior marbling and flavor. This unique blend creates a decadent burger like you’ve never had before.

We welcome your suggestions and comments. Material chosen for publication may be edited for clarity and fit. Please direct all correspondence to:

Shamrock Foods Company

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MAGAZINE is published by Shamrock Foods Company and is designed and intended to be used as a reference tool for the reader. COPYRIGHT ©2022 SHAMROCK FOODS COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.