Why be a Plantier?
By Vivienne and Poornima, Co-Founders of Plantier
What is a Plantier?
First off, let us explain what we mean by a Plantier. We define it as 'a restaurant / caterer that has a variety of plant-based menu options to delight their customers and do their part for the sustainability of the planet’.
The rise and rise of plant-based
As a restauranteur, caterer or Chef, you would have probably observed that there seems to be increasing attention on the environmental and health impact of the food that is consumed, with more customers asking for plant-based options. You’re not the only one, here are a few statistics to demonstrate this growth:
According to Nielsen, a leading market research company, the plant-based food industry in the US grew 20% in 2018 with sales reaching new highs of $3.3 billion, in comparison to the 2% increase of all foods - and this growth is going to continue
Danish meat-free and dairy-free food manufacturer Naturli’, has seen significant growth in demand for plant-based milks, plant-based meat alternatives, and vegan ice cream. According to the CEO of Naturli’, Henrik Lund, their annual growth had been around 30%, growing to 45% in 2017 and estimated to be 65% in 2018
Danish restaurant Halifax Burgers has seen a three-fold increase in sales of vegetarian burgers with more than one in ten burgers sold in 2018 being vegetarian. Ulrich Dehler, founder and administrative director of Halifax, said in 2018 “In the ten years that we’ve existed we’ve had two vegetarian alternatives to beef burgers, but sales have always been around 1-2 percent”. “After 2015 sales grew a little, but this year they’ve made a giant leap to 11 percent of our total...Back then the idea that beef was problematic was not on the agenda. But now we would rather contribute to creating a shift that is important for the earth’s climate rather than standing in the way of it.”
With this significantly higher recent traction supporting the plant-based diet, as a restaurant or caterer, you might be thinking about what this means for your business. You might be wondering if embracing this shift in your customer’s mindset will yield positive benefits for your restaurant or catering business. Here are just three benefits that you as a restaurant or caterer stand to gain from having a variety of plant-based options on your menu.
1. Be Sustainable
According to Acciona, Sustainable Restaurants are restaurants that have “come out of the need to meet higher numbers of consumers who want sustainable healthy food and who are aware that having certain lifestyle habits reduces environmental impact”. Environmental sustainability, energy and food waste reduction are hot topics right now in the food industry. Some Danish restaurants and caterers are certainly at the forefront of this with Danish restaurant Relae being named the most sustainable restaurant in 2016. Increasing the percentage of meals that are plant-based on your menu to meet the growing demand from customers, will enable you to do your part for the sustainability of our planet.
“In every way and everyday, we at Simply Cooking try to get better in being sustainable, both when cooking, and in using all ingredients under the “Simply Cooking Recycle” and “Simply Cooking Refood*” brands. I believe that if you’re not changing anything, nothing will happen, but if you do small things it will all benefit in the end to a more sustainable tomorrow.”
2. Be Inclusive
In the UK, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people going plant-based with 2.5 million British people identifying themselves as vegan in 2024. A little closer to home in the Nordics, similar trends are seen with 24 percent of Nordic consumers predicting that they will eat less meat in the next five years, primarily due to health and environmental reasons, while 34 percent of the Nordic consumers indicated that they would eat more vegetarian food. In Denmark, 55% of Danes don’t eat meat at least once a week while 8% of Millennial Danes are “flexitarian”.
With such dramatic shifts in people’s diet choices, as a restaurant or caterer, expanding your customer segment to include those adopting a plant-based lifestyle either sometimes or all the time is a step in the right direction to being inclusive. Keep in mind that when an organisation or group of friends are arranging a meal out “the vegan always chooses the restaurant”!
With just over 1 in 10 Danish cuisine restaurants offering vegan (plant-based) options, there is a huge opportunity to appeal to a wider customer base. This is particularly important as the number of people opting for plant-based meals increases.
3. Increase Sales, Reduce Costs and Improve Customer Loyalty
So what happens to your bottom line when you offer more plant-based options? We can draw inspiration from restaurants from around the world that have seen some amazing results.
Reduction in food costs
Two and a half years after Gigi Pizzeria in Sydney went fully vegan in 2015, after becoming aware of the environmental and health impact of animal agriculture, their sales were up by 27%, food costs were down 10% and the company’s social media following increased by 500%.
Increased sales and social following
Hospitality consulting firm Veganizer conducted an informal survey in early 2018. Of the 17 restaurants surveyed in the US, UK and Australia who made the switch to 100% plant-based menu offerings, they all had increased sales of between 10% and 1,000%. What is striking is that while the food costs varied, social media followings for these restaurants increased between 100% and 15,000%. While you may not be considering moving to being 100% plant-based, these statistics are certainly worth noting in favour of increasing the plant-based offerings on the menu of your restaurant or as a caterer.
Feeling like you’re ready to add plant-based to your menu, what next?
So what should restaurants and caterers keep in mind when deciding to increase their plant-based menu options. Here are some pointers from us at Plantier:
Conveying the business advantage of making this change to business partners and investors is of utmost importance. Statistics and data shared earlier in this post will help justify the need to add more plant-based menu options.
Identify what makes your restaurant unique and how this can be retained in your plant-based menu offerings.
When deciding on menu items, are you planning to keep the same dishes but substituting the animal products? Or are you creating new plant-based dishes? Either way, ensuring that the plant-based offerings are substantial and delicious is key to enticing customers to pick those items.
The right communication is key. To build customer loyalty, and brand yourself as a restaurant/ caterer who is inclusive, being positive and enthusiastic about your plant-based offerings is helpful. Training staff to communicate that your restaurant / catering facility has plant-based options, and even encourage customers to try the plant-based options on the menu.
Give it time. Word needs to get out that you are a restaurant / caterer who is inclusive. Use social media to get the message out that you are a sustainable and inclusive restaurant. Work with food industry consultants like Plantier who can help you create the right dishes, and market your restaurant.
At Plantier, we work with and inspire restaurants to offer a variety of delicious plant-based options on their menus, to be sustainable and inclusive. We offer consultancy services to help you make sense of the growing demand for plant-based choices. Contact us for more information on our services.
*Simply Cooking Refood - refers to their food waste reduction initiatives.
Photo by ELEVATE from Pexels