Being vegan now is not just a desire for taste but a big movement about animal rights that should be respected. More and more people are becoming vegans every day, and if you don’t add vegan options to your menu, it means you can lose a whole segment. Despite this fact, restaurants are still questioning whether to add a vegan menu and while the community of vegans is growing, they still should search for a place where they can eat something.
If you are contemplating whether you should add a vegan menu to your restaurant, keep reading. Below are several key reasons why you should make a note to add some vegan receipts to your menu and simply respect the lifestyle of your future customers.
Table of Contents
Vegan food is in line with the consumer trend
Healthy eating, sustainable living, and animal welfare are among the most important topics of concern to most consumers. Plant-based foods serve consumer interests and appeal to a larger target group than just vegans and vegetarians.
Vegan food can be delicious and interesting
Well-prepared, plant-based foods will appeal to everyone. It is very easy to find a variety of vegan specialties in stores these days that can replace any animal ingredient without sacrificing taste. Vegan food can be enjoyed by everyone and be popular with mixed diets.
Introducing Vegan Meals Is An Important Competitive Advantage
Foodservice businesses that ignore changing customer preferences may be left without significant business opportunities. Supplementing the menu with herbal dishes does not scare away customers, but their absence for many can definitely become a serious limitation. If you want to enrich the menu with plant-based dishes, you should choose vegan dishes because they are suitable for all vegans and vegetarians, as well as, for example, people allergic to specific foods, such as dairy.
In case you are unsure how to start the process of adding vegan dishes, try to incorporate your team into the decision-making process. Organize discussions, be open to suggestions. Some of them may have vegan friends or maybe vegans themselves and can give you a glimpse of their preferences.
After doing all this, just make sure that you use meeting ideas, to engage your team, gather their ideas too, discuss with them and after all train your staff about the menu and new dishes, because they are the ones who are making and serving the meals to fastidious clients. And remember that a learning team is a growing team.
Get in prognosis
Statistics show that since 2004 vegan numbers rose about 300%. And it is still rising, so maybe after years half of the population will be vegan. Don’t wait for everyone and be one of the first ones, because you know better how fast competition works and how long it takes for customers to be loyal.
Group reservations
When an eight-person group is going out to eat. And even one of them is vegan, the whole group will choose a place where everybody can eat something. This means that if your menu does not have a vegan menu, it will be simply ignored by this group.
Vegan Menu Best Practices
In case you already consider adding a vegan menu to your restaurant, here are a few tips and best practices to keep in mind.
- Mark vegan dishes with a special label. This is important so that vegans know exactly what to look for. You can even create a special section in the menu or a separate menu for vegans.
- Include nutritious information. If you have the resources, ideally, you should include the nutritious information of all of your dishes. There are currently many alternatives to animal food, such as oat milk or tofu. However, it’s important that they get essential nutrition. While there is no need to include the cucumber nutrition value or the value of each ingredient of that salad, giving brief information for each dish can greatly help your guests.
Final touches
Don’t wait until they realize menu changes; use marketing tools to reach your audience and tell them they can find vegan food in your restaurant from now on. We guarantee that even non-vegans will appreciate it.
Conclusion
After all, veganism is also a healthier way to live, clean your body and get rid of several diseases. By this move, you also show you care and respect. It can be profitable for your restaurant, and maybe after a short time. You will get the idea of going to a fully vegan restaurant. Where you can already meet competitors. The choice is yours!
Anahit Grigoryan is a freelance content writer and marketing specialist who works on blogs and articles related to digital marketing and business. She is a marketing enthusiast who currently works as a marketing strategist at 99PAWR and is simply addicted to everything that includes marketing. Probably you understood it already because, in her short bio, you read the word “marketing” 4 times… now 5.