Specialty Coffee Retailer is a publication for owners, managers and employees of retail outlets that sell specialty coffee. Its scope includes best sales practices, supplies, business trends and anything else to assist the small coffee retailer.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/109835
FIBER UPTICK Oatmeal is coming on strong because it's easy to make, easy to innovate—and there's a huge demand. BY BRENDA G. RUSSELL I n 2008 Starbucks launched a new breakfast item that soon became its most successful food introduction. Although new to the menu, it was a familiar, perhaps daily presence on American breakfast tables. Since the Starbucks launch, oatmeal has picked up steam: It's now the third fastest growing item on all restaurant menus. Not all coffee shop owners follow the Starbucks business model, but adding oatmeal to their menus does make financial sense. As a cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber, oatmeal is healthy as well as homey. A November 2012 Technomic report on breakfast foods confirms that oatmeal is perceived as wholesome. Adding fruits, nuts and other toppings makes it a craveable comfort food. And oatmeal can be served quickly and inexpensively, both important to morning commuters. Rob Loomis, owner of Borjo Coffeehouse in Norfolk, Va., added Canyon Oats oatmeal to his shop's menu in March 2012. "We'd had requests for oatmeal for a while, but I hadn't found a good instant product, and we didn't have the kitchen capacity to make it from scratch," Loomis says. "The way we do it—just add hot water from the espresso machine—is very simple and easy, which is what we were looking for. I think if we had the kitchen capacity we could do well with made-from-scratch steel-cut oatmeal, but that would add a lot of time and labor." SHOW STOPPER At Java Jack's Coffee House in Nacogdoches, Texas, Umpqua Oats made its first appearance on the menu about 18 months ago. Owners Brent and Sarah Patton had seen the product at the Specialty Coffee Association of America's 2011 Expo in Houston. "It just seemed like a good product mix that we could add to boost our morning breakfast," says Brent Patton. "On this particular product, we tried it first and really enjoyed it and felt like it was a good quality product. But it was something different enough that it allowed the customers to try a different 28 style of breakfast than what we were offering previously." "We carry four flavors at a time but we do rotate," Sarah Patton adds. "The Not Guilty we pretty much keep on hand because it's the one that doesn't have sugar in it—just has the nuts and fruit. We have several customers that are very conscious of that. Generally Umpqua has some things that are a little more unique like sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and flax seeds added to the oatmeal. It gives it a unique flavor." Sugar Foods introduced its N'Joy Oatmeal kits in 2010 and oatmeal toppings packets the year before. Both products continue to grow across all markets, says Diane Aylsworth, director of foodservice marketing. "It's interesting because it's obviously a very old product that we've all known, we've all grown up with," Aylsworth says. "But it was somewhat of a boring item, and what we've seen that's really changed the face of oatmeal is the idea of toppings. So it's adding color and texture. It also gives the customers the opportunity to make it their own. So I think the addition of these individual packets allows people to enjoy oatmeal. And of course there's just the trend of healthy products having a higher demand—it's fitting that very well." COMPLETE KITS N'Joy kits come in three flavors: Morning Harvest, Orchard Spice and Crunchy Nut. Their four topping packets are a nut blend, dried fruit blend, apple cinnamon sprinkles and brown sugar topping. While dried fruits, seeds and nuts have become popular oatmeal toppings, two heritage flavors remain in demand: maple and apple cinnamon. Customers are always in search of new flavor profiles, says Ken Rash, founder of Canyon Oats in St. George, Utah. But oatmeal plays to a taste for the familiar. "Other oatmeal-to-go companies took that up a notch and offered sea salt and higher grade sugars," Rash says. "Canyon Oats has even taken a step further and offers real maple sugar, real dried honey and ground vanilla beans from Madagascar. This is