Just how popular is cold brew coffee? We’ve got the stats. What makes cold brew different? We’ll help you understand the steep. What’s the biggest hurdle for foodservice operators? We’ll tell you and share the solution in this episode! If you’ve been pondering how to prepare better pizzas with quality ingredients, how to expand your menu with new flavors and combinations, and most importantly – how to produce more profit from your pies… Then you need to tune into this episode!

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For this week’s foodie fact we’re asking, how many acres of pizza do Americans eat per day? If you laid all the pizza Americans consume each day out on a flat surface, how many acres would it take up? We’ll have the answer, and then some, in this episode!

Links and product information mentioned in this episode include our website: www.DennisExpress.com

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It’s hard to imagine a beverage menu without coffee and tea. These hardworking staples can be served hot or iced, no matter the season or weather, throughout the day from breakfast to between meals and after dinner.

Coffee

It’s no surprise that the overall coffee market is growing. Driving this growth is the quality of coffee and the options for customization available to customers. New formats and varieties are emerging as coffee continues to resonate with consumers. Read more in our Coffee Break-Down.

1) Offer “flavor shots” of syrup or creamer, for any hot or cold coffee or espresso-based coffee beverage—such as lattes and cappuccinos—either à la carte or as part of a customization program.

2) Provide alternative sweeteners and lighteners—including honey, agave, and plant-based milks, such as soy and almond—for those avoiding refined sugar and dairy.

3) In addition to the familiar latte and cappuccino, experiment with next-level espresso-based beverages, such as:

• Macchiato (espresso “marked” with a small amount of foamed milk)
• Americano (espresso diluted with hot water)
• Cortado (espresso “cut” with warm milk)
• Shakerato (espresso shaken with sugar and ice cubes to chill it)

4) Get serious about iced coffee by making it available year-round—not just during warm weather. Iced latte and iced cappuccino are also growing in popularity, according to Datassential.

5) Consider getting in on the fast-growing cold-brew coffee trend; according cold brew has experienced explosive growth over the past few years.

6) Upsell iced or cold-brew coffee with such add-ons as:

• Specialty flavors (for example, maple-pecan, salted caramel, vanilla)
• Whipped cream
• Frozen coffee ice cubes

7) Use coffee in cocktails, such as an espresso martini or Irish coffee and other coffee-based after-dinner drinks. (Listen to Episode 18 of Dennis Knows Food for more.)

Tea

Specialty Tea is a fast-growing segment in beverages sales, from breakfast tea to spiced chai to classic sweet tea, there’s a tea for every time and place.

8) Step up tea service with a selection of different teas, including not only traditional black tea, but also herbal tea, green tea, and premium specialty teas such as jasmine or Rooibos.

9) Experiment with globally inspired tea concepts:

• Serve hot tea as the Russians do: with a side of cherry preserves or another sweet jam that the customer can stir in to taste
• The spiced, sweetened milk tea from India called chai can be served either hot or cold, or turned into a blended beverage
• Moroccan mint tea consists of green tea steeped with sugar and lots of fresh mint
• Make a tea latte with extra-strong brewed tea and hot steamed milk, sweetened to taste

10) Offer iced tea year-round, not just during the summer; according to Datassential, iced tea is now more likely to be consumed than hot tea.

11) Mix iced tea with sweetened condensed milk as a variation on Vietnamese iced coffee.

12) Combine iced tea 50-50 with lemonade or fruit juice to create a refreshing specialty beverage.

13) Infuse iced white, green, or black tea with flavors such as ginger, pineapple, strawberry, and more.

14) Use hot or iced tea in cocktails, such as a hot tea toddy or black tea punch with rum.

Cocoa

Hot chocolate is the last piece of the classic beverage puzzle. Although 47% of customers love it, according to Datassential, hot cocoa/chocolate is only featured on 16.7% of U.S. restaurant menus, representing an opportunity for renewed growth. One way to boost sales of this cold-weather favorite is by marketing it as an indulgent treat.

