Fresh prepared food ala the grocerant niche can learn lessons from college students.

Grocery stores, Convenience stores and Restaurant menu engineers will all be studying this list and you should too. College students remain a bright light in our society. Filled with hope, anticipation and idealism.

We look to them for a renewed sense of contemporized relevance and food is no exception. We all can rest assured that change comes slowly and the new normal is a blend of our past and present. Sodexo one of the largest contract university feeders released the top 10 college foods for 2009. Here is the list:

1. Apricot glazed turkey

2. Meatloaf with frizzle-fried onions

3. Vietnamese pho

4. Vegetarian lentil shepherd’s pie

5. Chicken adobo

6. Stuffed port chops

7. Vegetarian jambalaya

8. Lemon herbed baked tilapia

9. Rotisserie chicken

10. Home-style pot roast

We continue to see that America is a cultural melting pot, and pot roast will be around for some time. What is exciting to see from this list is that bold flavors and “better for you” foods continue to make there way up the priority list of the young. This list is a glimpse of future menu’s trends / development we will begin to see during the next decade. The assortment of flavors will continue to escalate and the value proposition of vegetarian entrée’s will put added pressure on the menu mix overall.

Grocerant program assessments available; since 1991 Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson or BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants