In 2021, U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods grew 6.2 percent following a record year of growth in 2020, bringing the total plant-based market value to an all-time high of $7.4 billion, according to data released from the Plant-Based Foods Association, The Good Food Institute and SPINS. Compared to total retail food sales during that time frame, plant-based food retail sales grew three times as fast. Consumers have an appetite for plant-based foods and are continuing to be open to trying plant-based versions of foods traditionally prepared with meat. Consider how you might apply this approach to your menu in even the meatiest of dishes. Where might you reinvent an appetizer or entrée with plant-based ingredients in place of meat, all while keeping the flavor and texture of the dish intact? Remember when eating pasta felt like a guilty pleasure? It doesn’t have to anymore, thanks to the plethora of options available that can suit not only guests sensitive to gluten, but also those simply looking for their pasta to pack a more nutritious punch than the conventional variety. It’s an extra benefit when those alternative options don’t feel like a big sacrifice in the taste department. Consider offering options made from beans, chickpeas or lentils, fortified with protein and fiber, or made from sprouted grain. You’re no doubt scrutinizing your menu amid ongoing inflation and supply shortages – and animal proteins, which are among the higher-priced foods that consumers and restaurant operators alike are paying for right now, are a key target for reinvention. Consumers are buying less meat at the grocery store due to higher prices and won’t be surprised to see more expensive meat (or fewer beef options) on the menu at the moment. So what’s the best alternative course of action? In addition to pork, which should continue to be a value option, poultry is likely to be a viable choice in the coming months. According to research from BTIG, poultry is due to see substantial deflation in the first quarter of 2023, even as beef prices are poised to continue their climb. In the meantime, while plant-based proteins continue to have an important place at the center of the plate, plant-based beef sales have dipped. (At a time when restaurant meals may be harder to justify, consumers may be more inclined to splurge on the experience of a beef burger over a plant-based one.) Restaurants may benefit by being extra purposeful with the beef-based options on the menu so they feel more experiential. Feature premium cuts as specials. Get creative with less expensive cuts by using them in flavorful marinades featuring on-trend spices. Offer slow-cooked beef to elevate the melt-in-your-mouth experience that helps you make the most of the beef you’re able to buy right now. As energy and food costs have spiked for consumers and restaurant operators alike, it’s only natural to want to rein in spending. Restaurant operators may need to offer a little something extra to incentivize guests to place an order. While this doesn’t require extravagant ingredients – operators are pinching pennies too, after all – it does require some creativity and an interest in offering something that is difficult to find elsewhere and unlikely to be prepared at home. Looking at your menu, where can you elevate the experience you offer by injecting a little comfort, nostalgia or intrigue? Is there anything cauliflower can’t do? Nutrient-dense and high in antioxidants, cauliflower has become a pantry superstar for its ability to stand in for legumes and grains. Increasingly accepted as a stand-in for traditional pizza crust and rice, try it in place of chickpeas in hummus or flour in tortillas. Since cauliflower can so readily absorb the flavors and seasonings around it, consider giving it a more prominent place among your plant-forward menu options. Think outside of the box: The restaurant Sweet Liberty in Miami Beach, Fla. recently won accolades for its vegetarian cauliflower nachos, which are made with cheese, sauteed cauliflower, avocado crema, radishes, pickled jalapeño and pomegranate seeds. As consumers have moved plants to the center of the plate, their embrace of flexitarian options has extended to dairy alternatives. Even if your guests can tolerate dairy in their diets, they may still be curious about dairy alternatives and looking to try them – particularly as the tastes and textures of alternatives dairy products including milk, yogurt, ice cream and cheese have improved in recent years. These more shelf-stable options can help you stretch your inventory as well. Consider non-dairy alternatives in sauces, dips and dressings as a starting point. At a time when consumers are leaning into plant-forward dishes and favoring healthy foods that are high in flavor, the Mediterranean options on your menu can be reliable alternatives. They’re easier on the budget and can be recreated with different shelf-stable ingredients. They also leave room for customization with animal proteins or your own creative twists. At a moment when consumers are looking for convenience, portability and affordability, your sandwich menu can meet some, if not all, of those needs. Consider changing up the proteins you offer between the bread or prepare them in new ways, adding some global flavor or spice to the accompanying condiments, and weaving in some in-season produce. Your sandwich menu can offer you some low-risk areas to test your roster of limited-time offers as well — something that will keep guests interested in returning. Mediterranean diets are among the few diets that have retained their popularity with nutritionists and consumers alike over the years. If your guests are looking for more Mediterranean-style dishes, pita bread can be a versatile carrier for healthy ingredients on your appetizer and entrée menus. Consider filling it with ingredients like chickpeas, sweet potatoes and greens for a light sandwich option, toasting pita triangles to serve as scoops for hummus or as Mediterranean-style nachos, or topping it with roasted vegetables for a health-conscious pizza. Some ingredients simply gain a cult following. That has been the case with avocados in recent years, whether as part of the internet sensation they created when spread on toast or simply as a salad topper, smoothie ingredient or guacamole base. But in a period when near-constant climate challenges, inflation and supply chain woes are impacting so many ingredients at once, avocados are one of many ingredients to carry an increasingly out-of-reach price tag these days. The U.S Department of Agriculture said average avocado prices spiked 30 percent in late July over the same period last year. They are just one example of how operators can’t rest on their laurels when it comes to menu engineering and menu planning in general. Each item on your menu should be popular and profitable. If you’re not ready to take a popular item off the menu, consider how you can offer it at a higher price point or with more economical ingredients. Being known for a signature item can be a blessing in good times and a curse in others — consider the brand challenges of Wingstop when chicken wings suddenly became scarce. It’s crucial to keep testing new ideas so that when one popular ingredient is unavailable, you have a couple of understudy dishes ready in the wings. Offer them as limited-time specials or in VIP test tastings for your best guests so you’re regularly collecting data on what’s working, what’s not and what substitutes can be swapped in with the greatest acceptance from guests. Who knows? You may accidentally create the next avocado toast for your guests. |
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