15) Topped with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle or sprinkles.

16) Flavored with mint or peppermint.

17) Laced with mocha and ancho or cayenne chile.

18) Offered in dark or white chocolate.

19) Paired with a biscotti or churro for dipping.

Click Here to See More Coffee Related Content

It’s no surprise that the overall coffee market is growing. Driving this growth is the quality of coffee and the options for customization available to customers. New formats and varieties are emerging as coffee continues to resonate with consumers.

The increasing interest in specialty coffee drinks is creating an expanding market of discriminating coffee drinkers. While the quick pick-me-up isn’t quite a thing of the past, today’s coffee drinkers are more focused on finding the finest in flavor, aroma and freshness. Younger coffee drinkers in particular are influenced by the prevalence of coffee shops and come to expect the same quality wherever they dine. Staying out in front of coffee trends can be a critical factor in an operator’s success.

According to research at Mintel, cold brew coffee is the hottest trend in the industry with the coffee format experiencing steady growth since 2010, and sales rising 115% between 2014 and 2015. Considering that over the past five years cold brew coffee sales have skyrocketed a whopping 580%, estimated to be an 18 billion dollar business in 2020. Consumers have proven that cold brew is here to stay.

While cold-brew is growing, hot beverages are still a pillar of today’s c-store business. C-stores represent about 11 percent of overall hot-beverage revenue and rank fourth in hot-beverage segments, behind limited-service coffee shops, quick-service restaurants and full-service restaurants. The success of coffee sales outside of the c-store realm is not only driven by the growing number of outlets for coffee drinkers to get their fix, but also by coffee shops capitalizing on consumers’ love for customizing what they eat and drink.

Coffee is the perfect beverage for Millennials. Coffee offers expansive variety and the ability for almost endless customization, something that this newest generation of consumers have come to expect. No wonder, people aged 19 to 34 make up 44% of the world’s coffee drinkers.

What makes Millennials so influential in this recent boom? For starters, younger consumers are more likely to consume coffee out-of-home at a rate of 46% versus 26% of older consumers. Millennials are also the core contingency of today’s third wave of coffee brewing. This move away from traditional coffee to new trends is exploding in big cities and spreading in popularity among young out-of-home coffee consumers.

A strong coffee program is also a great pull-trough sales generator. Experts suggest utilizing bundling opportunities to increase both coffee and ancillary product sales. According to Technomic, “meal complement” purchases account for about 70% of overall hot-dispensed-beverage volume. Playing to the value and convenience that today’s consumers seek, bundling for breakfast is an effective sales strategy, especially among younger consumers. Technomic insights reveal that more than half of consumers ages 18 to 24 say that breakfast combo meals, often featuring a coffee beverage, are important offers at foodservice outlets and impact their decision to visit that operation. As c-stores upgrade their specialty coffee programs, they should consider pairing with gourmet breakfast pastries or breakfast sandwiches to compete with the bakery-cafes and QSRs that have similar premium offerings.

Partnering with the right coffee provider is the surest way to drive customers in for their daily cup. With today’s discerning coffee drinkers, the quality of the coffee you serve is the make-or-break difference on whether they continue to frequent your operation.

Dennis Paper & Food Service is partnered with New England Coffee and together we are helping our customers meet the demands of today’s coffee drinkers. New England Coffee’s roasters have developed and refined their roasting process to guarantee premium coffee beans with distinct smoothness and characteristic taste. Each variety of coffee bean requires a different roast time and their experienced roasters use both smell and sight to determine when the desired roast has been achieved. This roasting process has been a tradition at New England Coffee since 1916.

Click Here to See More Coffee Related Content

Sources
NCA National Coffee Drinking Trends Report, 2017
Gourmetinsider.com, 2016
National Coffee Association
Content courtesy of Red Diamond
2017 Red Diamond Beverage Council
Bloomberg, Oct. 2016

Every July 13th, the nation joins in celebration of an culinary staple, French fries! That means our foodie fact for the week is inspired by French fries! During WWI, which army influenced the coining of the term “French fries” among US soldiers; the Russian, Belgian, or French army? The answer in this episode!

