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The French Farm
Ariston
Stonewall Kitchen
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Near Perfect Plant-Based Products, • Aramark to Redefine Ballpark Hospitality Bold Global Flavors on Horizon for A’s New Facility in Las Vegas
VOLUME 90 • NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER 2025 • $7.00
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BY WILFORD JONES
Special to Gourmet News • AeroFarms Brings Vertically Farmed Microgreens to Harris Teeter Customers PAGE 8
• Most U.S. Companies Boost Sustainability Efforts PAGE 9
• Consumers Shift Grocery Shopping Habits Amid Inflation Concerns, Uncertainty PAGE 11
• FMI: Industry Succeeds in Offering Shoppers Value in Complex Operating Environment PAGE 15
• QSR Diners Expect Digital Convenience, Accuracy, Personalized Engagement PAGE 18
Consumer wellness/appetite shifts to a more demand for near perfect plant-based products was among trends seen at this year’s National Restaurant Association Show, along with bold global flavors with a big presence of spicy, smoky and Asian-inspired ingredients usage and better-defined sustainable manufacturing. From May 16-19, well over 53,000 foodservice professionals and over 2,300 exhibiting companies with representation from 110 countries gathered at Chicago’s McCormick Place for
the annual trade show. There were more than 900 product categories covering creative food and bevproducts, erage innovative kitchen equipment and the newest technology serving the foodservice industry. The first wave of plantbased protein ingredients were soy, pea and wheat gluten. The next wave of creative plant-based products has shifted in the direction of more complex protein ingredients, better application/function usage and authentic taste. Plant-based 2.0 proteins include hemp, algae
and
fungi
(microorganisms:
sparked a bold, locally-led solution now delivering over 500,000 meals every day. Today, Food4Education is the backbone of Kenya’s school feeding infrastructure and a blueprint for countries across Africa investing in nutrition, education, and opportunity all at once. “School feeding isn’t charity, it’s strategy, it’s infrastructure,” said Njiru. “It’s how we nourish children, support farmers, strengthen education, and build systems that last.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture are accelerating federal efforts to address the growing concerns around ultraprocessed foods and the current epidemic of diet-related chronic disease that is plaguing America. The agencies are announcing a joint Request for Information to gather information and data to help establish a federally recognized uniform definition for ultraprocessed foods – a critical step in providing increased transparency to consumers about the foods they eat. “Ultraprocessed foods are driving our chronic disease epidemic,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “We must act boldly to eliminate the root causes of chronic illness and improve the health of our food supply.” Currently, there is no single authoritative definition for ultraprocessed foods for the U.S. food supply. Creating a uniform federal definition will serve as a key deliverable on the heels of the recently published Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment, which recognizes that the overconsumption of ultraprocessed
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yeasts, molds and mushrooms). MyForest Foods showcased its farm-grown meatless mycelium product called MyBacon. Continued on PAGE 17
Africa’s Blueprint to End Classroom Hunger As the UN Food Systems Summit +4 wrapped up in Addis Ababa, Wawira Njiru, founder and CEO
• Oli e Aceti PAGE 19
• Featured Products PAGE 23
• Advertiser Index PAGE 26
of Food4Education, took the TED stage with a powerful message: Africa is not waiting for answers, it’s creating them. In her TED Talk, food systems trailblazer Njiru tells the story of how a simple act of care – feeding 25 children in a makeshift kitchen –
Agencies Request Info to Define ‘Ultraprocessed’
Hidden Costs Increase the Price of Kitchen Startups The restaurant and foodservice industry is a dynamic sector with strong profit potential, projected to reach $1.5 trillion in sales in 2025. Opening a commercial kitchen is an exciting milestone for foodservice entrepreneurs, but it is not cheap. The price tag often goes far beyond up-front costs for equipment and rent, with new insights from commercial kitchen technology innovator Alto-Shaam revealing some hidden costs that can total up to
tens of thousands of dollars. Kitchen equipment uses a significant amount of power. Older, less efficient equipment is often more power-intensive, so if you purchase space with existing equipment included, this can add even more to utility costs. For example, an old oven or fridge could add an extra $200 to the monthly electric bill. Even a single inefficient deep fryer might add $20 to $50 a month; so, with multiple fryers on the go, this can really stack up. This can be a difficult call for
kitchen startups, as the purchase and installation of new equipment can be highly expensive. For example, a traditional ventilation hood system can cost $2,000 to $5,000 per linear foot to install. With most hoods averaging 10 to 15 feet. This means the installation alone for a hood could cost up to $75,000, in addition to the cost of the product itself. Brian Newland, senior VP of National Accounts at Alto-Shaam said ventless cooking technology can deliver key cost savings for
operators. “Kitchen operators don’t want to compromise on food flavor and quality. Where budgets are constrained, there are options to reduce costs without sacrificing standards,” he said. “For example, ventless cooking technology saves money on the installation of a hood system, and on running costs, as a typical commercial hood costs around $56 per day to operate, which is $20,000 each year.” Continued on PAGE 16