Foodservice distributor US Foods Holding Corp. has launched its Spring 2024 Scoop product trends publication. Themed “Get to Know Serve You,” the issue highlights products under the company’s newly branded “Serve You” portfolio featuring more than 1,700 of its Exclusive Brands products, and offers plant-forward, gluten-free certified, or clean ingredient labels with no ingredients on the US Foods Unpronounceables List.    

“Given evolving dietary and lifestyle preferences, it’s more important than ever for operators to appeal to a variety of diner desires, but the challenge is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution,” says Stacey Kinkaid, vice president of product development and innovation for US Foods. “With Spring Scoop, we’ve delivered a variety of on-trend, high-quality products that can meet specific diner preferences and are also delicious enough to appeal to all diners regardless of their dietary or lifestyle choices. Most importantly, all products help save operators back-of-house labor and are highly versatile without sacrificing flavor.” 

US Foods “Serve You” products are intended to appeal to diners who want more personalization given their dietary and lifestyle preferences and are great tasting enough to work across a variety of menu options. As aligned with the company’s Scoop commitment, the items are developed with operator needs in mind and offer menu versatility and labor savings of between 30-90 minutes per case as compared to making them from scratch.  

Plant-forward: Plant-forward products on the menu are expected to grow by more than 517% over the next four years as more vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian diners seek expanded dining options. To support this need, Spring Scoop highlights several new plant-forward products, including:  

• Molly’s Kitchen Plant-Based Smashed Patty: With smash burgers predicted to grow in popularity among diners by 138% over the next four years, US Foods is helping operators meet this demand head-on with the company’s first plant-based smashed patty. Made with pea protein, the vegan and gluten-free certified patty grills up with crispy edges and is packed with the taste of a traditional burger.  
• Chef’s Line Tempura Brussels Sprouts: This new vegan offering is tempura-battered and delivers the subtle earthy flavor of the brussels sprout without masking taste or texture. With brussels sprouts projected to grow by 47% on menus over the next four years this product is on-trend and highly versatile across the menu.   
• Molly’s Kitchen Mexican-Style Cheese Stuffed Cigars: This vegetarian, chef-inspired creation builds upon three popular appetizers: spring rolls, cheese sticks, and jalapeño poppers. The item is hand-rolled in a crispy spring roll wrapper and features Mexican-style melting cheese, cotija cheese, cream cheese, red pepper flakes and jalapeño pieces to give it the right hint of heat. Cotija and Mexican-style melting cheese are projected to have a 27% and 14% increase, respectively, on menus over the next four years providing a fresh, on-trend choice for diners.  

Gluten-free certified: With nearly 30% of consumers limiting or avoiding gluten, it is critical for operators to offer a variety of gluten-free options that are flavorful enough to appeal to a wide variety of diners. Spring Scoop highlights several new gluten-free certified solutions including:  

• Chef’s Line All Natural Gluten-Free Breaded Chicken Breast Fillet Raised Without Antibiotics: The fillets were made to meet the increasing demand for breaded proteins that are both gluten-free and raised without antibiotics. The fillets can be baked or deep-fried, and use a breading made from a blend of rice and yellow corn flour. 
• Harbor Banks Gluten-Free Breaded Alaska Sole: This Marine Stewardship Council Certified Wild-Caught Alaska sole has a crunchy and light gluten-free coating made from an innovative combination of amaranth, quinoa, chia seeds, rice flour and navy bean flour. The fresh scent of herbs, combined with the savory flavors of garlic, salt and pepper, is mild enough to allow operators to easily customize this dish.  

Clean ingredient labels: Seventy-eight percent of consumers find clean label products appealing. The company’s Unpronounceables List initiative offers products with ingredient profiles that do not contain certain ingredients, such as artificial flavors and artificial (FD&C) colors, hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup or added MSG. 

• Chef’s Line Pinsa Crust: This crust has been perfected through several years of product development at US Foods. Made with simple ingredients, such as wheat flour, rice flour and extra virgin olive oil, each crust is cold fermented for 24 hours then hand-stretched and hand-pressed for a back-of-house appearance. It’s light and crispy, but holds up to being loaded with toppings, perfect for all sweet and savory pizza applications.  
• Metro Deli Kettle Cooked Potato Chips: Back by popular demand and with the same great taste, these gluten-free certified kettle cooked potato chips offer a clean label profile with no ingredients on the US Foods Unpronounceables List and come seasoned with one of three iconic chip flavors: sweet and sassy Hickory Barbeque, classic Original with Sea Salt and mouth-puckering Sea Salt and Vinegar.  

To view all the new products featured in Spring Scoop, visit the company’s Scoop webpage at usfoods.com/springscoop. 

Related: US Foods donates more than $12M to address hunger-relief efforts