It’s been almost 26 weeks since I first resolved to take on the 52 New Foods Challenge as my New Year’s resolution, during which time my children and I jointly add one new food (or a novel preparation of a known food) to our family’s weekly repertoire.
It’s been both a terrific and challenging few months to stay with this ambitious, yearlong initiative. Insofar as the seasons have brought us a ton of spring produce that’s perfect to test drive at our dinner table, it hasn’t been difficult to identify a variety of interesting and novel foods to try. The challenge has also motivated me to keep pressing on in the kitchen in search of the next Blockbuster weeknight dinner dish, as the fickle 4-year-old palates that dwell at my table have recently decided to reject a handful of previously beloved, go-to staples that I know how to cook on autopilot. Once I could no longer depend on my trusted taco night, turkey meatballs or roasted broccoli to keep the family happy and well-fed, the impetus to find some new staples became ever-stronger.
So as the second fiscal quarter draws to a close, I have prepared the following statement of progress for my invested reader community.
Performance Statements
In Q2 of 2015, the management team introduced seven new foods and five new preparations of previously-introduced foods. Participating foods are highlighted in bold.
New foods included: Steamed artichoke dipped in butter sauce; roasted Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes); blueberry- rhubarb compote; arugula salad with homemade vinaigrette; fresh thyme; olives and polenta.
Foods re-introduced in a novel preparation included salmon croquettes (a family recipe resembling crab cakes, made with canned salmon); parmesan roasted asparagus; flash-sautéed zucchini with pine nuts and parmesan; Thai-style quinoa salad in peanut sauce; and homemade tomato soup.
In addition to the new foods intended to be introduced as part of the 52 New Foods Challenge, management inadvertently introduced coffee to its youngest market segment approximately 12 years earlier than planned. While demand for coffee remains constant and high among household consumers, management has decided to limit their exposure to a few sips of iced decaf every so often.
Management’s Discussion of Results of Operations
Results of new food introductions came in below projections, as the majority of new dishes were rejected with great fanfare and exaggerated retching sounds despite a carefully planned launch strategy. Roasted sunchokes, for example, were served alongside similarly shaped roasted potatoes to demonstrate their virtual equivalence. Consumers were apparently not swayed. Polenta was chosen as a high potential target due to its excellent butter and Parmesan cheese carrying capabilities. High olfactory interest was achieved, but conversion to swallowing remained low. Olives were mostly just licked, though occasionally chewed and spit out. Consumers were most interested in handling scissors to trim the raw artichoke and dipping their fingers in the melted butter sauce rather than tasting the prepared artichoke.
Consumer acceptance of rhubarb was high, though management concedes this may have been influenced by its bundling with vanilla ice cream. Repeated interest was generated by arugula salad, as evidenced by recurring requests to taste it, leading management to conclude that further investments in salad may yield larger payoffs over time, particularly if accompanied by a delicious dressing. Fresh, raw herbs — particularly thyme — have also become well-accepted. Management attributes this to the result of the team growing an herb garden at school that has facilitated ongoing, low-risk tasting opportunities.
Rebranding initiatives of already-launched foods were noted to have better commercial success overall than new food launches per se. Specifically, 50 percent of household consumers under the age of 5 (finally) accepted quinoa after a concerted rebranding effort involving a lot of peanut butter. Similarly, roasted asparagus is trending at a ~50 percent swallow rate among target consumers when served on a weekly basis. And despite the recent drop on consumption of soy-glazed salmon filets — previously a core offering in our dinnertime assortment — salmon croquettes were enthusiastically accepted at their dinnertime debut. Management wishes to note that the replacement of sustainably-caught frozen salmon filets with a canned alternative represents a substantial savings in raw material costs that will affect the balance sheet favorably.
Consolidated Gains (Losses)
Beyond the new food activity described above, several promising new food gains from Q1 were consolidated and became weeknight staples. Crisp baked tofu and red lentil soup are two of the top performers, and seem to represent a shift in consumer preferences from animal-based proteins to plant-based ones. Panko-breaded cod fish filets have also become consumer favorites, appearing bi-monthly on the dinner menu with favorable consumer feedback.
Due to high levels of waste associated with chicken breast, turkey meatball and salmon filet production, management has deferred or suspended production of these recipes in recent weeks until further review.
Disclosures About Market Risk and Future Performance
While the weeknight dinner menu remains appropriately diversified, management notes that its current dinner portfolio relies heavily on the availability and consumer acceptance of Parmesan cheese, with approximately 100 percent of soups, 75 percent of all vegetables and 50 percent of carbohydrate side dishes containing this staple ingredient. As such, there are inherent vulnerabilities to the viability of our current portfolio. Dinner performance could be adversely affected by any of the following circumstances, all of which are beyond management’s control: Costco running out of Parmesan cheese; children declaring themselves vegan; a drop in household income that precludes management’s ability to spend $20 per month on a block of Parmesan; Acts of God that affect the evolutionary predisposition to prefer umami flavors.
Despite the volatile nature of this quarter’s dinner menu, management remains bullish on the health of its family dinner operations. Conversation remains lively and animated, a variety of foods are served and sometimes even eaten, and management’s children have recently started to help clear the table. We remain committed to additional dinnertime innovation in the second half of 2015, and encourage fellow eaters to join us on the journey!
More from U.S. News
The Fertility Preservation Diet: How to Eat if You Want to Get Pregnant
Quinoa 101: What It Is and How to Cook It
My 52 New Foods Challenge: Q2 Report originally appeared on usnews.com
