The Vollrath Company, based in Sheboygan, Wis., was founded in 1874 and is a six- and seventh-generation family- and woman-owned equipment manufacturing company.
In June, the company launched its latest innovation for foodservice and instore deli/prepared foods — touchless, self-serve salad bar equipment called SerVue.
“SerVue features an elevated refrigeration area that provides a beautiful visual showcase of ingredients,” said Brian Hedlund, senior vice president of foodservice for Vollrath. “It gives customers a completely new, exciting and safe way to serve themselves at a salad bar and makes checking and refilling ingredients a breeze for the operator.”
Sensors at the bottom of the cannisters allow the SerVue to detect the presence of a container and dispense the contents without any touch required. When setting up the equipment, store managers can customize the sizes of portions to be dispensed to better manage inventory and costs.
“Fitting in a smaller footprint than a 4-well drop-in, the SerVue features double glass doors that house eight transparent ingredient canisters,” Vollrath said. “The refrigerated unit maintains temperature better than a typical drop-in or serving line and guarantees optimal product freshness. Ingredients are self-contained and protected from germs and other contaminants, so there is no need for serving utensils or breath guards. The well-lit interior showcases the ingredients in an appealing way.”
The top benefits of SerVue for operators include:
- Dialed in dispense control saves food portions and costs
- Precise temperature control guarantees optimal product freshness
- Eliminated cross-contamination of ingredients
- At a glance ingredient monitoring
- Easy refills and cleaning
- Minimal footprint impact
The top benefits for consumers include:
- No navigating around a breath guard or extended reaching to get to ingredients in the back of the unit
- Touchless operation eliminates having to handle serving utensils
- Enhanced visibility to food options
- Cleaner food protected from germs and other contaminants
- No cross-contamination of ingredients
- Entertaining self-serve experience
This article is an excerpt from the August 2023 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the full Food Safety feature and more in the digital edition here.
