ROCHESTER, NY – What do people really think? Customer reviews on retailer websites can give you a flavor of what’s hot (or not). Sometimes, the reviews can be surprising. Case in point: On wegmans.com, the recipes that customers reviewed most often in 2012 were in a food category that often gets little respect – namely, vegetables. But the trend is probably no fluke, says Mark Makovec, a Wegmans executive chef. In fact, he predicts, veggie dishes will be even bigger 2013 – but more on that later.
First, a look at this year’s winners. In top place was Roasted Cauliflower Popcorn, a vegetable side dish kids like as much as grownups, judging from customer comments. (There’s no popcorn in it, but the cauliflower florets look like popcorn.) The runners-up were Honey-Roasted Root Vegetables and Pan-Steamed Broccoli. Other popular recipes include Mushroom Soup, Roasted Asparagus with Parmigiano-Reggiano, Root Vegetable Soup with Pancetta & Truffle Oil, and Vanilla-Orange Glazed Carrots.
What’s going on? Says Chef Mark, “Most people know that vegetables are good for them. But we all want food that’s delicious and easy to make as well as healthy.”
Here’s a sprinkling of comments on wegmans.com about the Roasted Cauliflower that proves his point:
- “This dish is very easy to make. Everyone loved it, even the kids!”
- “Fast and easy. Tastes fantastic – even without the cheese!”
- “Easy to make, does not take a lot of time, and is very, very tasty.”
- “A favorite in our house. Easy to make even when getting home late from work.”
Seeing comments like these makes Chef Mark and his colleagues on the Meal Development Team at Wegmans feel like they’re headed in the right direction. “We began a special effort about two years ago to see if we could boost the appeal of vegetables,” Makovec says. “As a company, we want people to eat more vegetables because they’re good for you and we want customers to enjoy their best health.”
So the Meal Development Team went to work generating new ideas for vegetable dishes that tasted great, were healthy, and were do-able for people with average cooking skills—recipes have to pass all three tests before they appear in Wegmans Menu Magazine.
Based on what he’s seen in 2012, Chef Mark has thoughts about what 2013 will bring. He ventured five predictions:
Prediction #1: Even more veggies on the plate.
“Maybe great-grandma thought the only way to cook vegetables was to boil them, but customers now know that other cooking techniques can bring out incredible flavors and textures. When veggies are more tempting, people eat more of them. Look at what’s happened with one vegetable that many people didn’t used to like – Brussels Sprouts. Today, Roasted Brussels Sprouts are a top seller at hot food bars in our stores. People love the mellow flavors and the crispy-crunchy outer leaves.”
Prediction #2: Move over, spinach – watch out for baby kale!
“Spinach isn’t the only leafy green in the produce case, and customers are starting to show more interest in kale, baby kale, Swiss chard, escarole, and collard, turnip, and mustard greens. We think this trend will grow in 2013. Buying these leafy greens in cleaned-and-cut packages means they go right into the pan with no extra prep. If you like, stir in some of our Spicy Thai Red Curry Sauce or another sauce just before serving, and everybody will want seconds.”
Prediction #3: More ethnic flavors come home.
“When people eat out, they try lots of flavors – Chinese, Indian, Thai, Japanese, Caribbean or Mexican – and then they want that taste at home. We help by making it easy to execute those flavors without extra shopping and cooking time. Sometimes, it’s with a whole line of products like Wegmans’ Asian Classics, with stir-fry sauces, different kinds of Asian noodles, and pot stickers. Sometimes, it’s something simpler, like ready-to-cook chicken marinated with jerk seasoning or lime/cilantro flavor. We think the growth trend for ethnic and international flavors hasn’t peaked yet.”
Prediction #4: More interest in the story behind the food.
“We’ll see more foods and brands appealing to people’s sense of values. Customers are often quite knowledgeable about sustainability issues, like how and where their food is grown or how many miles it traveled from farm to store. Organic foods are one of the fastest-growing categories across the store. Customers love our locally grown produce, where nearby grower partners bring their daily harvest right to our store. It supports nearby communities, and the produce couldn’t be fresher.”
Prediction #5: More help for those with special dietary needs.
“We’ve come a long way in the last decade toward making shopping and eating easier for vegetarians and those with certain health conditions or food sensitivities. This trend will continue. Wellness Keys on Wegmans products help shoppers find at a glance what they need to know before they buy. Also, items for those with special dietary needs have improved remarkably. Wegmans now makes gluten-free pasta and baking mixes for cookies, cakes and brownies that taste so good that everybody in the family likes them. And in our food bar areas, labeling the dishes that have no gluten ingredients makes it easier for those living gluten-free to choose the right selections.”
So that’s what Chef Mark sees ahead, as each of us asks, “What’s for dinner tonight?”
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is an 81-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, founded in 1916, is recognized as an industry leader and innovator. Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for fifteen consecutive years. In 2012, Wegmans ranked #4 on the list.
Source: Wegmans
