The foodservice industry is a constant ebb-and-flow of trends, with wholesale product sales largely dictated by end-customer demand.
2024 has seen glocal food (globally inspired products made locally), and fusion flavours continue to remain extremely popular.
Wholesalers that can offer ready-to-use solutions to these demands are unsurprisingly popular with operators.
Tom Styman-Heighton, Development Chef at Funnybones Foodservice, comments: ”Funnybones’ Rio Pacific Korean BBQ happens to tick both these boxes. Delivering all the sticky sweetness of a classic American dip, with the spicy twist of the Far East, this sauce effortlessly blends American and Asian flavours. Better yet, it’s made at Funnybones’ production facility in Wales to an authentic recipe whilst minimising food miles.
Featuring notes of ginger, garlic, sesame, and Asian pear, the sauce works perfectly in a Korean burger alongside some chilli mayo and kimchi slaw, or tossed with beef, onions, and peppers for a sizzling stir fry. For a vegetarian option, Korean BBQ braised tofu over seared pak choi is an instant fan favourite. With lunar new year fast approaching, there’s likely to be an uptick in operators scouring wholesalers’ offerings for Asian-inspired ingredients.”
Another emerging trend that has picked up traction this year is swicy food – combining sweet and spicy flavours, such as hot honey. The sweet and savoury nature of this trend makes it incredibly versatile, as it can be applied to all aspects of the menu. For starters, operators could offer a classic sharing platter alongside some Funnybones’ Rio Pacific redpepajam dip; for mains, some wings tossed in Grace Jamaican Jerk Honey paste; for dessert chefs could utilise Encona’s Mango Sweet Chilli sauce to create a tropical version of an Eton Mess with mango, pineapple, and passionfruit; and to wash it all down, operators could take inspiration from Funnybones’ Fire and Lime cocktail – made with muddled jalapeno, tequila, and lime juice, then topped up with Jarritos lime soda.
“Sustainability is at the forefront of everyone’s mind,” adds Styman-Heighton. “Food miles are the new calories, and customers want to consume less. Complex expiry logistics can pose a challenge with this goal in mind, so wholesalers could consider how their stock can help operators find an appropriate solution. Frozen and tinned goods eliminate the risk of unnecessary food waste and can also help wholesalers introduce more exotic fruit and vegetables, such as plantain, nopalitos, and jackfruit, which may be unavailable as a fresh alternative in the UK.”
Another key challenge faced by foodservice operators is the ever-increasing demand for special dietary options, including gluten-free, vegan, and health-conscious diets. Funnybones’ extensive portfolio has been designed with this in mind, with many staple ingredients such as sauces and seasonings being suitable to meet a range of dietary requirements. Likewise, wholesalers could position ready-to-serve free-from products, such as Funnybones’ plant-based burgers, cauliflower bites, three bean chilli, callaloo stew, or brownie obsession as able to help save chefs time, space, and effort in the kitchen, while also significantly reducing the risk of cross-contamination compared to making these in-house.
Mohammed Essa, Commercial Director, Aviko UK & Ireland, comments: “Posh Hash Browns are a growing food trend in operations around the UK, that we expect to see continue throughout 2025 (Lumina). Tapping into consumer desire for nostalgic, comfort food, we’re seeing operators experimenting with innovative toppings for the ultimate loaded hash brown experience! We know that customers often like the option to customise their dishes (Lumina), so serving up comfort classics which can be personalised with indulgent toppings is a trend that we expect will remain popular. Plus – these mouth-watering dishes gain traction on socials – making them a hot item, and operators who serve them a must-visit! Our recently re-launched Hash Brown Bites are a great alternative for operators who want to expand their food to go sales.”
New to the ‘Snackables’ range, Aviko has recently launched Camembert Bites tasty and convenient bite-sized pieces of creamy and smooth camembert cheese filling, wrapped in crispy golden crumbs. Perfect for sharing, and with a long-holding time, these bites are a perfect addition to on-the-go offerings and delivery. The bites offer an alternative to the ever-popular Mozzarella Dippers and Halloumi fries, and make a premium, creamy cheese more accessible for consumers to enjoy on the go.
