Get this, Is Hemp What’s on the Menu Next

Our world is evolving fast.  It is at the intersection of food, alcohol, and marijuana that customer migration, attention can be found. So, if you live in a state that sells Marijuana with or without a prescription (‘legalized’) you no doubt have heard of Marijuana Edibles, Cannabis Edibles which are ‘THC’ infused.

Chef’s and food scientist have successfully created new products that are flavorful for home consumption and that trend will continue to grow according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Most of you have visited fresh&co, a healthy fast-casual restaurant by now.   Did you know that they have announced that they will introduce hemp and CBD-infused menu that will launch exclusively on the fresh&co app back in 2019?  Could Hemp be just a ‘buzz’ word or a consumer trend is it a brands new electricity?

How is your brand building new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new menu related products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, Hemp, developing brands, unique urban hemp clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different in Atlanta its all about ‘local’.  That is a very smart and good move on the part of Whole Foods.  

fresh&co executive chef at the time Craig Rispoli curated the menu in collaboration with Jeepney’s chef Miguel Trinidad. Together, Chef Rispoli and Chef Trinidad created an innovative and colorful menu that consist of the Half-Baked Salad (hemp cakes, mixed hemp greens, sea beans, red onion, carrots, beets, crispy onions, jalapeno s’chug, and CBD- infused ginger cashew aioli, 15mg cannabidiol); Blazed Beet Sandwich (hemp cakes, mixed hemp greens, sea beans, red onion, radish, jalapeno s’chug, and CBD-infused ginger cashew aioli served on beet bread, 15mg cannabidiol); and CBD Pink Honey Ginger’ade Lemonade (filtered water, lemon, wildflower honey, ginger, hibiscus, 10mg cannabidiol).

“fresh&co always strives to stay ahead of the food trends and invent new menus that are healthy, sustainable and nutritional that can’t be found anywhere else,” says George Tenedios, CEO of fresh&co. “By collaborating with Chef Trinidad, we have developed a creative way to incorporate CBD and Hemp, which has gained mainstream popularity because of its health benefits, into our newest menu items.” 

Chef Miguel Trinidad is the executive chef and co- owner of New York City restaurants Jeepney Filipino Gastropub and Maharlika.  He is also at the helm of 99th Floor, gourmet cannabis edibles brand renowned for its upscale private dinner events.  He is also a judge on the upcoming season of Vice’s show Bong Appetit, a competition where high-end cuisine meets high-end cannabis. 

“fresh&co was privileged to join forces with the distinguished Chef Trinidad to create an original, authentic, and inventive Cannabis menu that we believe our customers will enjoy,” says executive chef Craig Rispoli.  “By using wholesome ingredients for which fresh&co is known, we infused the finest CBD and Hemp into each dish. We are excited for our customers to try this special new menu.” Can hemp add relevance to your menu?

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869