Breakfast

Top Tips to Boost Breakfast Business

In a daypart where products like cereal have lineages dating back to the mid-19th century, breakfast is a brilliant opportunity to experiment with mixing traditional favourites with innovative twists.

The leading breakfast subcategories reflect consumer demand for versatile offerings. From on-the-go snack bars to less time-sensitive bowls of cereal or full breakfasts with eggs and meat, producers strive to meet demands that change across days and audiences.

Marking the return to away-from-home eating, the need for quick, fresh tastes and variety is evident. As people’s work and home life schedules continue to reflect a broader shift in the way we live, traditional notions of what food should be eaten–and when–have also loosened.

Here are some Top Tips to boost your breakfast business:

• Serve breakfast all day with a special menu of morning favourites or a signature breakfast item of the day. • Celebrate “brinner” with a special offer on select items from the breakfast menu at dinner time. • Get creative with fun menu items that feature a breakfast flair (a grilled cheese doughnut or waffles as a sandwich carrier). • “Plus up” traditional breakfast foods and give them a new twist (biscuit avocado toast, smoky mac and cheese waffles or

fiesta French toast). • Introduce a menu of “bresserts” or dessert items made from traditional breakfast items (strawberry scone shortcake, cereal-flavored ice cream waffles sandwiches, birthday cake pancakes). • Offer tempting take-and-bake options for breakfast foods (a tray of cinnamon rolls or muffins, a breakfast casserole to-go or baked

French toast). • Bundle breakfast foods together for a family brunch meal kit (pancakes with sausage or bacon and fresh fruit, breakfast sandwiches and yogurt parfaits).

The Perks of Parbaked Products

Parbaking is a cooking technique in which a bread or dough product is partially baked and then rapidly frozen for storage.

The partial cooking kills the yeast in the bread mixture and sets the internal structure of the proteins and starches (the spongy texture of the bread), so that the inside is sterile and stable, but the loaf has not generated “crust” or other externally desirable qualities that are difficult to preserve once fully cooked.

Parbaked goods are enjoying systematic growth, breathing new life into the frozen bakery sector with products ranging from specialty loaves, savoury items, baguettes, and rolls. Using parbaked products at your restaurant or café means fresh from the oven, tasty treats anytime, anywhere.

Using parbaked goods not only saves on time and labour – vital in the current hospitality climate – they can also be a more sustainable choice. In a 2018 study on the impact of par-baking and packaging on the microbial quality of parbaked wheat and sourdough bread, researchers noted that the parbaking strategy can decrease the amount of bread waste by providing fresh bread at any wanted moment of the day.

To achieve the best results for parbaked products, the right preparation is paramount, from the thawing process to baking and cooling. For example, if the goods are prepared on metal sheets and not baked immediately, they should be stored or covered in closed transport trolleys to protect against dehydration.

Due to the ever-increasing shortage of skilled workers, parbaked products are the perfect kitchen solution for your busy café or restaurant.

Bringing a sense of pride to New Zealand food professionals.

The Yummiest Kitchen and Snack Solution

Sarah Hedger, chef and founder of YUM, has a passion for home-cooked goodness that can be traced back to her parents giving her and her brother a taste for yummy, real whole foods.

Originally from California, Hedger was always fascinated with granola and the idea for YUM came about while she was working as a chef at a lodge in Wanaka and couldn’t find a cereal that tasted fresh. “As a chef, it was also important to make a solution for our kitchen that still tasted home-made.”

In the current climate of labour shortages and rising costs, YUM Granola is the answer to the question, How can I save time as a chef, and still offer my customers something that is not only satisfying, but also tastes scratch-made?

YUM Granola caters to a whole range of dietary needs, something that is important to consumers who are shifting their mind-set when it comes to what they choose to eat.

“I am one of those people who gets tummy aches from most things wheat/gluten, so I wanted a solution that had only the good stuff, to fuel my brain and body, minus tummy pains, which meant no grains, so it is easier for everyone to digest.”

All YUM breakys are gluten and grain-free, with options that cater to low carb and vegan dietary requirements. YUM uses premium, organic ingredients to craft its nutritious and tasty breakys with a unique macronutrient profile that offers whole food sustenance.

Locally Owned, Locally Grown

From the early YUM days, the brand has used organic ingredients as it maximises flavour and nutrients, while minimising environmental impact, meaning there are no pesticides, preservatives, or sulphites in any of their products.

“It is undoubtedly more expensive (financially) to make, but this is a cost we see as one we have to take on board in order to be better stewards to our planet,” explained Hedger.

“We also prioritise locally grown New Zealand ingredients as we want YUM to taste like New Zealand, whilst supporting local farmers. They have also travelled the least, which equates to less CO2, less fossil fuel being burnt in transport as well as a fresher ingredient.”

Hedger and the team source over 17 delicious, local ingredients from Aotearoa including West Coast and Manuka Honey produced by amazing bees and harvested by Nelson Honey just over the hill from YUM HQ, blackcurrants grown organically by Viberi in Timaru, linseed grown organically by Functional Wholefoods in Geraldine, and macadamias grown organically by Top Notch in Patetonga to to name a few.

YUM offers bulk solutions for all foodservice needs and can supply 1 kg compostable bags, 4 kg bags and even in 8 kg pails if you are motoring through.

Catering for the Health Conscious and a Grazing Nation

YUM isn’t just for breakfast, it’s also perfect for an on-the-go snack – think a granola bar but without all the sugar that normally holds one together. In the aftermath of the pandemic, health and wellness are still topping consumer trends. According to Ingredion, 42 percent of consumers want to reduce the amount of sugar they consume in their diet.

Indulgence has taken on the new definition of ‘Self-Care’. Where indulgence once was considered the simple act of pleasure-seeking, in 2022 indulgence means that consumers are looking for ways to indulge purposefully, and what better way to start the day than with indulgent, yet health forward breakfast and snacking.

It’s also evident that consumers are becoming less concentrated on three large meals a day, and instead choosing products that more closely fit an active or on-the-go lifestyle. YUM offers several of their craft granolas in 50g single serve compostable packs. A perfect solution for the café counter top as a grab and go snack.

A Positive Impact on the Planet

YUM was founded on two goals, to produce the best quality, delicious, breaky ever, and to do it while making a positive impact on the planet. Hedger and the team at YUM are thrilled to have shifted their range of breakys into innovative earth friendly, home compostable, recyclable packaging.

This means 87 percent of all YUM sold is now in plant based, compostable packaging. The other 13 percent will be phased out by the end of 2022, resulting in 100 percent earth friendly packaging.

“Even though we are a smaller company, this change alone will prevent over 2 tonnes of nondegradable plastic packaging from heading to the dump every year.”

YUM has also achieved Climate Positive Business Operations certification with Ekos, measuring and offsetting 120 percent of its carbon footprint with certified carbon credits. These certified carbon credits are sourced from projects that grow and protect indigenous forests in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, while helping to deliver climate resilience, waterways protection, erosion control, biodiversity conservation and community economic development.

“We are continually seeking ways to make YUM better— better for the people that eat it, better for our community and better for our environment.”

At the end of the day, YUM Granola is just that, yum! A simple concept of creating a wholesome and delicious cereal has turned into the perfect kitchen and snacking solution.

“Life is made up of choices and we have chosen a life full of YUM goodness. It makes us happy because it makes others happy, and this is a damn good thing.”

To learn more about YUM or to place an order, visit www.yumnz.co.nz