“Our mission at Aviko is ‘bringing joy to tables around the world’, and we work towards with our three key pillars; Proud Farmers, Healthy Earth and Happy People,” adds Essa. “We know how important sustainability is to operators when choosing suppliers and in 2022, we added three goals to promote sustainable farming that aim for specific sustainable results in arable fields relating to soil and water quality, and a reduction in crop protection agents and CO2 emissions.” Described as a ‘taste explosion’, Aviko’s new and innovative Plant-Based Chilli Cheezz Nuggets are made entirely from potato and are the perfect addition to on-the-go offerings. The new, award-winning Nuggets are part of Aviko’s expansive Snackables portfolio, and serve up a tasty and creamy ‘cheese’ filling that is gently spiced with green jalapeno peppers, giving flexitarian diners the ultimate plant-based experience. Full of flavour, versatile and profitable, Aviko’s Plant-Based Chilli Cheezz Nuggets are a healthier option to dairy equivalents, as they contain half the amount of saturated fat, 30% less salt and are 2.5 times higher in fibre. Matt Grenter, Sales Manager, Symphonie Pasquier, comments: “In times of economic uncertainty, when purse strings tighten, we tend to see indulgent products increase in sales. Our products become even more popular as they are seen as a way to indulge in a sweet treat that won’t break the bank, and over the course of this year we’ve seen our Macarons and Petits Fours in particular drive an upturn in sales. Lighter bites such as these deliver a delicious, sweet treat at a good price which attracts a diner to spend more. Café Gourmande or the practice of choosing a trio of bite-sized sweet treats instead of a plate of rich pudding has also proved popular and our pâtisserie delivers something to please all the senses with beautiful presentation, intense shots of flavour and a variety of textures to make each mouthful delicious.”
For many operators, the cost of preparing their own desserts and particularly pâtisserie can be prohibitive, and as many are looking to find cost reductions in their operations, buying in ready-made and beautiful desserts can save money by ordering fully finished product and also in reducing wastage as Symphonie Pasquier pâtisserie arrives frozen which offers many benefits for chefs and their kitchens.
“We’ve also seen an uptick in sweet treats at different times of the day. Not just after dinner but elevenses with a hot drink or the 3pm treat to get to dinner time so operators should ensure they have a display of tempting treats on the counter at all times,” adds Grenter.
“There are lots of challenges at the moment – staffing is always a big concern, as are operating costs and with the government’s new waste management legislation coming into play in March 2025, that is going to add another level of complexity for a lot of companies.”
Many restaurants may be looking to reduce menu size and complexity and Symphonie Pasquier pâtisserie allows operators to maintain an enticing menu that delivers on traditional French recipes yet is frozen which helps with demand and stockholding, as well as allowing anyone to simply defrost and plate a stunningly delicious French dessert. It makes sense to buy in first class ready-made products and who you buy from is all important – the recipes they use, the ingredients and the expertise they apply to make the desserts – all need to meet your criteria in order to deliver an exceptional experience for your customers.
Pâtisserie is really demanding and time consuming to make from scratch and few establishments have the luxury of a dedicated pastry chef, so buying in delicious desserts like pâtisserie can be a great choice for a busy kitchen team.
Café Gourmand, or the practice of choosing a trio of bite-sized sweet treats instead of a plate of rich pudding continues to be an extremely popular option. Pâtisserie delivers something to please all the senses with beautiful presentation, intense shots of flavour and a variety of textures to make each mouthful delicious. Symphonie Pasquier’s Macarons are eternally popular and one of its newer products, Tartelettes Crème Brûlée has been steadily gaining fans, especially as the colder weather sets in. These are individual portions of all butter shortcrust pastry filled with crème brûlée cream. After defrosting, add a small amount of brown sugar and use a chef’s blow torch to heat until the sugar starts to bubble. Leave to cool and customers will be delighted with the caramelised crust that shatters under a spoon.
“With the staff shortages, rising costs and waste legislation coming into force, our pâtisserie can help to manage stocks and minimise preparation time. The operator benefits from a high quality, on trend product that cuts both expenditure on ingredients and high levels of waste, and vitally, saves on time and expertise in the kitchen,” says Grenter.
“All Symphonie Pasquier desserts are vegetarian and are made with wholesome ingredients such as fruits, eggs, butter and flour. They are made to traditional recipes by our expert French pâtissiers and frozen immediately, so they retain that just baked flavour.”
Gordon Lauder, MD of frozen food distributor, Central Foods, comments: “We’ve certainly seen strong interest in the range of Asian options that we offer our foodservice customers, which is why we have continued to expand and enhance it.
“Bao buns are big news at the moment across the whole foodservice sector. They are definitely one of our biggest selling products. They’re versatile and can be served with sweet or savoury fillings. Our bao buns and filled bao buns are suitable for vegans and vegetarians which makes them a great choice for professional caterers.”
One of the most recent products with an Asian theme that Central Foods has launched is the Menuserve gluten free vegan Asian prawn snack selection, which features three different varieties of snack – the torpedo, which is a filo-wrapped vegan prawn, the breaded, which is a crumbed vegan prawn, and the bubble, which is a battered vegan prawn. It is suitable for plant-based diners, yet so tasty that it will appeal to all. Being gluten free means it’s also ideal for coeliac diners and those avoiding gluten, too, which means that customers with dietary requirements don’t miss out on the latest trends in Asian foods.
