Capturing Culinary Quality in the Plant

In a food or beverage design project, a custom-manufacturing solution may be a critical catalyst for success. Sometimes, it’s necessary to look beyond a food manufacturer’s stock equipment and processes and bring in new gear to create the desired culinary integrity in a product.

However, this is not an avenue to travel without first seriously considering all available options. The main issue to weigh in a custom-manufacturing decision is the often-considerable cost of equipment changes versus the expected return on investment. Also to consider are the operational challenges of making it work and the feasibility of reformulating the product to run on existing plant equipment.

GETTING RESULTS

But when custom equipment is called into play, the results can be impressive. A case in point is the popular French Toast Muffin from Caribou Coffee, Minneapolis, which hit the market in 2005 and became the third-best-selling SKU in the coffee shop chain’s bakery line.

What made the muffin stand out in the bakery case, according to Kurt Stiles, Caribou’s R&D manager at the time and now CEO, Intelligent Ingredients, Princeton, MN, was a dollop of maple glaze on top that resembled the butter and syrup on an actual order of French toast. “It was a real distinguisher,” he says.

However, to properly execute the dollop, it was essential for Caribou’s food manufacturer to invest in new plant equipment—to the tune of a $30,000 agitator—to process the glaze. The existing plant setup, while fine for other tasks, wasn’t up to this job. With the new agitator, the maple glaze could be quickly applied to the muffin at 110°F within a temperature range of 60°F to 70°F, warm enough so that the dollop stood on top of the muffin like a real butter pat, but not so warm that it ran off. “It was all time and temperature,” says Stiles, noting that undue delay could jeopardize the desired per-unit costs and $1.95 retail price-point.

REPLICATING KITCHEN PROCESSES 

Some years ago, Mark Miller, founder of the Coyote Café, Santa Fe, NM—among other restaurants—went on a plant odyssey in order to fully realize the culinary integrity of his Coyote Cocina retail brand of Fire-Roasted Salsa, inspired by the fresh salsa served at his Southwest-cuisine restaurant. “A lot of the flavors in ethnic foods come from technique, rather than being ingredient-driven,” he notes. “You’ve got to find a manufacturer that can parallel the process you use in the kitchen.”