Deli departments in grocery stores are increasingly becoming the place to pick up freshly prepared, ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat foods—from sandwiches to entrees to sides and dessert—for days when there’s no time to cook at home. In fact, sales of freshly prepared foods from supermarkets increased by more than 10 percent annually between 2006 and 2014, making it one of the highest-performing segments in the entire food industry.
Prepared food cases in many grocery chains feature dozens of food options that are perceived as healthier and better for the family than something from a drive-thru. And taking the we-cook-for-you service a step further, many groceries are now offering full-service event catering.
If you’re in the ready-to-eat foods business now or are planning to be, your dedicated on-site kitchens will likely include fryers. You can increase margins on popular prepared foods such as fried chicken, potatoes, and battered vegetables by managing your cooking oil for quality, storing waste oil in a safe and sanitary way, and keeping employees safe from burn, slips, and falls.
“We’re very pleased with the results and efficiencies the new equipment has created. We continue to evaluate additional stores to potentially broaden installation of Frontline’s equipment across the company.”
Daniel Donovan, Giant Eagle spokesperson
The rewards of installing a Frontline International Smart Oil Management system are many: safer and more efficient frying practices, better oil yields, and no monthly fees. There’s less risk for employees because they’ll no longer need to hand carry and pour oil when filling or emptying fryers.
This is of particular importance in groceries, where workers are often older than typical restaurant employees, putting them at greater risk for musculoskeletal disorders and slip-and-fall injuries. Potential for liability goes down as well. Your messy waste oil will never need to be transported out of the store via a bucket or other method that could also potentially affect shoppers.
Frontline International will perform a site analysis of your operation to help determine which of the many possible Smart Oil Management configurations are right for your business. We’ve improved oil handling for small or large kitchens and single- or multi-location chains, and we understand their installation requirements. Fresh oil systems can be fully or semi-automated. Waste oil containment tanks can be located indoors or outdoors, thanks to Frontline International’s locking anti-theft device, easily controlled remotely via our optional M3 data management system. And if your system doesn’t include filtration, we can add that, improving food flavor and increasing your oil yields and profits from your renderer.
We are expert at adapting our equipment to ensure you can improve your workers’ safety while increasing productivity and reducing the total cost of your fried food program. Frontline International can work with any size space or schedule challenges to handle an install of our equipment, even if your store operates 24/7. Let’s talk.
1 Food Marketing Institute, http://www.fmi.org/blog/view/fmi-blog/2016/02/05/10-findings-on-fresh-prepared-foods-in-grocery-stores