Quiche continues to be big news and a product that wholesalers should stock. It recently topped a poll as the nation’s favourite party food and also was voted the UK’s number one most popular nostalgic food. It’s so versatile that it can be served across the whole foodservice sector and comes in so many different flavours that it should definitely be on the radar for any wholesalers looking to stock relevant and popular products for foodservice operators.
“I think consumers knuckling down in the face of economic and wider uncertainty is one of the biggest challenges that foodservice operators currently face,” adds Lauder.
“We’ve certainly seen foodservice operators reducing menu size and complexity in recent years. This makes things easier in the kitchen and is particularly useful if staffing is an issue. Frozen food really comes into its own in such circumstances because it is so convenient in the professional kitchen. The trend for smaller menus has led to an increase in the number of dual-criteria dishes – for example vegan and gluten-free – which helps to avoid menu proliferation.”
Food-on-the-go has picked up now that office workers have returned in larger numbers to their offices following the pandemic, and this has provided new opportunities for foodservice operators working in this sector to offer innovative new products.
Central Foods has been offering vegan products to the foodservice sector for many years and is regularly looking at exciting new products to add to the plant-based range. It recently launched the KaterVeg! VG vegan and gluten-free sausage and has adapted the recipe of its Menuserve deep dish apple pie to make it suitable for vegans. With more health and environment-conscious Brits adopting a flexitarian approach to eating, it makes sense for foodservice operators to offer a wider plant-based range. In fact, Central Foods’ KaterVeg! vegan mince is one of its best-selling products.
“As a frozen food distributor, we are proud of the role that frozen food is taking in helping to reduce the amount of food waste that is produced – which is a good thing in terms of the environment and also for efficiency and the bottom line,” adds Lauder.
“Consumers are looking for value. If they are going out to eat, they want to be sure they are getting good value for money. They don’t want to spend money on something that isn’t good or isn’t a sufficiently sized portion. They want quality and quantity.”
Currently, Central Foods’ best-selling products are bao buns, vegan mince and its Golden Valley Foods gluten-free chicken products – all items that are on trend and provide versatility to foodservice operators. Cooks&Co has launched a new range of olives and capers, created especially for foodservice. The range, which includes green, black and mixed olives alongside a choice of capers, delivers high quality, simply sourced and flavourful ingredients in a selection of catering formats providing foodservice operators with an easy and convenient catering solution.
The range includes four different capers: large caperberries perfect for garnishing dishes; caper fines for a subtle tang; capotes for versatile use, and the small, delicate nonpareilles capers for refined flavour. Also available are carefully curated olives including Pitted Green Olives to Greek Kalamata and Pimiento-stuffed varieties to suit every operator. From bar snacks and nibbles, adding a savoury touch to cocktails or livening up main courses, this versatile range ensures Cooks&Co remains a go-to choice for effortless, high-quality foodservice solutions.
Nick Ash, Foodservice Channel Controller at Cooks&Co, comments, “It’s widely reported that, whilst consumers are eating out less frequently, when they do, they are willing to spend more to enjoy quality products. Our new Cooks&Co range of olives and capers is perfectly placed to help operators meet consumer demand for quality ingredients.”
The range is available in catering formats from 1kg tubs to 4.1 kg tins and is available now from RH Amar.
Diners’ interest in fresh and tasty products is unwavering, they’re looking for great tasting, quality ingredients to inspire everything from buddha bowls, main salads, and sandwiches right through to the salad garnish, boosting burgers and complimenting dishes.
The UK’s No. 1 salad brand (Nielsen), Florette, provides a range of foodservice products that tick all the boxes when it comes to taste and freshness. Customers will benefit from consumer awareness, understanding and recognition of the Florette brand in retail.
Gwyn Jones, Head of Commercial for Florette Foodservice says: “It’s important to offer fresh, colourful and tasty ingredients all year round. This is key to keep diners coming back. Our freshness guarantee means that chefs can be confident in our products withholding the high standards they expect.
Foodservice offers chefs a solution for labour challenges in this sector, as products are washed and ready to eat, without the need for any timely preparation.
“We’ve been working successfully within the foodservice arena for many years and have an excellent track-record. In recent times, we’ve been approached by more and more customers looking for high quality products that they can rely on to mitigate the risk of service and quality issues they have experienced due to increased climate and supply chain challenges.
“Our range is manufactured in a dedicated foodservice operation here in the UK, further strengthening its freshness guarantee and mitigating availability issues that occur across the sector.
“Florette Foodservice caters for operators large and small, with a bespoke range of foodservice products, that are backed by the expertise, supply chain resilience and quality assurance of our parent company Agrial,” Gwyn concludes.
