I just returned from the IDDBA show in Orlando, FL. It’s probably my 15th IDDBA (International Dairy Deli Bake Association) show and the reason I attend is because dairy / deli / bake is where foodservice crosses over into retail. It’s the competitive area where at 5:15 on a random Wednesday night, spouses call each other and ask, “What’s for dinner?”
Some nights, the answer is “Let’s go for Tacos or Chinese” and some nights the decision is “I’ll get a rotisserie chicken and sides.” This is where the “share of stomach” battle happens. The traditional 50-50 battle ebbs and flows around gas prices, weather and mood. At this moment, our retail friends are winning.
The restaurant business is soft, short-term high gasoline prices are clipping $50 a week in disposable income from most families. The share of stomach decision skews retail because with a 30% food cost in foodservice, that extra “service” portion is losing to stretched family budgets. $50 dollars in extra gasoline makes restaurant meals, on the margin, a little less attractive,
Here are three things retail delis are doing to win:
Protein Forward
23 million Americans are using GLP-1’s. Their appetites are suppressed and their doctors are encouraging them to eat proteins. I saw hundreds of products that highlighted protein. Items that traditionally do not highlight protein. Bread, hummus, pretzels, tortillas, mac and cheese, etc. Big, Bold, right on the label PROTEIN. I asked, how are you boosting the protein, the answer from many – pea protein. Easy to formulate, very little impact on flavor, very little cost.
It is simple to create a high-protein menu and market that internally on restaurant menus and externally on social media. High protein Chicken Caesar salad, high-protein pizza using extra cheese or meats. Chipotle is marketing a small cup of chicken as high-protein for a couple of dollars.
Sourdough
OMG, there must have been 30 bakery companies pushing sourdough. I even saw one that featured extra sour sourdough. What’s the angle? FLAVOR. Sourdough stimulates taste buds with fermentation. This dovetails right into kombucha, yogurt and other gut health call-out menu items.
Restaurants can feature regular sandwiches and also sourdough sandwiches. Maybe even charge a little extra, like gluten-free pizza or pasta to improve margin.
Ed’s take – personal but intriguing – sauerkraut. Delicious, inexpensive, high flavor – think Reuben expanded.
Sides
Steaks, chops, chicken, fish. The center of the plate. What about the other 2/3, vegetables and starch. These side dishes add value and differentiation. Retailers merchandise side dishes as a category. Foodservice offers side dishes as an afterthought. Think of all the times you have ordered a dish and have to ask, “What does this come with?”
When my meal is placed in front of me in a restaurant, I notice that I try the sides first. Why? Because I already know what teriyaki chicken tastes like, but the garlic mashed or string beans, that’s a mystery. Promote the sides, build the intrigue.
Foodservice operators need to ROMANCE the sides! This is the value-added of the meal. Another reason to entice the consumer to say, “Pick up the kids and meet me at ABC Cafe, I don’t feel like doing dishes tonight.
Flavor Is the Cheap Differentiator
The other thing flooding the IDDBA floor — global flavor. Birria, gochujang, hot honey, chili crisp, Calabrian chili, za’atar. Not whole new concepts. Flavor systems bolted onto formats people already know. A birria grilled cheese. Gochujang on wings.
Why does it work? It’s the cheapest line extension in the business. You don’t retrain the kitchen or re-spec the supply chain — you add one sauce, one rub, one finishing drizzle, and a familiar item reads as new and craveable. Flavor is the only menu lever that’s nearly free and instantly shareable on social.
Ed’s take — the same instinct that sells extra-sour sourdough sells a bolder sauce. We’re in a flavor-seeking moment. Lean in and lean in loud.
Meals out is deeply engrained in the American habit. Tough times demand competitive innovation. Create, innovate, market and gush with pride. Foodservice can win back market share and remain relevant.