Trend Alert - Healthier Children's Meals

Some trends in the foodservice business are hard to pick up on, and some trends hit you right in the face. An obvious trend going on is the push for healthier kids’ meals. Under pressure from parents and consumers, the largest fast food chain recently retooled their popular kids’ meal by cutting the portion size of fries in half, adding a side of fruit and vowing to reduce sodium in all menu items by 15%.  They are certainly not alone as other QSR’s have taken similar actions with their kids’ menus. This trend doesn’t stop at the fast food restaurant either. New USDA regulations for school lunches come effective in the 2012-2013 school year. Changes include a serving of fruit and a serving of vegetable will be in the school lunches this year, only fat-free or low-fat milk will be available, calories will be managed based on age to ensure proper portion sizes and we will see less saturated fat, trans fats, sugar and sodium on the kids’ lunch plates. 

American families eat out 4-5 times a week and parents are expecting the meals that they order for their children to be as healthy and nutritious as the meals they prepare at home. Traditional kids selections such as deep fried chicken fingers and buttery mac-n-cheese washed down with a sugary soda are not what parents are hoping to order at a restaurant. Below is a link to an informative article explaining how you can modify your children’s menu to make it healthier thereby making it easier for parents to choose your restaurant to feed their family.  

http://restaurants.about.com/od/menu/a/Healthy_kids_menu.htm

Simply Effective Remote Dispensing

Draw from 1 or 2 pouches
with 16 or 38 mm fitment

We live in a high-tech world in which we demand more of products than we ever would have dreamed of in the past. Remembering back to my first new car, it had an AM/FM radio, cassette tape player, crank windows and manual locks. Todays’ mini-van ride has features like auto start, heated seats and mirrors, navigation, power doors and satellite radio. You may be thinking it’s because I have unusually high standards, yet this was a used model with everything spec’d by a young woman in her 70’s who buys new every 24 months.

Sure, technology can be great, but not every good idea has to be technical. One such example is when our customers indicated the need to dispense large amounts of condiments from a remote location. The available remote dispensing systems used CO2, which is expensive to buy, involves ordering tanks and is rendered useless when that tank is empty. Our quest for solutions drove us to come up with a very simple, but effective idea. 

Server’s stainless steel fountain jar pump was outfitted with a specialized cast valve and flush-mounted lid to draw from pouched condiments below the counter. This manually operated remote dispensing solution is simple, yet effective. 

Can we surmise this solution is behind the disappearance of some CO2 powered options? Perhaps? Recently, a satellite update crashed my iPod, radio and navigation console. I spent the following two weeks wandering about in an odd silence and learned that sometimes the best things in life are…simple!

Creating Value

I know what you’re thinking, “Not another food industry related blog!” Across the screen of my i-phone and computer I get inundated with industry information through e-newsletters, Tweets, Facebook posts, Youtube uploads…the list goes on and on. (Not to mention the stack of unread industry magazines on my desk.) It can be overwhelming! But every now and then I come across a consistent piece of “quick-read” media that I can trust to be worth the time to read and creates value to my business or career.

With that in mind, the “Scoop-Into-It” weekly blog by Server Products is about creating value for those involved in restaurant and foodservice operations and menu development. From QSR’s to institutional dining and from ice cream shops to coffee houses; the topics will be varied but will always come down to creating value. Topics will include improving operational efficiency, saving time, lowering costs, common best-practices and growing profits just to name a few. We’ve been involved in the industry for over 60 years and have had the privilege of working with most of the heavyweights in the industry. We hope you and your business can benefit from our experience and expertise and we encourage you to leave comments and provide feedback.

Save Money at the Pump

Are you dispensing condiments, sauces, flavors, syrups, cheese, toppings or dressings out of a stainless steel pump? Menus are created using the 1/4 ounce portion increments standard pumps and ladles offer. However, by simply reducing the portion by 1/8 ounce can create significant cost savings. More impressively, this reduction in product does not have a perceivable change in the taste profile. You may not know this but, Server Products’ stainless steel pumps now include an additional gauging collar (#83529) to allow the pump to dispense a smaller 1/8 ounce (3.7 mL) increment as well as the industry standard 1/4 ounce (7 mL) incremental portions. This slightly smaller portion size pays for your equipment investment in a matter of months and continues for the life of the pump.

Go to our Portion Optimization page to see an illustration of how lowering the portion amount ever so slightly can save $450 a year. Keep in mind this is only for one pump; imagine how much you can save annually with multiple pumps in multiple locations. Below is an instructional video on how to utilize gauging collars to adjust portions of Servers’ stainless steel pumps.

How to adjust portions on Servers' stainless steel pumps.

About Server Products

More than just a manufacturer of high quality food serving and dispensing equipment, Server Products is a food serving solution provider that works with operators and chains to help them save money, improve product quality and improve operational efficiency. From pumps that ensure precise portion optimization to space saving countertop warmers and chillers, Server has been proudly helping their customers Serve Better™ for over 60 years. 

www.server-products.com