FlavorIQ Deep Dive: Ingredient Cross-Utilization Guide

To demonstrate delicious efficiency in your operation, consider using one product over several applications.  

1. For example, I use our Latin Citrus Chili Sauce as a dipping sauce for chicken flautas or empanadas.

2. Then, I use that same Latin Citrus Chili sauce to braise beef short ribs, chicken thighs or pork shoulder for tacos.

3. And as a 3rd option, I’ll blend the sauce with mayonnaise to create an awesome sandwich spread.  

That’s one sauce - three applications. Practice this throughout the kitchen, and you’ve reduced your inventory and become more efficient.

Chef Mike Speranza, CEC

Plant Forward

• Jackfruit Moo Shu

• Korean-Style Cauliflower Banh Mi Sandwich

• Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice

• Korean Sweet and Spicy Shaved Root Vegetable Salad

Sharables

• Sweet 'n' Spicy Korean Fried Chicken

• Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

• Korean Dumplings (Mandu)

• Korean-Style Sweet Heat Cauliflower

Main Course

• Mala Chicken

• Korean Whole Fried Snapper

• Beef Noodle Bowl

• Miso and Sweet Heat Glazed Pan-Seared Halibut

Handhelds

• Korean Sweet & Spicy Pork Bao

• Korean Fried Fish Sandwich

• Blackened Salmon Tacos

• Sweet Heat Bacon Cheeseburger

ABOUT SCORES^™

This Datassential tool tracks top chain restaurants' LTOs and new menu items from month to month and showcases consumer ratings on them based on a variety of metrics. Since 2014, SCORES^™ has grown to include over 175k ratings across 30,000 menu items.

UNIQUENESS

How new and different is this item?Uniqueness helps operators stand out from the competition, which makes this a particularly noteworthy score.

UNBRANDED PURCHASE INTENT

How likely would you be to order/buy it?
Gauges how interested consumers are in a specific item in general when it's not tied to a particular brand.

FREQUENCY

Is this an item you could see yourself having all the time? It shows operators how often consumers would seek out this specific item if it were available.

DRAW

Would you visit a restaurant just for this item? It reveals motivation to visit a specific restaurant just to get this one particular item if it was offered.

THE CONCEPT

Crispy chicken wings dressed in a sweet and sticky sauce with notes of gochujang, soy, ginger, and garlic finished with a refreshing kick of heat, garnished with toasted sesame seeds and scallions.

Featuring Custom Culinary^® Korean-Style Sweet Heat Sauce

WHY WE LOVE IT

• Sweet 'n' Spicy Korean Fried Chicken has been rated a SCORES^™ Superstar! It's extremely well-liked and differentiated enough to stand out from the rest.

• Exceptionally strong purchase interest; outperforms most other appetizer & side items

• Perceived as very unique; a four star rating for uniqueness.

• Ability to drive visitation; top performer for draw among those who like this concept.

• Ingredient rarity exceeds 62% of other menu items, further helping this bowl stand out.

• The ubiquitous bowl format, similar to burritos, is a convenience forward trend that still hasn't completely flattened. According to MenuTrends, bowls grew 11% on menus over the past 4 years.

GoCHUJANG

Gochujang is one of the fastest growing ingredients on adoption level appetizer menus, and has grown 42% over the last four years. Datassential Menucast predicts another 52% growth through 2027.

WINGS ARE KING!

When consumers were asked what they look forward to having around specific events or holidays, 29% mentioned wings, often in relation to watching sporting events. Wings were also the most prevalent variety when we asked consumers what type of appetizer they ate last (16% said wings).
 
Consumers claim the attributes of their “ideal appetizer” would be foremost easy to eat by hand (51%) and easily shareable (42%). All things considered, it’s not hard to see that wings are a clear appetizer winner.

Sweet & Spicy

63% of consumers love or like Sweet & Spicy flavor.

KOREAN Fried Chicken

Datassential predicts Korean will continue to grow 59% over the next four years.

THE CONCEPT

Sweet and spicy glazed flank steak skewers topped with shaved scallions and sesame seeds in a Thai vegetable broth.

Featuring Custom Culinary^® Korean-Style Sweet Heat Sauce and Thai-Style Vegetable Broth

WHY WE LOVE IT

• The Beef Noodle Bowl has been rated a SCORES^™ Superstar! It's extremely well-liked and differentiated enough to stand out from the rest.

• Exceptionally strong purchase interest; outperforms nearly all other soups.

• Perceived as very unique; a four star rating for uniqueness.

• Ability to drive visitation; top performer for draw among those who like this concept.

• Ingredient rarity exceeds 69% of other menu items, further helping this bowl stand out.

NOODLES

Noodles, which includes both Italian pasta and Asian style noodles, saw the most penegration gainers of any menu category in 2021, driven by their role as a comfort food and their portability in a delivery reliant time.
 

Bowls

The ubiquitous bowl format, similar to burritos, is a convenience forward trend that still hasn't completely flattened. According to MenuTrends, bowls grew 11% on menus over the past 4 years.

"In the food industry, being efficient is paramount. Being “Deliciously Efficient” could be your key to success. In these challenging times, delivering delicious consistent flavors across your operations can make the difference and affect the frequency of visits by your customers. Applying speed scratch labor saving flavor solutions is a way to achieve dependable results while allowing your personal "back of house touch" that makes it your own."

- Chef Michael Hornback, MPS, CEC, WCEC, CCA