Spice of Life: Spice and Seasoning Blends

Spice and seasoning blends afford operators the ability to cost-effectively craft proprietary flavors and create a point of differentiation. They can also bring authenticity to a food offering and can be utilized across all areas of the menu. The addition of a distinct flavor can set a menu offering apart. Spice and seasoning blends are also a way to address the consumer demand for bolder flavors. Driven by the diversification of the American palate and preference for healthy food options, spice and seasoning blends are primed for continued growth.

Spice and seasoning blends can:

• minimize labor when launching a new flavor introduction
• provide a low-risk product development ingredient, which typically does not affect existing culinary techniques
• provide alternatives to flavoring agents
• be used to create proprietary/signature blends that can be customized to the tastes of your core consumer profiles
• be utilized to counter sodium and fat
• incorporate new (global) flavors into core menu items, without alienating guests
• be used to generate “new news” around an existing menu item to attract new or specific consumer segments
• elevate flavor with both dry and wet blends
• offer a low cost point of entry
• strategically entice customers to try new flavors, such as sumac, smoked infusions, teas, Za’atar, harissa, berbere, and sea salt blends

Craft Everything: Food and Beverage Culinary Practices

While the “craft” verbiage probably has been overplayed, transparency can help cut through the clutter to convey its true meaning. With a little strategic creativity, craft can maintain its small-scale beauty while solving for larger production capabilities and reach.

Craft offerings and practices are anticipated to further rise and provide revenue streams by:

• speaking to quality and an artisan approach
• denoting an heir of authenticity
• being applicable to a variety menu segments
• appealing to the craft beverage movement through craft beer, moonshine, tequila, and hard cider
• evolving into other flavor profiles and forms, such as large growlers and cans for craft beers, hard apple cider evolving into hard pear ciders
• living and breathing outside of fine dining, in takeout lines and drive-thrus
• balancing the integrity of craft offerings/small batch production with increasing demand for bulk production