J. Kings Foodservice Professionals Inc. has been in business since 1974 when it was founded by John King, and has been processing fresh-cut fruits and vegetables for the last nine years. In that time, demand for value-added products that provide convenience and safety has grown so much that the company recently expanded to a new facility that provides four times more space.
The company had $160 million in sales last year, with produce accounting for 35 percent of sales, Panagakos said. The company’s fresh-cut operation, Kitchen Cuts, has been in existance for the last nine years and the recent expansion is focused on continued growth. J. Kings started the process in it’s new building in Holtsville, on Long Island in New York, in 2000 and the new facility was completed last fall on a site about six or seven miles from the company’s headquarters. The new plant handles the Kitchen Cuts line and other food preparation operations. The company employs 330 and has an HACCP program, is approved by the American Institute for Baking and is certified by USDA in the meat-processing plant. The company is a member of PRO-ACT, the nationwide foodservice distributor, so third-party audits also are regularly conducted.
Joel Panagakos, tus lwm thawj coj ntawm Westbrook Produce ntawm J. Kings Foodservice tau hais tias "Nws pab peb tawm ntawm kev nyab xeeb ntawm cov khoom noj hauv txoj kev loj,"
Each day, J. Kings not only prepares fresh-cut produce and meat products and packs whole produce; it also has an on-site kitchen that prepares meals for the more than 300 employees. The company didn’t start out feeding employees, but chefs working on new menu items were giving the meals to the night crew, and eventually an area in the building was turned into a dining area. That idea has been expanded to the day crew with a sit-down café that provides free lunch to all employees. On a recent workday, J. Kings employees had the chance to try a filet mignon recipe that the chefs were developing for a high-end client, Panagakos said.
Chav ua noj txiav
The new fresh-cut area is about 11,000 square feet and currently does 70,000 to 80,000 pounds a week, Panagakos said. The fresh-cut program does about 350 items for a wide range of customers, from hospitality and medical customers to white tablecloth restaurants.
The new supporting room was designed to prevent any foreign materials from entering the processing area. All of the produce is removed from bins or boxes onto a conveyor system, which takes the raw product into the cutting area. The waste is carried out in a flume system, then compacted and sold to nearby farms.
Cutting is done primarily by machines. About 75 percent of the fresh-cut items go through Urschel machines, and the remaining are cut by hand for special requests from customers. The hand-cut requests typically come from high-end restaurants – chefs looking for a specific profile – Panagakos said, but that’s dropped off a little bit with the recent downturn in the economy.
But one area that has been growing is foodservice to the healthcare industry. Because of the many dietary requirements of patients in hospitals or long-term care facilities, meal preparation can exceed the capabilities of hospital staff, so companies like J. Kings have filled that niche. Soups, for example, may have anywhere from three or four ingredients up to eight, depending on the dietary restrictions of the patient.
Panagakos tau hais tias "Hauv kev saib xyuas kev noj qab haus huv, kev nyab xeeb ntawm zaub mov yog ib feem loj ntawm nws, tab sis nws kuj yog kev ua haujlwm," Panagakos tau hais.
The new space and all-new equipment line has allowed the Kitchen Cuts division of J. Kings to develop new products, adding to its already long list of fresh-cut items. The company is working on new coleslaw blends and a line of fresh-cut fries.
Marketing lub tuam txhab
One way J. Kings helps its foodservice customers is by having an executive chef, Chris Neary, on staff. He helps restaurants develop new menu items and is an integral part of the sales process by working with the executive chef of a restaurant to determine exactly what cut or flavor profile is needed for a menu item.
“There’s more credibility. I’ll always give the best suggestions, but a chef can go in and talk to a head chef and they speak the same language,” Panagakos said.
Lwm lub zog tsav tsheb cov khw noj mov thiab lwm cov neeg siv khoom noj khoom haus tab tom nrhiav yog kev ruaj khov, uas feem ntau txhais tau tias hauv zos.
Panagakos tau hais tias "Rau cov khoom tsim tshwj xeeb, muaj kev txhawb nqa zoo heev rau 'mus hauv zos," Panagakos tau hais.
Local growers – from Long Island and the region – have fresh harvested product picked up by a Kings truck in the afternoon and is shipped to customers the next morning. The local movement is just one way the company is “going green” – there’s even a Go Green checklist that lets customers know the various ways the company is focusing on sustainability. Items on the checklist include:
• Kev rov ua dua tshiab ntawm cov duab los qhia, ntawv, cov thawv mis thiab iav thiab txhuas lub raj mis.
• Ua kom muaj zog ntau dua los ntawm kev tua lub teeb thiab khoos phis tawj thaum hmo ntuj.
• Txo cov pa roj thiab emissions ntawm lub nkoj los ntawm kev teem sijhawm ua haujlwm tau zoo, cov tsheb thauj khoom muaj GPS thiab hloov cov tsheb thauj mus los rau Dodge Sprinter, uas tau txais 22 mais ib nkas loos.
• Txo cov pa roj thiab tso pa tawm ntawm cov neeg ua haujlwm los ntawm kev noj zaub mov hauv chav noj su thiab muab lub ATM ntawm qhov chaw, muab cov tsheb muag nrog GPS thiab kev sib tham hauv cov chaw hauv nruab nrab kom txo tau kev mus los ntawm lub hauv paus chaw ua haujlwm.
• Txo cov ntawv pov tseg los ntawm kev ua lag luam online ntau npaum li qhov ua tau - los ntawm tuam txhab nyiaj mus rau daim ntawv thov haujlwm.
Tsis tas li ntawd, lub tuam txhab tab tom saib txog kev hloov nws lub nkoj ntawm kev muag tsheb mus rau hybrid tsheb, txhim kho lub hnub ci thiab cua zog cov cuab yeej ntawm nws cov chaw ua haujlwm, ntxiv txo cov ntawv los ntawm kev siv tshuab hluav taws xob thiab muab nws cov neeg ua haujlwm nrog lub tuam txhab cov kaus mom thiab lub raj mis dej kom txo cov thawv. pov tseg.
J. Kings also has hired consultants to help restaurant customers make the most of their menus. The consultants helped develop the right portions and types of offerings, as well as how items were arranged on the plate to bring out the taste profile of the main dish, Panagakos said.
Last year, J. Kings launched a new campaign to benefit its restaurant customers that was very successful, Panagakos said. The company launched a new Web site, www.greatrestaurantsNY.com, that gives site visitors a searchable database of restaurants on Long Island as well as links to menus and restaurant Web sites. Some of the J. Kings trucks also had signage for customers’ restaurants on them instead of the J. Kings logo.
"Peb tau tshaj tawm rau cov neeg siv khoom," Panagakos tau hais.
The program has been expanded five-fold this year. Between 150 and 200 restaurants already have signed on for the program.
Panagakos tau hais tias "Nws nyuaj rau cov neeg no tshaj tawm, tab sis los ntawm kev sib sau lawv cov peev txheej lawv tuaj yeem tau txais lawv lub npe tawm ntawm qhov ntawd," Panagakos tau hais.
As a full-line distributor of fresh produce and meats, a full-line processor of fruits and vegetables, J. Kings has expanded to include a marketing department that benefits customers. By helping bring diners into restaurants, Panagakos said he’s helping his customers succeed and helping the J. Kings business in the long run.