Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/679164
R e s t a u r a n t D a i l y N e w s F r i d a y, M a y 2 0 , 2 0 1 6 8 2 FONTANINI'S SAUSAGES SAVORED IN BREAKFAST-STYLE MEALS ALL DAY LONG These days, breakfast foods are enjoyed all day long both at home and away from home, as consumers look for meal solu- tions that provide sustenance in the form of balanced, high-quality ingredients and great taste. According to the 2016 Restaurant Industry Forecast by the National Restaurant Association, 15 per- cent of family-dining restaurants and 16 percent of quick-service and fast-casual restaurants are focusing on breakfast foods as an area of expansion and improvement this year. The expansion of the morning meal has garnered new sales from foodservice consumers and spurred innovations in the way of breakfast foods with the addition of more artisan and gourmet options made with authentic ingredients. Fontanini, a state-of-the-art manu- facturing facility with headquarters in McCook, Illinois, delivers on authentici- ty, taste and innovation to help foodser- vice operators continue to wake up sales and profitability with sausages that can be enjoyed during the traditional morning daypart as well as for lunch, dinner and in-between snacks. Fontanini offers a com- plete line of breakfast sausages in a variety of formats and a full portfolio of other sausage varieties, including sweet and hot Italian sausage, chorizo sausage and chicken sausage that can be used in breakfast-style recipes served throughout the day. Recognizing the importance of ver- satility in today's foodservice environ- ment, Fontanini produces a wide range of formats for its authentic sausages used for breakfast meals and snacks, ranging from chunks and toppings to links, patties and ropes. Likewise, both ready- to-eat and uncooked products are available, depending on operators' needs. One of Fontanini's signa- ture and most popular items, the seven-inch link, is used by chefs and operators for all-day menu items, including morning-style meals. The seven-inch link format is ver- satile enough to be prepared and served as a side to a hearty breakfast meal or to be portioned and used in recipes. For more ideas on authentic sausages for all-day breakfasts and other meals and snacks enjoyed throughout the day, visit www.fontanini.com, call 800.331.MEAT or stop by booth #3201. HIC OFFERS ESSENTIALS TO KEEP YOU COOKING By Stacey Mulligan Young, HIC, Harold Import Co. HIC has been serving the restaurant trade since the company was first established in 1957. We started off by being a great source for Japanese-style coupe and rim dinnerware and continued to add new items to our line year after year that helped service the needs of chefs. With products that are born out of a focus on quality, function and value, Harold Import Co.'s Family of Brands feature culinary tools designed to with- stand the rigor of a professional kitchen, including oven-to-table porcelain, bake- ware, flatware, unique gadgets and a deep tabletop assortment. Over the years, restaurant suppliers have said that they consider us the unique small- wares company and the go-to source for items that are hard to find, such as a bone marrow spoon or traditional Japanese style Kinpira Peelers. We provide more than 3,000 products that can fill in many of the gadget or cooking tool needs of any chef working in any size restaurant. Our unique items as well as our traditional tools give suppliers a one-stop shop to support their clients' needs. HIC is a one-stop shop for not only walk-in, cash- and-carry businesses, but also an excellent resource for hard-to-find items for the restaurant kitchen. With low minimums, and membership in AutoQuotes, HIC is working to make its customers' experience as convenient as possible. For more information, call 800.526.2163, visit www.haroldimport.com or stop by booth #5063. LOLLICUP: SATISFACTION GUARANTEED An interview with Alan Yu, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Lollicup USA. RDN: What differentiates your products from others in the market? AY: What makes us stand out the most is the combination of high quality service, competitive prices and great products. We have made it a goal to give our cus- tomers the best experience possible. That is more than just having a good product. It's about the full package. RDN: What is it about Lollicup USA that makes it a unique company? AY: As one of the few manufactures to offer direct container services to customers worldwide, we successfully operate four warehouses in Sumner, Washington; Summerville, South Carolina and two in Chino, California (HQ). We are able to service the entire country quickly and effi- ciently. With a state-of-the-art manufactur- ing plant, in-house, we