CHELSEA, Mass. (April 27, 2010) - Leading premium soup maker Kettle Cuisine announces today that it is launching a new initiative to better serve colleges, universities, and hospitals across the country by helping them successfully meet the specialized dietary needs and increasingly sophisticated food preferences of their guests. Today, as foodservice directors are receiving more requests than ever to deliver real food options with recognizable ingredients, nothing artificial, and no compromise in taste, Kettle Cuisine has positioned itself to help operators surpass guests' expectations. This nationwide initiative builds on the company's established commercial foodservice business and its successful targeted non-commercial dealings currently experiencing strong growth on the East Coast with a number of Ivy League colleges and universities and prominent New England hospitals.
According to a recent Technomic research study, 41 percent of students purchase food off campus because they feel their dining halls do not offer as high quality food as off-campus options. With this new program, Kettle Cuisine wants to help foodservice directors keep more of their guests on-site by building loyalty and excitement in their daily soup offerings. This initiative not only focuses on delivering great-tasting, all-natural products that will appeal to the masses; it also helps foodservice directors meet very specialized dietary needs and preferences that are growing in number as it is now estimated that at least four percent of the U.S. population lives with a food allergy.
Kettle Cuisine is the first fully prepared soup company to receive a third-party gluten free certification on a wide range of its products and offers a broad selection of organic, vegetarian, dairy-free, and low-fat options. The company also works closely with individual foodservice directors to customize menus, point-of-sale material, and merchandising tactics to maximize soup sales and create a positive buzz based on the specific profiles of guests in each operation. These recommendations are based on more than 20 years of experience in serving several well-recognized and forward-thinking universities and hospitals.
"It has become very clear to us over the past few years that many foodservice directors are elevating the quality and breadth of their offerings and are no longer settling for being classified as serving stereotypical 'cafeteria food,' " said Levon Kurkjian, vice president of marketing at Kettle Cuisine. "We believe we can support this mission more effectively than our competitors. Our ingredient integrity and classical cooking practices allow us to deliver soups that taste amazing and have clean, all-natural ingredients."
About Kettle Cuisine:
Kettle Cuisine, based in Chelsea, Mass., is at the forefront of a growing demand for exceptional tasting real food that satisfies everyday wellness lifestyles. Jerry Shafir, president and CEO of Kettle Cuisine, along with Executive Chef Volker Frick have developed more than 50 soups, stews, chilis and chowders by using the finest quality, natural food ingredients and classical artisan cooking techniques. By treating food the way it should be treated from the source to their kitchens to you, Kettle Cuisine consistently delivers high quality soups with no artificial ingredients.