Trend-forward timesaving proteins represent some of the newest products available to distributors and operators. With ongoing labor challenges, precooked and ready-to-cook items have never been more welcome—and necessary!
Perdue Foodservice offers a variety of products in this area that can command higher menu prices as they meet the prevailing desire for such premium claims as No Antibiotics Ever and 100% Vegetarian Fed with No Animal By-Products. According to an online survey of 1,000 consumers representing the general population, 29% typically choose chicken/turkey items with premium qualities/benefits and are willing to pay more for them.1
Pre-breaded chicken and fully cooked turkey sausage are two convenient poultry product categories that particularly stand out as areas of menu opportunity.
Crispy chicken made easy
Fortunately, while chicken is cost-effective compared with other proteins, its popularity, especially among Gen Z, continues to soar. Taco Bell’s CEO recently admitted, “Right now, a large percentage of our business is beef, and the Gen Z consumer wants chicken. We have a big opportunity, we think,” he said. Thus, the chain recently ran two LTOs: Chile Crisp Chicken Taco and Chile Crisp Chicken Strips at a test location in California.2 Both items featured battered and fried chicken strips to deliver the crisp in their name.
Chicken definitely demonstrates its unique ability to deliver a crunch unmatched by other proteins. Given this proclivity, distributors and operators would do well to source pre-breaded chicken, ready for crispy applications. This solution ensures dish consistency while saving time and labor.
Consider the many quick and easy dish opportunities pre-breaded chicken chunks can afford in salads, bowls, wraps and global dishes, to say nothing of crazy-popular boneless chicken wings. For all those applications across all restaurant segments and menu sections, Perdue now offers PERDUE® No Antibiotics Ever Ready To Cook Homestyle Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks. The homestyle breading with visible pepper flakes delivers a crunchy savory bite on its own that is easily customizable with an operator’s signature sauce. As a labor-saver, the chunks come individually frozen for ease of use and portion control, and can go from the box to the table in minutes. One flavorful recipe perfect for the product is Curry Chicken Rice Bowl with Gochujang Dressing.
Everyone knows that “spicy” is in, and for that, Perdue has your operator customers covered with its PERDUE® No Antibiotics Ever Ready To Cook Spicy Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks. Like the other version, the individually frozen chicken chunks bear the distinctive premium claims of 100% Veggie Diet with No Animal By-Products and No Antibiotics Ever. The spicy breading is seasoned with just the right amount of spice that customers are craving. For a global spin, consider using the product to create Hot Honey Chicken Bao Tacos. Through Dec. 31, 2023, Perdue is offering a $5-off-per-case rebate up to $1,000 total for both of these new products.*
Help with Breakfast
Proteins are a key component of the breakfast menu. Consider that more than half (51%) of respondents to a recent Datassential breakfast survey are interested in high-protein breakfast foods. And not just for breakfast. Some 65% would like to see breakfast proteins outside the breakfast daypart.3
From an operational standpoint, all the better if it’s a protein with minimal labor required. Perdue has a few solutions with its PERDUE® No Antibiotics Ever Fully Cooked Turkey Sausage Patty and the PERDUE® No Antibiotics Ever Fully Cooked Turkey Sausage Link. In both cases, the product wears a health halo as a low-fat alternative to pork sausage. Additionally, both can be promoted with the claims of No Antibiotics Ever; All Vegetarian Fed with No Animal By-Products. Both the sausage links and patties have a mild sage-based flavor and are perfect to blend with other breakfast ingredients, giving the dish a healthful protein boost worthy of a premium price. Consider using turkey sausage links in this Breakfast Sausage Enchilacos recipe or using turkey sausage patties to elevate pancakes in a Turkey Sausage Patty Pancake Stack recipe.
When thinking of sausage-enhanced breakfast dishes, consider that 50% of Gen Z survey respondents are interested in next generation breakfast bowls, and 45% are interested in Asian breakfast dishes.3 This could include, for example, sausage bao buns, breakfast banh mi with sausage or sausage congee (Asian rice porridge).
Perdue’s fully cooked turkey sausage links and patties are an easy solution for the 22% of operators in the Datassential survey who say that training the kitchen staff to make breakfast consistently is a challenge.3
For operators with a breakfast or brunch ham entrée, Perdue offers a more healthful, leaner alternative with its PERDUE® No Antibiotics Ever Fully Cooked Petite Oil-Browned Turkey Breast. It carries the important claims of No Antibiotics Ever and 100% Vegetarian Diet with No Animal By-Products. The petite fully cooked premium turkey is made from one to two boneless breast lobes to reach a 5-pound average weight.
Perdue is offering a $25 rebate per case, up to $1,250 total, for all three of its new turkey options (links, patties and turkey breasts) through Dec. 31, 2023.*
The moment is ripe to embrace labor-saving products that deliver healthful quality. By choosing Perdue, not only do you open the door to premium crispy chicken and nutritious breakfast proteins, but you also convey a commitment to the highest ethical standards in poultry farming. Together, distributors, operators and consumers can echo the same core values.
*The full terms for each of these rebate programs can be found at https://www.perduefoodservice.com/offers/; you should review these terms to determine eligibility and participation restrictions and requirements.
Sources
- Perdue Proprietary Research May 2022
- Kelso, Alicia, “Taco Bell Is Experimenting with Chicken Strips Again,” Nation’s Restaurant News, Aug. 16, 2023, https://www.nrn.com/menu/taco-bell-experimenting-chicken-strips-again
- Datassential Breakfast Keynote Report, 2023