Robert La Francesca, Commercial Director, Maldon Salt, comments: “Foodservice operators are facing myriad challenges including high staff turnover and, in many cases, lower footfall as consumers become more conscious about how and when they spend their money.
“As a result, we know that consumers are more quality-conscious than ever before. 34% associate high quality with British-branded ingredients on menus, and 47% are more likely to purchase a branded menu item (YouGov). By reducing menu size and complexity and focusing on doing a few things well, operators can engineer a high-quality menu that new staff members can quickly get to grips with. What’s more, calling out premium brands like Maldon Salt can help to elevate menus and demonstrate to customers that their operation places value on the best quality ingredients.”
Following the successful launch of Maldon Salt’s new flavoured salts into the retail market last year, the seasoning experts have answered calls from the foodservice sector to offer its Garlic Sea Salt and Chilli Sea Salt, in larger, catering-sized formats.
Each of the salts are now available in a 500g sized-tub in a move that is set to help chefs and caterers deliver consistently fantastic flavour.
Maldon’s new Garlic Sea Salt, which is an expert blend of hand-harvested flakes with wild and roasted garlic, offers a superbly fragrant taste and is a fantastic addition in any professional kitchen. From using as a brine for perfectly seasoned poultry to combining with butter for the ultimate marinade on fish and roasting joints.
Use it as a finishing salt on everything from delicious potato sides to tear and share garlic bread or finish plating up beautiful dishes of food with a flourish of Garlic Sea Salt before immediate service.
In contrast, Maldon Chilli Sea Salt offers a spicy, aromatic taste great for adding instant heat to dishes or even adding a point of difference to premium cocktails and mocktails. Try keeping a supply of the famous hand-harvested flakes – blended with Aleppo pepper and bird’s eye chilli – behind the bar, for a Bloody Mary that packs an extra punch. In the kitchen, its rich and aromatic flavour works particularly well with prawns or stirred into soups and sauces whilst a generous pinch is the perfect way to finish off avocado toast or a fiery pasta.
Robert La Francesca adds: “We’re delighted to be able to launch the latest two additions to our flavoured salt range in a larger, 500g format. We know the pressures that professional kitchens are under and our Garlic and Chilli Sea Salts offer chefs and caterers the ability to elevate dishes with ease, boosting flavour and seasoning to perfection in one hit, and guaranteeing time-poor chefs the consistent results they require every time.”
Fabien Levet, Commercial Manager at Pidy UK, comments: “With sustainability becoming a high priority for consumers, many operators are looking for products that align with their own environmental goals to appeal to these eco-conscious diners.”
With this in mind, Pidy has carefully developed its extensive portfolio to reflect their ‘Green’ ethos – achieved with ethically sourced ingredients and products that boast an impressive ambient shelf life of nine months plus.
This enables wholesalers, and thus operators, to order in bulk to reduce food miles and cut unnecessary emissions. Likewise, the long shelf life of these products all but eliminates unnecessary food waste.”
“Staff shortages, ever increasing costs, and allergens are challenges high on operator’s agendas right now,” adds Levet. “To overcome these obstacles, many operators are drawing back to simpler and more manageable menus or opting for smaller brick-and-mortar venues, and instead focusing on dark kitchen-style service. To do this effectively, chefs should look at how they can incorporate versatile products to maximise convenience.”
Beyond specialist solutions including macarons, savarins, and sponge cake sheets, Pidy is perhaps best known for their ready-to-fill pastry products – largely available in neutral, sweet, or chocolate iterations, so they’re compatible with a broad range of fillings. These pastries can be filled as required, saving space associated with creating baked goods in-house and staff effort and time. This is particularly beneficial for special diet alternatives such as vegan and gluten-free, as it eliminates complex recipes and the risk of cross contamination.
“Food on the go is a trend that is here to stay, but with this increasing popularity comes market saturation and the struggle to stand out from the competition,” adds Levet. “Wholesalers should prioritise unique products that can help operators offer a point of differentiation.”
For example, operators looking to mix up their lunchtime meal deal could utilise Pidy’s Kon. This cone-shaped bread offers an innovative alternative to a sandwich, and its handheld nature makes it ideal for enjoying on the go. With an impressive moisture resistance, it can even be filled with liquid such as soup. Furthermore, operators could apply it to all areas of their menu, not just lunch, thanks to its versatility. For a brunch offering, fill with chocolate spread, bananas, and strawberries, or savoury cream cheese and smoked salmon. At lunchtime, utilise classic sandwich fillings or soup for a light bite. Later in the day get creative with fillings, such as grilled veggies and halloumi or gyros chicken.
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