instore - April 2016 - (Page CI1)

Insight Insider Insight Insider Good To Go Fresh Food Safety Pathogen Detection Equipment Scales Product Category Spotlight Burritos Packaging Tamper-evident Tech Operations and Logistics Traceability in the supply chain Insight Insider: Good To Go Fresh aims to please By Ryan Atkinson ike any successful enterprise, Good To Go Fresh works with a multi-faceted business plan. Unseen variables, changing consumer climates and fickle markets emphasize the need to be nimble. L So it makes sense that the family-owned Chicago-based purveyor of fresh foods puts perhaps its greatest interest in being flexible, especially when it comes to working with current and prospective customers. "It's all about being as flexible as possible for the customer," says Good To Go Fresh principal Irv Kagan. "We do everything we can to meet their needs. The more we do that, the more likely we'll get to work with them and keep them as a customer long-term. One of the things you want to do is build that relationship so you have a 10-, 15-, 20year partnership with your customers. That's good for the both of you." It has served Good To Go Fresh well so far. The company, which employs 40-plus people in a 14,000-sq-ft commissary that sits in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, was created nearly 30 years ago by a retired department store executive as Salads On The Go. Twelve years later, at the age of 80, he sold the business to Kagan and his wife, Ali. In the time since, the Kagans have transformed the company's menu from mostly salads to a wide array of sandwiches, wraps, sushi, yogurt parfaits, fresh-cut fruit, pinwheels, breakfast sandwiches, baked goods and more. In fact, Good To Go Fresh's menu boasts 31 specialty sandwiches (Ham & Dill Havarti on Pretzel Roll and Jerry's Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwich, to name a couple), 15 green salads, nine paninis, eight pasta salads, seven wraps and five varieties of pinwheel bites. That large variety is not by accident. The company pays close attention to what consumers are eating at all times. "Staying on top of food trends is big," Kagan says. "It can be something as sim- PHOTOS: GOOD TO GO FRESH ple as grabbing takeout menus when we go to restaurants, either here in Chicago or elsewhere when we're travelling. We want to see what people are offering and what people are eating. We try to stay on top of those trends to make our stuff as appealing as possible to not commissary INSIDER * APRIL 2016 * 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of instore - April 2016

instore - April 2016
Editor's Note - SNACKING: Have a second?
Table of Contents
News - On our radar
Spotlight - By the Numbers: Donuts
Cover story - Snacking evolved
Commissary Insider - Insight Insider: Good to go fresh aims to please
Food Safety - Pathogen Detection
Equipment Weighing the options
Product Category Spotlight: Ethnic, easy and healthy
Packaging: Peace of mind with tamper-evident technology
Operations and Logistics: Traceability in the supply chain
Product Knowledge - Need to Know: Specialty cheese
Merchandising - On Display: Independence Day
Speciality Insights - Consider Gluten-free Bakery
Equipment & Packaging - Latest Innovation: Rapid-cook ovens
Product Trends
Product Showcase
Ad Index

instore - April 2016