How to make your bowl builds & salads stand out
Bowl builds and salads have cemented their place as crucial components of the menu mix for most restaurant operators, and their significance shows no signs of waning. These versatile dishes offer a multitude of options, allowing chefs to unleash their creativity, cater to diverse dietary preferences, easily answer to-go needs, and cross-utilize product. Whether it’s grain bowls, hummus bowls or modern salad creations, these menu items provide flavour-packed, visually appealing dining experiences. Staying on top of trends in these categories is imperative for chefs, as customer preferences and dietary trends constantly evolve. Dressings play a key part in delivering craveability here. At Kraft Heinz Foodservice, our portfolio of dressings offers versatile, consistent, high-quality products in a range of familiar shelf-stable and refrigerated dressings.
Consumers continue to demonstrate their desire for bowls—Technomic reports that both curated and build-your-own-bowls are increasing in popularity. And Protein Bowls are the most popular, poised to keep growing on menus.
Eggplant
Falafel
Fried chicken
gravy
Fries
The culinary team at Kraft Heinz Foodservice worked up three creative bowls, turning current consumer insights into signature creations:
Southwest Steak Bowl
Ancient grain blend dressed in Renée’s Southwest Ranch, shaved radish, corn ribs, seasoned black beans, fresh avocado, green onions and flank steak marinated in Richardson’s Ultimate Barbecue Sauce, then drizzled with Renée’s Jalapeno Lime Aioli
Steak Salads are among the leading salad dishes across menus
Mexican ingredients are among the top trending flavours paired with steak 2
Singapore Noodle Bowl
Grilled shrimp marinated in Richardson’s Ultimate Korean Barbecue Sauce, fresh peppers, carrots, snap peas and noodles in a rich sauce made with both Richardson’s Ultimate Korean Barbecue Sauce & Richardson’s Ultimate Butter Chicken
Indian sauces are among the top trending global sauces 2
Seared Tuna Bowl
Sesame-crusted tuna brushed with Renée’s Asian Sesame Dressing, served with sliced avocado, shaved radish, fresh cucumber, snap peas, Richardson’s Ultimate Teriyaki, Heinz MayoRacha; finished with black sesame seeds
Tuna is among the top trending proteins paired with Asian flavours
Japanese is a leading flavour with a 40% menu penetration among Asian sauces 2
Salads are a menu mainstay so to win over guests with offerings that stand out, it’s key to keep them fresh, contemporary and craveable. The culinary team at Kraft Heinz Foodservice worked up three modern salads, again, using current consumer insights to inform innovative menu options:
Grilled Halloumi Salad
Mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and grilled halloumi cheese, tossed in Renée’s Greek Feta Dressing 5
Mediterranean is in the top 3
flavour profiles in salads 2
Strawberry & Avocado Salad
Mixed greens, avocado, toasted almonds and strawberries, tossed in Renée’s Poppy Seed Dressing 6
Strawberries are among the top fruits paired with salads2
Watermelon & Feta Salad
Watermelon, crumbled feta, mixed greens and mint, with Renée’s Jalapeno Lime Aioli 7
Sweet and salty combinations are gaining traction with diners, and this combo of watermelon-feta- mint is a proven winner 2
spike likely due to a return to normalcy after many restaurants paused this service during pandemic
Salad Bar UP 71%
Salad Entrée UP 33%
with choice of protein
Beet Salad UP 18%
Cobb Salad UP 13%
Specialty Salad UP 8%
chopped Salad UP 6%
For more information on our deep portfolio of fan-favourite dressings, visit our product page.
Explore range1 Base: 1,879 menu items across 311 operators (full sample) in Q1 2022-Q1 2023, Technomic Ignite Menu national food trends data
2 Technomic Ignite Menu data Q4 2022
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