Whether you are a food processor, category manager at a supermarket retailer or restaurant chain operator, Butterball® Farms is a name you need to know. A custom flavor innovator for more than 60 years, the Grand Rapids, MI company is famous for crafting success for its customers.
“We’re helping customers compress their time to market for new products by simplifying their development of custom flavors, then quickly scaling up for full production.”
Joy Pellek
Director of Business Development
Butterball Farms
“We’re helping clients compress their time to market for new products by simplifying their development of custom flavors, then quickly scaling up for full production,” says Joy Pellek, Butterball Farms Director of Business Development.
One technology developed by Butterball Farms to simplify food processing is its flavored dollops. Combining premium ingredients into butter or margarine dollops, customers can assure a consistent flavor that melts perfectly when the consumer heats them before eating. Ideal for frozen or refrigerated goods, prepared meals, vegetable sides, and more the resulting flavor adds value to the product and reduces prep time.
The dollops can be sized for the application and placed as flow wraps for automation, packaged in bulk or individually wrapped for use in meal kits. Restaurant operators apply them to a menu item on the grill, oven or microwave just before serving.
By skillfully blending herbs, fruits, citrus, spices, and other ingredients into sauces, marinades, glazes, or frostings, a distinctive touch can be added to a new product or menu, setting it apart from the competition.
The company’s research and development (R&D) team is helping customers solve multiple challenges ranging from nuancing the ideal flavor combination for a new product, to the right viscosity of a sauce to enrobe a food in a manufacturing process. Once perfected, Butterball Farms can process the sauce, marinade, glaze or frosting at scale into totes, drums, pales, tubs, cups, and dollops for shipment. The flavor possibilities are endless and packaged in the format that meets your specific needs.
“I’m frequently amazed at the unique applications our team comes up with for customers,” says Bonnie Beard, Butterball Farms Director of Marketing. Some recent examples are the development of gravy dollops that include particulates of country sausage for use with heat and service biscuits and dollops for heat and serve shrimp boils.”
“We are constantly experimenting with flavor combinations on our own and in concert with customers,” says Lucia Falek, Director of Development at Butterball Farms. “Some of our most recent discoveries include fruit butter dollops for frozen pancakes or waffles and BBQ dollops for melting with items such as chicken wings.”
Falek’s team keeps a constant eye on emerging global cuisines that are trending with consumers and their fascination with new flavors. The team recently developed unique flavor combinations for vegetable and fruit processors offering a glimpse at the culinary and creative talents of a company dedicated to innovation.
The new 2024 Butterball Farms Flavor Guide by Butterball Farms is a great resource for identifying trends that can help processors accelerate new product development and restaurant operators get fresh ideas for innovative menu solutions.
“We are happy to send prospective clients some free samples of our dollops or sauces,” says Pellek. “We have a broad portfolio of existing dollop recipes to kick-start your R&D team’s ideation process. Then we can go to work on scaling up your project all the way through product launch.”
Whether your latest product challenge is in need of a custom creation, searching for a second supplier, or looking to innovate, we’re happy to help. Contact the Butterball Farms team to get started!