Industry reports indicate a staggering shortfall of 46,000 chefs across the Australian hospitality sector.
This coupled with staff turnover rates of 53 per cent, reduced availability of the ‘traditional’ kitchen workforce, and the profound adverse impact of Covid lockdowns has created a ‘perfect storm’ of declining enthusiasm towards the profession.
Hotels’ endless operational battles include limited culinary skill and standards, labour costs, margin squeeze, waste, product quality and consistency, at the same time as facing escalating consumer expectations.
As an ‘anonymous’ general manager of a pub group in North Queensland recently explained, “We’ve got the customers mid-week, but we simply don’t have enough chefs or skill to open the restaurant other than on weekends. It hurts.”
A new player, a new approach
Excitingly, however, there’s now a new player on the national foodservice scene – Food Equity Group – which is tackling head-on the kitchen de-skilling crisis and helping its hotel clients to not only meet and exceed the rising expectations of their customers, but to achieve sales growth and improved profitability along the way.
Working under-the-radar for the past three years, Food Equity Group has been innovating in premium ‘heat and serve’ foodservice products and brands and building a fully integrated support team which offers pubs and clubs an exciting new solution to engage and convert customers.
Food Equity Group’s new-age hybrid ‘supply and support’ model is at the forefront of a mindset change in the market, which involves supplying trendsetting new fully-cooked products through their disruptive brands, and supporting their awareness and growth with venues.
The company does this with clever customer-engaging marketing strategies and community-based initiatives, all of which is serviced by its own national sales and distribution network.
The engine room of Food Equity Group’s strategy is driven by diverse in-house capabilities across consumer insights, product development, creative design, photography and videography, digital marketing, supply chain, distribution and merchandise sales solutions, which are focused on servicing and supporting venues.
Food Equity Group’s CEO, Graeme McCormack, said, “We’ve extensively reviewed the hospitality landscape and have strategically created a team capable to engage with pubs and clubs in a more dynamic and effective way.
“At the heart of our service offer are differentiated premium ‘heat and serve’ products which are fully supported by disruptive brands and dynamic in-venue and digital marketing.”
Saucy Super Wings
According to McCormack, the business is set-up to “continually innovate, launch and support new brands and products going forward, like our Sticky Addiction Saucy Super Wings range”, which he says recently launched with immediate success.
The cult appeal and universal popularity of chicken wings is ever-present and shows no signs of abating anytime soon, according to Food Equity Group, so why is it that consumers are still confined to the boring old ‘same same’ when it comes to wings?
Sticky Addiction’s saucy range of fully cooked Super Wings catapults a venue’s wings offering by introducing a new and exciting flavour adventure never experienced before by finger-licking Australians.
It does this by providing a simple on-trend ‘heat and serve’ solution which pubs and clubs can offer with very limited skill in the kitchen through a simple step-by-step procedure.
With Sticky Addiction Wings, you can say goodbye to fiddly ingredients, lack of knowledge and equipment, and time consuming slow-cook methods, as the skill is in the box.
“It is the perfect example of how Food Equity Group has developed a premium-quality, solution-based product to precisely meet the operational and commercial needs of today’s hotel industry,” McCormack says.
Consisting of Aussie Barbeque, American Buffalo, Thai Yellow Curry, and Chinese Five Spice Flavours, Sticky Addiction is fast becoming the most sought after Chicken Wings range in pubs and clubs across the country, McCormack says.
“Sticky Addiction is just the beginning, with us already having more new hotel-focused premium product ranges in the pipeline.”
Food Equity Group has also commenced bespoke product development and supply for a number of hotel groups, which is further elevating its unique business model and overall approach and position in the foodservice market.
Look out for Food Equity Group’s Sticky Addiction range, and remember, this offering is just the beginning.