Pulled Mushroom Meat Dirty Vegan Burger

Sysco’s Fresh Direct has seen sales of prepared products grow by more than 10% over the past year.

The company linked the surge in sales to chefs and foodservice operators increasingly seeking time-saving products to help with issues including staff shortages.

Fresh prepared items include adaptable products that can be sliced, diced, shredded, quartered and cut into different sizes to suit different dishes and menus.

Fresh Direct has responded to the increasing demand by introducing new ready-to-eat prepared lines, as well as clean label lines such as foraged mushroom meat to tap into the vegan market.

“Supporting chefs is at the heart of what we do, so providing a range of products that make back-of-house prep more efficient fits right into that,” said Sysco GB CEO Paul Nieduszynski.

“With staff shortages still a major issue across the foodservice industry, the demand for prepped products is growing fast.

“We continue to innovate to provide the products that make a real difference to chefs, prepared to a high specification and supporting chefs where and when they need it most.

“In many cases, we’ve been able to work with customers to develop bespoke products for them,” Nieduszynski added.