are able to manu- facture a lot of our Karat brand domesti- cally, which makes us proud to say many of our products are made in the USA. With multiple, well positioned manufacturing plants worldwide, we are also able to reduce costs and lead times, fulfill max capacities, provide stability and offer value, convenience and direct container shipments for customers internationally. RDN: What was the most significant event or series of events that affected your business this past year? AY: This past year we grew in capacity, employment, machinery and revenue. Our sales increased 36 percent from 2014 to 2015. We brought in several new machines, including new printers, a new extruder and thermoforming machine. We recently purchased a brand new extruder that is expected to make sheets of plastic for our cups 50 percent faster than our current extruders. This will be operational this spring. RDN: What is the key to Lollicup USA's success? AY: The key to our success is our satisfaction guaranteed approach to each and every one of the thousands of customers that we've worked with across the nation. We have grown to become one of the major single-sources solutions for beverage and foodservice supplies, and we are the largest supplier of bubble tea products in the United States. This is something we could not have done with- out our customers, and in order to keep those customers we have a certain set of guidelines for ourselves to put their satis- faction first. This includes reasonable pricing, flexibility in shipping, high qual- ity goods and services and even the option to shop online at our web store, www.lollicupstore.com. For more information, visit www.lollicup usa.com or stop by booth #1464. IS MOBILE TECHNOLOGY RIGHT FOR YOUR RESTAURANT? By Alex Barrotti, TouchBistro Chief Executive Officer and Founder Whether QSR, fast casual or full service, every restaurant can improve efficiency, serve customers faster and turn more tables using mobile technology. Ready or not, this is a technology trend that is growing and here to stay. Lines backed up at the QSR? Send a server down the line with a Point-of-Sale (POS) application on an iPad, entering orders of the customers waiting. Immediately transmit those orders to the barista or food preparers so by the time the customer gets to the front of the line, all he has to do is pay and pick up his food already in preparation. Friends enjoying some social time at the fast casual restaurant? Send a server with an iPad POS to circulate the groups huddled around tables, offering another glass of wine or maybe dessert, placing the order with the bar or kitchen on the iPad right from tableside. Runners can deliver the food while the server moves on rapidly to upsell the next group of diners. Patrons getting antsy waiting for drinks, food, clarification of the menu or the bill at the full service restaurant? A mobile iPad POS helps reduce each of these potential points of delay that can irritate customers. Create an entirely new level of exceptional customer experience by taking orders on an iPad tableside. Eliminate the time wasted and delays in service by waiters running back and forth to the kitchen or bar to place orders, or having to ask the chef about menu details, like clar- ifying if they are gluten-free. Eliminate servers stressing over memorizing all the details of the specials, and instead have those right on the iPad at tableside with scrumptious photos to show interested diners. Eliminate additional time to manually calculate bills or bill splits, sort out wrong bill totals or manually re-enter the totals into a card processing keypad while patrons wait impatiently to pay. Marketing hype and Yelp reviews certainly help get the new customer in the door the first time. But only the customer experience when they are at your restau- rant makes them return and tell their friends they should come too. Everyone in the restaurant business knows it is the great food with great service that keeps patrons coming back. When a mobile POS is intu- itively designed specifically for restaurants, servers find it fast to learn and easy to use, so are freed up to provide the attentiveness that define great service. Servers can deliver drinks and food faster, and process payments faster so patrons aren't impatiently waiting to pay. It may be more comfortable doing things the way they have always been done, but using the right mobile POS is a lot like using your mobile phone. It is pretty familiar and the transition is a lot easier than it might sound. In case after case, it has been proven that restaurateurs who implement mobile technology increase operational efficiency, provide a better customer experience and improve their bottom line. Learn more at www.touchbistro.com.