Being Prepared

Supermarket foodservice equipment is keeping pace with growing consumer demand.

The recent holidays saw shoppers take advantage of the growing bounty of restaurant-quality prepared foods available in the nation’s retail food stores. A crucial element in the segment is the increasingly sophisticated foodservice equipment used for this key growth area.

“Supermarket foodservice will continue to evolve into a dining destination for all dayparts,” says Garamy Whitmore, director of sales for advanced cooking technology at Manitowoc Foodservice, in New Port Richey, Fla. “Not only will consumers look for additional in-store dining opportunities, they will also look to supermarkets to provide quick and easy home meal replacement.”

To meet this demand, Manitowoc uses a consultative process, working closely with retailers to understand their culinary and operational challenges, and recommend the best technologies and processes to meet their goals, Whitmore says.

“Some of our most popular supermarket foodservice products include Cleveland Steamers, Frymaster Fryers and Lincoln Impinger Conveyor Ovens,” Whitmore notes. “These are widely used to support fresh seafood, fried chicken and pizza programs.”

Manitowoc’s newer products include the Merrychef Eikon Series, which enables supermarkets to prepare freshly made subs or panini sandwiches to order; Garland Induction solutions for “display cooking” of fresh pastas; and the Convotherm Mini Combi Oven, which can provide full rethermalization of soups, vegetables and proteins with steam and convection in a small footprint, according to Whitmore.

Handling Growth

At Electrolux Professional, in Charlotte, N.C., Marketing and Sales Support Specialist Tracy Drake points out that in 2012, the company hired a director of sales for food retail to address both regional and national retail accounts.

“Ovens, along with matching blast chillers/shock freezers, are a big hit in the supermarket retail segment, and the HSSP [High Speed Sandwich Press] works great at deli counters,” Drake says. “Also, pressure braising pans are now being recognized as an innovative technique to quickly heat and serve large amounts of food like rice, beans, joint meats and more, which is great for a larger central kitchen.”

Electrolux’s Libero product line features display finishing cooking right in front of the customer; its Libero Point units can fit varying electric cooktop units — griddle, induction, infrared — to produce a variety of foods for in-store or take-home consumption.

According to Drake, Electrolux Professional ovens include the air-o-steam Touchline and the air-o-convect Manual and Touchline. The Touchline models use a touch-sensitive display pad to operate the oven, with a USB port to allow users to upload/download recipes to share with other store locations, as well as update oven software whenever needed.

“Blast chillers/shock freezers are of value because of the time savings, as well as food savings,” Drake says, “by providing the ability to quickly chill food products to retain quality. They are also much safer than standard refrigerators and freezers, because of the reduced time for bacteria growth.”

In the future, Drake asserts, boutique and specialty supermarkets will play an important part in supermarket foodservice. “This is the fastest-growing market segment in the foodservice retail industry,” she declares.

Custom Concepts

Robert Mullen, specialty products leader at Hussmann Corp., in Bridgeton, Mo., says his company works directly with customers from the conceptual stage through design and production.

Among the most popular Hussmann products, according to Mullen, is the Q3-SP service and self-service multideck merchandiser with a prep top for deli, sandwich, grab-and-go, sushi, beverage and produce applications. It provides design flexibility that allows customers to develop their own displaying, staging and preparation solutions. “We are currently developing a small-footprint version of the Q3-SP prep case to allow for new, smaller-format stores to use this solution,” he says.

“In addition, Isla is a very popular design-your-own-merchandising solution because it allows customers to mix hot, refrigerated, dry, salad and soup displays in a single merchandising display case,” Mullen observes.

Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based Alto-Shaam Inc.’s product categories include quick chillers; rotisserie ovens; heated display cases; drop-in full-service food wells, including heated, refrigerated and round soup wells; convection ovens; mobile merchandisers; Fry Tech fryers; and Halo Heat cook-and-hold ovens, smokers and heated holding units.

Among the company’s most popular products, according to VP of Marketing Todd Griffith, are Combitherm ovens, which offer a smoker feature and an award-winning grease-collection system. “Combitherm ovens combine multiple cooking technologies into a single appliance which reduces the need for multiple products to support retail foodservice menu production,” he notes.

The company’s heated display units feature its “Halo-Heat” technology, which, Griffith explains, maximizes food quality and holding times while reducing shrink, waste and utility costs. “Through our Halo-Heat technology, we are able to eliminate the need for water, which simplifies installation, significantly reduces initial and ongoing operational costs, and provides a means for better maintenance of food temperature for quality food display,” he says.

As the industry continues to consolidate, more emphasis will be placed on convenience to the consumer, Griffith says, “and with that, foodservice offerings will continue to play a significant role in the value proposition that retailers provide to their customer base.”

Understanding Needs

Jeff Johnson, foodservice segment manager at Heatcraft Worldwide Refrigeration, in Stone Mountain, Ga., says his company works directly with supermarket retailers, including representatives from their merchandising, energy and store development departments.

Heatcraft produces a full line of refrigerated display cases and refrigeration systems, along with a portfolio of foodservice equipment for walk-in coolers and freezers.

In 2013, the company experienced success with two supermarket foodservice refrigeration products, Johnson explains: the Heatcraft Slim Contour unit cooler and the Heatcraft MX1 mobile merchandiser display case. “The Slim Contour unit cooler is designed for walk-in coolers and allows for increased storage space, improves serviceability and provides enhanced airflow throughout the walk-in,” he says.

The MX1 mobile merchandiser is designed for quick relocation and merchandising flexibility within the store, according to Johnson, allowing the store’s merchandising department to promote seasonal products and add display case capacity where needed.

“The future of supermarket foodservice centers around fresh and local options targeted to the specific clientele of that area,” Johnson asserts. “The goal of the retailer will be to capture additional foodservice dollars by offering an overall shopping experience that not only fills their carts with groceries, but also encourages them to stay for a meal or a quick snack.”

“Supermarket foodservice will continue to evolve into a dining destination for all dayparts.”
—Garamy Whitmore, Manitowoc Foodservice