Did you know that two thirds (67%) of consumers want to know the nutritional information of the dishes they’re served?
We live in an era of information overload. The internet at our fingertips and new scientific studies published every day. No sooner have we adopted the latest fad diet another emerges. Diners are now demanding transparency with the food they are eating. Allergens? Nutrition? Salt content? Free range? They’re hungry for information. Information that allows them to make their own informed healthy choices.
45% of people who are trying to eat healthily feel it hampers their social life and with ‘eating out’ topping the list for group social activities it’s important to provide dishes that cater for these customers to ensure their social groups don’t bypass you.
What should you do to cater to healthy eating?
Use what you have
Start by assessing your current menu. You may be surprised to see you already have dishes on there that are low in sodium, high in protein or suitable for vegans. These can then simply be highlighted on your menu’s without any changes for the chef.
Utilise technology
Working out the nutritional information on your menu can be tricky, so utilise food-management software that does this for you. Simply input your ingredients into software such as Kafoodle Kitchen to instantly see a breakdown of nutritional and allergen information. Simple tweaks to dishes can make a huge difference, removing a slice of bacon from a BLT could not only save you money but also bring the fat content down enough for you to be able to label the dish as Low Fat.
< Download your free guide to health claims at the end of this post>
Provide a choice
Most menus have the one dish that fits all. But one dish doesn’t appeal to all. Your low fat, gluten-free, vegan, quinoa salad may be free-from all the major food allergens and healthy to boot but it might not be everyone's cup of tea. Try to provide a choice of hot and cold healthy menu items or even healthy alterations that can be applied to current menu options such as a naked burger.
Re-think allergens
9/10 people who purchase free-from food DO NOT have an allergy or an intolerance but instead see free-from as a shortcut to health. By providing free-from menu items you are therefore catering not only to the growing free-from market but also the health-conscious consumer. Make sure your menu is clearly labelled with potential allergens to make it easy for allergen sufferers and healthy eaters alike to see what you have available to them.
Offering a few healthy labelled choices on your menus opens up your establishment to a whole host of diners.
If nutrition and allergen labelling sound too tedious for your busy kitchen then let us do the work for you.
Contact us directly at: info@kafoodle.com or on 02033710450
We'd love to hear from you!
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