Ventura Foods Brings Innovation to Foodservice Mayonnaise
This innovative approach eliminates confusion within the mayonnaise category by aligning specific mayonnaise formulations with specific culinary applications to meet the distinct needs of chefs and operators. Courtesy Ventura Foods.
Ventura Foods, the trusted foodservice partner for culinary professionals, introduced its new MayoNeeds Framework. This innovative approach eliminates confusion within the mayonnaise category by aligning specific mayonnaise formulations with specific culinary applications to meet the distinct needs of chefs and operators.
Mayonnaise is a staple in commercial kitchens, appearing on nearly half of restaurant menus. Yet many operators, under pressure to manage back-of-house expenses and customer satisfaction, don’t have time to really consider this critical ingredient when placing weekly orders. Additionally, the mayonnaise category lacks standard labeling definitions and uses marketing terms like “Heavy Duty,” “Premium” and “Extra Heavy,” causing added confusion. As a result, chefs and operators often default to using the same foodservice-grade mayonnaise for all their hot and cold applications, assuming it will perform consistently and unknowingly sacrificing product quality in the process.
Ventura Foods is solving this problem with its new MayoNeeds Framework, which is designed to create clarity in the category. With its deep expertise in culinary solutions, Ventura Foods developed a new way to look at mayonnaise, not by ingredients and formulations, but by culinary applications.
“Even though this ubiquitous ingredient is integral to recipes across cuisines and menus, most chefs and operators reorder the same mayo regularly without much consideration. We want them to understand that the current labels, like Heavy Duty, are actually meaningless and consider how a mayonnaise developed for specific uses can elevate a signature dish without increasing costs,” said Ahmad Popal, senior vice president, Food Innovation & Customer Experience at Ventura Foods.
To ensure the MayoNeeds Framework accurately reflects real-world kitchen needs, Ventura Foods collaborated with The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to conduct a blind study evaluating the performance of various foodservice mayonnaise products labeled as “Heavy Duty.” The findings revealed inconsistencies in how these products performed across mixed, bound and dippable applications, underscoring the need for clarity in the mayonnaise category.
Ventura Foods is rolling out the MayoNeeds Framework through partnerships with foodservice leaders in various channels and encouraging them to enhance and streamline their existing mayonnaise portfolios through application-based formulations and labeling as well as education.
About Ventura Foods
Ventura Foods is a leading producer of exclusive products, ready-to-go solutions, and consumer brands in the dressings, sauces, mayonnaises, shortenings, and oils categories. Its customers include foodservice companies, restaurants, and retailers in over 70 countries. A privately held joint venture of CHS, Inc. and Mitsui & Co., Ventura Foods manufactures products in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Philippines.
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