CARPINTERIA, CA - It’s no secret the trends start in the back-of-house, with the experts creating fresh and flavorful dishes for consumers to get hooked on before they start finding out how to bring it to their own tables. On that list, the team at Pete’s tells me, is butter lettuce, and they want to ensure foodservice operations have what they need.
“We are excited to present our roots off 24 count butter lettuce to chefs, our current partners, and prospective customers on how greenhouse-grown lettuce can be expanded at foodservice,” company President Brian Cook tells me. “It’s been exciting to see the growth of greenhouse-grown lettuce within the foodservice channel.”
As the growing method pertains to butter lettuce, Brian says this veggie remains a hero, specifically Living Butter Lettuce.
“This high-quality product mitigates shrink/food waste and allows for maximum use of each head as it has a small core, ultimate freshness, and a long shelf-life. In addition, Butter Lettuce is extremely versatile. It’s truly a lettuce without limits in that it goes beyond the traditional salad and serves as the perfect ‘protein-style’ low-carb alternative for burgers, tacos, and beyond—which we know is a popular trend happening in foodservice right now,” he comments.
Though operators who are doing high volume of butter lettuce may not need those additional attributes, no one wants to pass up the opportunity to maximize product quality. This, Brian points out, is the improvement greenhouse lettuce provides.
To make greenhouse-grown lettuce accessible to all operators, the Pete’s team is consistently reevaluating how to ensure this direction makes sense for them. One such way is reducing the packaging used in the company’s current product lineup.
“The reduction of plastic and cardboard is not only great for the environment, it allows us to help operators reduce their menu costs without sacrificing quality. Even better, they can count on consistent product and pricing year-round from the same facility and growing region. The ability to rely on a vendor for product and pricing is even more welcoming when Mother Nature forces prices up and/or product availability down,” Brian says.
Don’t want to miss your chance to meet with Pete’s about this latest item? Be sure to swing by booth #623 when you visit PMA Foodservice in Monterey, CA, July 27.
