Food & Beverage
New Jersey virtual restaurant takes supermarket sampling to new level
The pandemic has produced some amazing restaurant innovations, including a partnership between a New Jersey virtual restaurant and a plant-based grocery product producer.
September 8, 2020 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group
Sometimes two businesses' problems align somewhere in the great restaurant universe and a food service super-nova explodes into being. Such was the case with New Jersey's Ghost Truck Kitchen and UK-based Strong Roots, a foodservice company specializing in plant-based offerings.
For Ghost Truck Kitchen — which is actually not a truck but a virtual restaurant brand — the issue was meeting a demand for plant-based entrees in and around Jersey City. The brand's dizzying array of offerings included pulled pork, chicken sandwiches, wings and bowls, but it wanted to add a few meatless options.
For Strong Roots, the problem was marketing: Specifically, the company needed to get its products noticed. Although among the fastest-growing brands in the U.K., Strong Roots plans for marketing via supermarket sampling were shot once the pandemic hit.
"Our biggest differentiator is the taste of our products," Strong Roots CEO Sam Dennigan said during an interview with QSRWeb. "Traditionally, this meant that if consumers were able to sample our products in (grocery) stores, they would most likely become fans of ours. COVID has changed that, and sampling isn't coming back to grocery stores any time soon. So our team had to get creative about how to get our offerings to new customers in a way that was safe."
Fate changed for both companies, however, when they partnered by incorporating Strong Roots' plant-based products on the Ghost Truck Kitchen menu. Voila, a match made in foodservice heaven.
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| Ghost Truck Kitchen founder Andrew Martino.(Photo provided) |
Business is booming now for both, with the Ghost Truck menu offering a Buffalo Strong Roots Cauliflower Sandwich with cauliflower hashbrown patties and the Beet-YU burger, made with a purple beat and bean patty.
"The reason we partnered with Strong Roots was that we believed in their product after sampling it," Ghost Truck Kitchen founder Andrew Martino told QSRWeb. "They had beautiful branding that aligned with our image, and we were trying to launch more plant-based menu items, but did not necessarily have the time and manpower to do so.
See below for the rest of Dennigan and Martino's interviews.
"Our biggest differentiator is the taste of our products. … Traditionally, this meant that if consumers were able to sample our products in (grocery) stores, they would most likely become fans of ours. COVID has changed that, and sampling isn't coming back to grocery stores any time soon. So our team had to get creative about how to get our offerings to new customers in a way that was safe." -Sam Dennigan, Strong Roots CEO
Q: Sam, how did Strong Roots come up with this idea for "sampling" products via restaurant and how long did you seek a restaurant partner before you came up with Ghost Truck Kitchen?
Dennigan: In truth, I live around the corner from Ghost Truck Kitchen, and at the start of COVID, we were so frustrated with the inability to do what we do best -- engage the customer with our product by getting them to try before they buy – that we decided if the customer can't go to the store, we'll bring the product to the customer.
That's how it started, a classic frustration or problem to solve and letting nothing get in the way.
Q: Well then, Andrew, at Ghost Truck Kitchen, why did the brand think this might work to create menu items with Strong Roots products that customers could purchase?
Martino: We are using their products as plant-based substitutes in our popular (digital food truck), Underground Sandwich Ghost Truck, as well as creat(ing) an entire Strong Roots Ghost Truck for customers to build their own specialty veggie burgers and sandwiches.
As an example, our most popular item is the Buffalo chicken sandwich. But, instead of a grilled chicken breast, we are using the Strong Roots cauliflower hash browns, which gets tossed in our house Buffalo sauce, then finished with purple cabbage and carrot dill slaw, bleu cheese crumbles and served on a toasted pretzel bun.
Q: With items like beetroot bean burgers and broccoli and purple carrot bites, Strong Roots products seem very much designed for people who truly love the taste of vegetables, but want them compiled in a new way. Am I correct in that assessment?
Martino: From my perspective, people want to indulge in the flavors of comfort food, but maybe not the calories and fat associated with traditional proteins. Unfortunately, the default for many restaurants is just to drop tofu in a deep fryer and call it healthy. So our goal was to incorporate Strong Roots products into our comfort food items
The beetroot and black bean patty is a perfect example. We took that beautiful Strong Roots purple patty and reshaped it to fit our French baguette, top it with pickled vegetables, fresh cilantro and a spicy mayo to create a vegetarian Banh Mi.
Q: Sam, Who do you see your products particularly appealing to and why?
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| Strong Roots CEO Sam Dennigan(Photo provided). |
Dennigan:We make products for people with busy lives who desire healthier options than those that are traditionally offered in the frozen aisle. Our products can all be prepared in less than 10 minutes, are cheap enough to make sense for any budget, and taste better than other frozen food brand products, both plant-based and not.
It's also worth noting that our customers don't adhere to any one diet. We have die-hard fans that are vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians and omnivores alike.
Q: Andrew, tell us a little about the kinds of reactions you're getting to these products as used in your dishes from customers?
Martino: We have had customers ask us for some time to create some more plant-friendly options, but it was challenging to not only get the flavors right, but to make sure that it traveled well and tasted good when it got into the customers' hands. Many of our regulars have now opted for the Strong Roots patties on their sandwiches and are thrilled that we have a great option for them.
Q: As a food producer who hopes to both sell directly to customers and I assume to also sell to restaurants in the future, why do you think Sam that it's so important for people to try your products like this?
Dennigan: Andrew's Ghost Truck Kitchen checked all of our boxes: His dishes taste great, they're affordable and the concept of the restaurant makes it incredibly convenient to order and receive your food from the comfort of your own home.
Ghost Truck Kitchen's values and mission are extremely congruous to ours, and the partnership has been mutually beneficial in a time where innovation in marketing is vital to the success of a business.
Q: Andrew, what are the chances you will use one or more of Strong Roots products in a permanent menu item or two?
Martino: One hundred percent. We have seen sales continually grow week over week for the Strong Roots products, and have repeat customers who love what we are doing with them. We plan on continuing the best sellers for a long, long time.
Q; Well, then, do you think that Ghost Truck Kitchen will be involved in partnerships and menu item development with other companies?
Martino:Yes, but only if the fit is right. Philosophically, the brand has to align with us from a quality perspective. We make almost everything from scratch, and we want to partner with folks who are producing items that fit under that same umbrella. Our customers have grown to trust us and everything that we sell, and we do not want to jeopardize that.
Q: The last one goes to you, Sam: Just wondering if you're doing similar partnerships elsewhere?
Dennigan: Our plan is to roll out similar partnerships like the one we've done with Ghost Truck Kitchen very soon. Given our fast growth in the U.S., we have a variety of geographies we're considering for our next foray into the restaurant industry. We'd love to hear from anyone who thinks they could replicate this for us in other heavily populated areas. We see this as just the start.
About S.A. Whitehead
Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.
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