Cost Sector Catering: What have been the challenges and main drivers for Unilever Food Solutions?
Peter Dahl: We live in an age where everyone’s a foodie, so it’s no surprise that diners want more from their food experience. This makes the cost sector one of the most exciting areas in foodservice at the moment. Whether it’s creating allergen-free dishes for the workplace, or making the 1.42 billion meals served to children in schools healthier, cost sector catering is undergoing a small revolution.
This makes the role of suppliers like us crucial. We recently conducted research that revealed 53% of operators felt well supported by suppliers after the new allergen legislation was introduced. This is almost double the number that felt the same way about government support. As a leading supplier, we will continue to invest in insight that enables us to understand our customers’ needs and provide solutions to add value to businesses.
What are you working on by way of initiatives with operators?
Through Knorr gravy, we identified the need for better communication and training around allergens, most notably in Britain’s 13,800 business catering outlets; 28% of operators didn’t offer gluten-free menu items and 50% of coeliacs have given up trying to eat out – with one in 100 people in the UK suffering from coeliac disease, this represents a lost opportunity for caterers.
As part of this initiative, we’ve joined forces with renowned chef Phil Vickery to launch masterclasses to train chefs on how simple it can be to serve tasty gluten-free meals while enhancing their bottom line.
Our Big School Bake Off, now in its second year, rewards the talent and passion in school kitchens, and educates children about food. This is important given the changes to the national curriculum and food education for children. Entrants can win a day in the kitchen with TV’s British Bake Off winner Jo Wheatley. The standards are high, and I can’t wait to see who wins.
Perhaps the sector where food makes the biggest difference is in care. We have a programme called Thriving in Care that helps care providers create stimulating activities around mealtimes and ensure the well-being of residents. This year, our specialist care team threw its weight behind Nutrition & Hydration Week to help care homes make the most of the event. We offered a City & Guilds Level 2-accredited health and nutrition training to care homes free of charge. This also helped more than 600 care homes run afternoon tea parties, supported by PG Tips, Monkey, and an activity pack of games, recipes and other inspiration for activities to engage residents.
We’re also supporting the National Activity Providers Association Fine Dining Experience Challenge.
What advice are you offering caterers?
We don’t just want to share our insight: we want to make caterers feel proud of what they do. We developed our City & Guilds-certified course ‘Understanding Nutrition in Commercial Kitchens’ to recognise the influence caterers – especially those in the cost sector – have on the nation’s health. So far, we’ve trained more than 700 industry professionals on how to provide more nutritiously balanced meals without compromising on taste.
What are your bestsellers?
We’re home to some of the world’s favourite brands, including Knorr, Hellmann’s, PG Tips, Stork and Flora. Some of the most popular products are our latest innovations, such as Meadowland Professional, which is formulated to perform like butter in all applications but saves the caterer a lot of money.
We pre-launched Knorr Professional jelly bouillon at the Restaurant Show last year and were inundated with requests for samples. When it hit shelves in January, demand was four times our forecast. Our jelly format dissolves easily and is the closest to from-scratch you can get; we’re continually being overwhelmed by the positive response from the industry. Hayden Groves, 2013 National Chef of the Year winner, has praised the product.
What trends do you see emerging in this sector?
We know caterers are embracing new technology, and we’re using channels chefs want us to use. Our Wise Up On Waste app has been a roaring success, with more than 3,000 downloads. It’s a must for any cost sector caterer looking to save money.
What are your aspirations for the next 12 months?
It’s important to think long term, so with the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, we have three goals to achieve by 2020: we’ll help a billion people improve their health and well-being, halve our products’ environmental footprint and source all our agricultural raw materials sustainably. They are big challenges, and the end of this year will be a real milestone. By then, our core 13 ingredients will be sustainably sourced.
Our proudest moment to date was at the end of 2012, as all palm oil used in our products came from sustainable sources. By 2020, all palm oil will be purchased from certified and traceable sustainable sources. It’s a significant step, and a great boost for us as we work with operators to become even greener.