By Katie Belflower

Once again, RestoBiz and Technomic have partnered up to highlight three standout restaurant concepts in Canadian foodservice right now. This month, the focus is on Première Moisson, Sharetea, and Pizza Depot, and how each is standing out from the crowd in today’s Canadian foodservice.

 Première Moisson

Field Berry Pavlova

Image Source: Première Moisson website

Instagram: 22,300 followers | Facebook: 72,000 likes

Locations: 25 (Montreal, Ontario, and Quebec City)

Concept characteristics:

• Fast-casual chain offering a variety of sandwiches and bakery items
• Promotes a healthy lifestyle by using fresh and environmentally friendly ingredients
• The concept opened the Les Moulins de Soulanges Mill in 2007, using it to become “the first bakery to use local wheat flour without any chemical input in bread”
• Acquired in 2014 by Metro, who now owns 75 per cent of the company’s shares

Menu snapshot:

• Several signature dessert items such as the Field Berry Pavlova with crisp meringue topped with a mixture of Chantilly and pastry creams, garnished with raspberry jam and fresh fruit, and the Almond and Mango Pastry with an all-butter sweet almond pastry crust and a Normandy-style raspberry filling, topped with almond mousse and mango and passion fruit jelly
• Sponge cakes include the Raspberry-Pistachio and White Chocolate Sponge Cake, made with almond cream and pistachio sponge cake covered with white chocolate mousse, then topped with a pistachio sponge cake covered with raspberry jelly and raspberry icing, then garnished with white chocolate ganache

Sharetea

Milk Teas

Image Source: Sharetea Instagram

Instagram: 5,166 followers | Facebook: 5,500 likes

Locations: 12 (Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario)

Concept characteristics:

• Taiwan-based bubble tea establishment focused on fresh ingredients
• Uses high-quality tea leaves as opposed to artificial flavouring in drinks
• Found in four continents and twelve countries
• Franchising is available

Menu snapshot:

• Fruit teas use Aiyu jelly, which is made from seeds of a Taiwanese fig and often tastes citrusy
• Hawaii Fruit Tea with Aiyu Jelly, with green tea mixed with pineapple, orange and grapefruit jams, topped with fruit jelly
• Kiwi Fruit Tea with Aiyu Jelly, with green tea combined with freshly made kiwi jam and smooth Aiyu jelly
• Non-jelly options include Strawberry Tea, Passion Fruit, Orange, and Grapefruit Tea, and Tropical Fruit Tea
• Honey Milk Tea, available in black, green and oolong varieties, is a milk tea made with brewed tea, creamer, and honey
• Matcha Red Bean Milk Tea contains matcha powder blended with creamy milk tea and sweetened red bean

Pizza Depot

Tandoori Chicken Pizza

Image Source: Pizza Depot Instagram

Instagram: 2,615 followers | Facebook: 5,600 likes

Locations: 52 (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan)

Concept characteristics:

• Fast-causal concept featuring specialty pizzas and chicken dishes
• In-house chicken brand is called Pizza Depot Wings Factory, which has fifty available sauces
• Sponsors local events in the communities it serves
• Many pizza and chicken options have an Indian flavour focus
• Franchising is available

Menu snapshot:

• Signature options include the Chicken Kebab Pizza with roasted red pepper, green pepper, red onion, and chicken kebab
• The Paneer Peri Peri Pizza features Peri Peri paneer, green peppers, onions, and roasted red peppers
• The Tandoori Chicken Pizza with tandoori chicken, green peppers, onions and roasted red peppers
• Indian Style Wings seasoned with hot sauce, Caesar, onions, ginger, green chile, and coriander
• Indian-inspired side dishes include soya chaap, which is made from fried soya beans, and Oven-Baked Samosas

Concept Watch is based on restaurant and menu trends noted by Technomic Inc.

Katie Belflower is Associate Editor for Technomic, a Chicago-based foodservice research and consulting firm. Technomic provides clients with the facts, insights and consulting support they need to enhance their business strategies, decisions and results. The company’s services include publications and digital products as well as proprietary studies and ongoing research on all aspects of the food industry, including menu trends.

Title photo courtesy of Première Moisson’s Facebook page.