The foodservice and hospitality sectors are some of the biggest buyers of food. You can make a difference in pulse consumption by reaching out to them. The terms “foodservice” or “catering industry” define those businesses, institutions, and companies responsible for any meal prepared outside the home. Below are some ideas on how to propose activities for this group. First, make sure that you draw up a list of the key individuals or influencers in the foodservice industry in your country, then develop outreach activities customized for each. Below are ideas of target groups and activities:
- Culinary/foodservice associations
- Identify key culinary associations to engage and their key events during the year
- Present/demonstrate applications during a meeting with members
- Organize/host a virtual education session by sharing a presentation with audio on pulses
- Work with the association to host an education session during a conference or show
- Promote direct to chefs and students in culinary schools
- Present/ demonstrate culinary applications using pulses
- Organize a sample distribution program with schools and groups of chefs so that they can experiment and experience cooking with pulses
- Host a pulse culinary competition (e.g: design 3 recipes using pulses, jury elects the best selection then encourage foodservice companies to use the winning recipes )
- Send recipe ideas (physical materials or links to resources online)
- Prepare materials on basic pulse preparation (soaking and cooking beans, cooking lentils from dry, ways to incorporate canned pulses and rinsing methods)
- Showcase the types of pulses grown nearby, promoting the trend of “local food” and knowing where food is coming from
- Showcase the diversity of dishes that pulses can create- also the way pulses can create menu solutions (gluten-free, nutrient-dense, high protein, cost effective, reduced animal protein, sustainable, etc.)
- Other ways to engage:
- Social media: post recipes and innovative culinary content online (twitter, Facebook, websites, etc.) and create an online conversation.
- Draw a calendar of food fairs/events in your country and host a booth at these events, showcasing recipes and pulse samples.
Extra Steps:
- Foodservice ingredient suppliers/distributors (B2B companies selling consistent ingredients to a range of foodservice operations including restaurants, hotels, school cafeterias, camps, long term care facilities, hospitals, etc.)
- Meet to understand the format of pulses they currently carry (dry, canned, flour, pouch, etc.) and who their customers are (hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, long-term care facilities, work camps, etc.
- Provide materials that may appeal to their customers and entice them to use pulses to provide solutions (healthy menu ideas, gluten-free options, ways to reduce animal protein in meals for sustainability and cost effectiveness, etc.)
- Present culinary applications to their culinary/management team focusing on recipe development (in particular recipes involving minimal steps)
- Service providers (businesses that provide complete service solutions to school cafeterias, hospitals, long term care facilities, businesses, remote work camps, etc. Services include meal preparation, staffing, menu development, janitorial services, etc. Sodexo is a large international service provider. These service companies will often go through a supplier or ingredient distributor to ensure consistent food supply (above)
- Meet to understand business model and the range of client needs
- Provide materials that will help their menu developers/culinary team/dieticians to develop a range of menu options using pulses that would be suitable for cafeterias, hospitals, long term care facilities, camps, etc. (e.g: top 10 ways to add pulses in menus for caring facilities)
- Present/demonstrate culinary applications using pulses and work to gain feedback from the group