Smart Strategy: Choose Products That Make a Great Canvas

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Keeping patrons coming back often requires a creative menu. This can mean lots of ingredients for a variety of dishes — but it doesn’t have to.

When you can buy a single product and find multiple uses for it, your operation has the potential to:

  • Keep a more streamlined inventory while offering more variety for guests
  • Enhance your operation’s adaptability to unforeseen circumstances
  • Save money by buying more of one thing instead of many things in lower quantities
  • Waste less food with multiple menu applications

Biscuits can be used throughout the day in items for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks between. Choose from a variety of biscuit sizes and styles to make dishes that are savory or sweet.

Dessert biscuits are growing in popularity

Biscuits on a breakfast platter, as a sandwich vehicle, or as a side for fried chicken are well-known. Today, biscuits are branching out beyond breakfast and sides as a focal point for desserts.

In fact, when General Mills Foodservice asked commercial restaurants to submit their best biscuit creations in The BiskiesTM Contest, the grand prize-winning entry in 2023 was a decadent dessert — upside-down apple praline biscuit.

Why focus on dessert?

Biscuits are beloved on their own. Three-quarters of Americans say they feel happy when they eat biscuits.1 Yet it is worth looking into creative ways to use them — especially when it comes to dessert. Fine-dining restaurants are leading the way, with menu data showing biscuits are a prominent feature of dessert menus.2

Desserts that have a savory element are popular, plus:

  • The average American eats 3.3 desserts per week
  • 86% of consumers had a dessert in the last week
  • 22% of dessert eaters do so away from home 3

Sweet biscuit inspiration from around the country

If you’re interested in the biscuits-as-dessert trend to stretch your biscuit buy, you might find inspiration from the top biscuit cities in the country. According to menu data from 25,000 independent US restaurants, the top-five biscuit-loving cities are: 4

1. Portland, OR

Oregon has an official state pie — marionberry pie. For an easy-to-serve and rustic-looking treat, fruit-filled pie can be easily adapted to individual biscuit crostadas.

2. Tampa, FL

Florida’s official state dessert is strawberry shortcake. Biscuits are a classic shortcut for making berry shortcakes.

3. Memphis, TN

Although Tennessee doesn’t have an official designation for a state sweet, it is home to the National Banana Pudding Festival. Try a fresh take on shortcake with the flavors inspired by traditional banana pudding.

4. New Orleans, LA

Beignets are the official state donut of Louisiana. Biscuits can be layered with your choice of fillings, then fried to re-create this popular New Orleans treat.

5. Indianapolis, IN

Another state with an official pie, Indiana claims sugar cream pie for its own. Traditional pie crust can be swapped with biscuits to make sweet-filled hand pies, which offer an on-the-go option.

Want more ideas to transform biscuits? Explore a bevy of recipes that feature biscuits and can be used from sunrise to a day-ending sweet treat.