Is Your Breakroom Good To Go?
Traditional vending might be associated with potato chips and candy bars, but the team of experts at Vistar is changing that. In the last five years, U.S. Natural and Organic food and beverage sales soared from $40 billion in 2010 to $252 billion by 2019. Not to mention 47 percent of U.S. consumers report that they look for foods and beverages with a short list of recognizable ingredients and 71 percent have eliminated foods to make their diets healthier. The team of leaders at Vistar noticed this shift, as well as increased demand for healthy, convenient snacks, and launched Good To Go in April of 2014.
Today, with more than 5,000 items to choose from, the Good To Go program is an easy way for Vistar's customers to find natural snack and beverage options with the convenience of online ordering and fast deliveries. In order for a product to be included in Good to Go, it must be made with clean ingredients and possess at least one of the following attributes:
Organic
Produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones.
Non GMO
"GMO" stands for Genetically Modified Organism, and refers to plants, animals or other organisms whose genetic material has been changed in ways that do not occur naturally. The "non-GMO" claim means that the food is made without ingredients that were derived from genetically engineered organisms. For meat, poultry, dairy and eggs, the "non-GMO" claim means animals were not fed a diet containing genetically engineered crops.
Allergen Free
A product is considered allergy free if it is free from the eight most common food allergens in the United States, as declared by the FDA — wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish and shellfish.
Vegan
No animal or animal by-products to include flesh, bones, dairy, eggs, honey, fur, leather, wool, down feathers and cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals. Supplier verification that animal products were not used in the manufacturing of ingredients.
Gluten Free
Must limit the unavoidable presence of gluten to less than 20 ppm and if the food does not contain any of the following: Any ingredient that is any type of wheat, rye, barley, or crossbreeds of these grains OR an ingredient derived from these grains and that has not been processed to remove gluten.
Zero Trans Fat
Trans fats can be found in many foods – including fried foods like donuts, and baked goods including cakes, pie crusts, biscuits, frozen pizza, cookies, crackers, and stick margarines and other spreads. Products can be listed as having "zero grams of trans fat" if they contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving.
USDA School Approved
Children consume up to 2/3 of their daily food intake at school, which means that what children eat at school potentially has more impact on their health than what they eat at home. Offer your students healthier options through a 100% USDA-compliant healthy vending and competitive foods program.
Over 5,000 Approved Products For Schools and Non-Schools
In addition, the team sources products that contain more than 9 grams of protein, are made with no MSG, or are allergen-free (made without peanuts or tree nuts, eggs, or soy), to meet additional consumer needs.
For the most part, these attributes are clearly called out on product packaging to make it effortless for consumers to make healthy choices. In order to create the program, Vistar partnered with specific suppliers who focus on natural, healthy snack products, and is continuing to add suppliers.