Fresh prepared food has a “significant runway,” according to Bakkavor USA.
In the wake of the pandemic, Bakkavor USA, a division of Bakkavor UK, is assisting stores in maintaining the profitability of freshly prepared food.
Although canned, boxed, and frozen foods have been the primary choice for shoppers in place of self-serve and deli service options over the past year, Bakkavor USA’s packaged fresh prepared items enable retailers to address safety and hygiene concerns while streamlining their operations, according to chief executive officer Peter Laport. In the US, the company sells over 300 different kinds of boxed meals, bread, pizza, and dips.
According to Mr. Laport, “COVID has changed the behavior of both consumers and retailers.” “Hot bars and self-serve establishments have closed, and they most likely won’t reopen. Customers aren’t requesting it, and retailers aren’t providing it. That, in my opinion, is a long-term shift for supermarkets. Individuals will not like the possibility of cross-contamination from other customers.According to him, Bakkavor stands apart from other companies in the US because it provides partners with personalized, made-to-order products that are fully packaged and ready.
“Wherever they’re assembling freshly prepared items, whether it’s in their deli area, backroom, or elsewhere, we have an opportunity to capitalize on providing a solution,” Mr. Laport stated.
In 2020, the company left its co-manufacturing and catering divisions to streamline operations and concentrate on establishing enduring partnerships with prosperous merchants. It slashed its product line by a third and resigned from about half of its clientele as part of the streamlining approach. Utilizing the commercial reset, all innovation and process enhancements were directed into three main areas that cater to the expanding consumer demand for goods that are healthier, fresher, and more easily accessible.
“We refer to it as the freshly prepared meal,” Mr. Laport stated. That is typically a starchy protein. That keeps getting bigger. People are still eating fresh food, even if they are working from home and spending more time at home.
Family-sized meals witnessed growth in sales for the company as customers looked to replicate dining out at home. In response, it introduced distinctive family-style fresh cooked meals to two of its biggest clients. To take advantage of the expanding trend of direct-to-consumer delivery, it created a countrywide distribution network for freshly prepared meals for a meal kit company that delivered meals to homes. It also forged alliances with many online retailers.
Additionally, Bakkavor USA made investments in its fresh bread and pizza businesses, which experienced the greatest increase during the pandemic, as well as in its dips and hummus business, which grew as a result of customers buying those products for holidays and special occasions.
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was the category with the greatest resilience because it offered two crucial meal solutions: a quick midweek dinner that boosted sales of the company’s core ranges and a weekend treat that boosted sales of its premium and takeout-style items.
Mr. Laport stated, “We have a bakery here in the Charlotte area that provides national distribution.” We additionally provide a fully cooked, topped pizza. This isn’t your typical frozen pizza. It’s an extremely high-end product that we custom design for our partner merchants. Given how well that business has performed over the past 12 months, we view fresh pizza as a crucial offering.
The company wants to continue growing with its current partners and entering new markets in order to capitalize on the momentum it achieved in 2020. In particular, it sees a large runway for its fresh prepared meal business.
“Many retailers have been implementing similar strategies, but they haven’t done so in packaging that is easily graspable,” Mr. Laport stated. It has happened behind the deli counter or in hot bars. Many stores haven’t really embraced the convenience factor, where you may receive a freshly made meal that you can reheat at home.He went on, “The meal kit phenomenon that swept the country in the last ten years hasn’t stopped changing.”
Mr. Laport stated, “It’s not as strong as people thought it was going to be.” “We have a product that needs a great deal less effort. Since that is essentially what we do in our factories, the quality is the same as what you could obtain if you prepared the components yourself. We take those ingredients and cook them into a brand-new dish. Few people in the US are capable of doing that on a large basis. We are only getting started in this billion-dollar area.