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This week we’ve added nine new items to our inventory. From the world of pizza comes a new dough option, 16″ presheeted pizza dough from It’ll Be. From Kellogg’s we’ve added Eggo brand heat-n-serve 3″ buttermilk pancakes. We’ve added an epic new low fat gelato from Honey Hill, Candy Bar Crunch. Lastly, from Juicy Juice we’ve added six new individual serving juice flavors. These come as a pack of 40, 4.3oz juice boxes.

In this weeks episode we’re talking coffee, with recent news on the health benefits of coffee giving frequent consumers reason to celebrate. Plus, there’s hot news for cold brew, the math is in and there’s opportunity and profit with this on-trend coffee item. We’ve also got fries, and every imaginable type of potato product! The team at Dennis is ready to find just the right one to your business needs. So, grab your ketchup and dive into episode 22 of Dennis Knows Food!

Links and product information mentioned in this episode include our website at www.DennisExpress.com. Our National French Fry Day page at www.dennisexpress.com/national-french-fry-day. And, our cold brew coffee page at www.dennisexpress.com/nescafe-cold-brew.

This weeks image comes from T.Tseng.

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In this weeks episode of Dennis Knows Food we focus some of the spotlight on New England, with 3 of our 12 latest inventory additions coming from right here in Maine. We’re also putting some emphasis on produce, with Chris Webster, one of our Dennis Account Executives joining us for a discussion on “veggie perceptions.”

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This week we’ve added a dozen new items to our inventory. In for the season we have fresh cooked lobster meat and 10-20 fresh scallops. We’ve added cooked bacon bits and unbreaded cooked chicken wings. Golden Velvet Yellow Cheese Sauce. New England style sliced hotdog rolls. 3 varieties of coffee cake, complete with plain craft windowed boxes and labels. In non-foods we’ve added a 21oz clear plastic, 2 compartment, tamper evident package and a 5 pack 200CT option of the C2 hybrid synthetic gloves in size medium.

Scorching its way into our inventory is a hot new item, Blueberry Habanero Hot Sauce from Maine Man Flavors. This is a great product with fantastic potential applications, and in this episode I’ll share a couple of the ways in which I’ve been able to try it.

Also in this episode we revisit cold brew coffee, but this time there’s alcohol involved. Our Foodie Fun Fact takes inspiration from a seasonal favorite, strawberry shortcake. Do you know how many pounds of strawberries were used to make the worlds largest strawberry shortcake? The answer at the end of our podcast.

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We hope you had an opportunity to get outside for at least a few minutes today and enjoy a taste of this early Summeresque weather. I was able to spend all weekend outside while fishing in Northern Maine…

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In this episode of Dennis Knows Food I’ve got a fishing/cooking story to share with you. Also in this episode we talk about the latest items added to our inventory, discuss new soups from UniPro, spend a few minutes highlighting the value of utilizing your expertise, and more! We’ve also got an update on our expansion… Spoiler alert! It’s nearly complete!

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This week’s podcast is a little longer than our previous, and that’s because we had a guest join us today! Travis Estes, or Frozen Category Manager talks about new products, several of which are perfect for summertime business.

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In this episode we also share 9 new items that were just added to our inventory, we talk about this weeks James Beard Awards, and share a new study that independent owner-operators are sure to appreciate! There’s ice coffee, delicious desserts and more – so dig in and enjoy episode 12 of Dennis Knows Food!

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New to the market, NESCAFÉ Cold Brew Coffee is a delicious and convenient way to attract more coffee business. We’ve also added a beef striploin, Chucka Soba noodles, Meat Ravioli, food containers from Fabril-Kal and 6QT sanitizer bucket.

Dennis Paper & Food Service delivers thousands of foodservice products and supplies to restaurants and food operations in Maine and New Hampshire. If you have a question or are interested in becoming a customer contact us or call 1-800-439-2727.