A bowl is just a vessel, right? It can hold your favorite soup loaded with chicken and noodles or some bedtime ice cream. At the same time, a bowl is a symbol of comfort, childhood, sustenance and plentitude. It contains a surprise with every serving because of the last, best bite waiting at the bottom…
It has been said a time or two that opposites attract. And when it comes to flavor, some opposites create a balanced flavor symphony, a veritable tribute to the yin and yang of great taste. Think of the perfection that is the chocolate covered potato chip or a briny bathed sweet and sour pickle. While…
“Food is music to the body, music is food to the heart.”― Gregory David Roberts How are you inspired to create? Trends, consumer insights, market data, what the competition is doing? Of course, these are all fabulous sources of inspiration and motivation, but sometimes, creativity is fueled by a good old-fashioned jam session – and…
Traveling is a big part of what we do here at Nikken Foods, visiting customers all over the world, something that we love to do. And with it comes a big opportunity: the chance to experience food and cultures completely different from what we have here in STL. Don’t get us wrong, we love our hometown…
One of the mainstays of the restaurant industry is the fast food concept but things seem to be changing in this market faster than you can say, “would you like fries with that?” An interesting industry dynamic affecting QSR’s is the growth of fast-casual concepts offering high-quality, creative and healthy menus at slightly higher price…
Umami – it’s been around for ages yet it still continues to be talked about. We thought it would be fun to provide a mid-year roundup on what’s happening in the industry—since it is our passion and all. So we did a little digging and came up with some articles of interest that we thought…
So you want to be the office Trend Guru, right? Our monthly trends posts will certainly have you turning heads at product development meetings. This month we are diving into a hot topic that is the center of health and wellness – protein. It may come and go in favor but right now, consumers across…
Ever had a friend come over and unexpectedly open your fridge? We’re not talking when you are having a gathering and it’s “party-ready” but more like Thursday, when leftover containers and foil-wrapped mystery packages consume most of the real estate. For a change of pace, we thought it would be fun to give you a…
With a population slightly over 300,000, St. Louis certainly isn’t one of this country’s giants but its rich heritage and uniqueness certainly make up for its lack of population. Introduced to the world in a certain 1944 movie starring Judy Garland, St. Louis was portrayed with the hometown charm and elegance that the locals still…
Part of the fun of working at an ingredient company is culinary experimentation and we love that the food times we are living in allow for quite a bit of it. Who would of thought, for example, that sriracha would be used in just about every application imaginable, like peanut butter cookies or strawberry margaritas? Further…
