Are you catering for your plant-based customers on your food menu too?
25% of your customers drink plant-based milk... Are you catering for them on your food menu too?
According to research by Café Pulse, there is now a 25% take up of plant-based drinks in all milk-based coffees served in cafes. That’s one in four customers ordering oat, soy, almond or other alternatives to dairy milk.
And it’s only going to grow, according to reports in September last year, one in three Brits drink plant based milk, with usage up from 25% in 2020 to 32% in 2021. And it’s the 25-44 year old segment that make up the bulk of the plant-based preferers with almost 44% drinking plant-based milk.
The stigma of ordering an alternative milk has well and truly gone out the window. If you own a café and don’t have plant-based options, it’s time to reconsider your approach.
You’re probably reading this and thinking “I’ve got this covered”. And truly, most Australian cafes do offer one or two dairy alternatives on their drink menu.
But what about your food?
As plant-based alternatives continue to grow in popularity and support on drink menus, we are still seeing only one or two options for plant-based diners on food menus. How can this be? Surely if people are choosing plant-based alternatives at coffee time they are just as likely to at breakfast, lunch or dinner?
Keep in mind that people have different reasons for adopting a plant-based (or partly plant based diet). Where in the past it was generally animal rights activists, we are now seeing an increase in young people worried about their diets’ effect on the environment. (In fact, some restaurants are considering adding a ‘c’ to the usual ‘gf’ and ‘df’ labels to denote a climate-conscious choice).
If you’re considering adding more plant based or vegetarian options to your menu, you’ll be pleased to know you can still serve many of your favourite items quite easily. For example, our softest bun ever also happens to be completely vegan and the nostalgic breakfast favourite, Golden Crumpets, are as well. Our Australian Garlic Bread Co range are also vegan – so the crowd favourite can be enjoyed by everyone.
Check out some of our favourite plant-based recipes here:
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| Smokey Pulled Mushroom Burger (Video Recipe) |
Golden Tofu Burger |
Vegan Macadamia Butter and Berry Loaded Crumpet (Video Recipe) |
If you’re looking for help creating a vegan and plant-based friendly menu, get in touch, we’d love to help. Just by adding a handful of plant-based options you could save yourself from missing out on valuable revenue.
12th May 2022
