How to introduce plant-based options

• It is all about the ratio – as a first step, restaurant owners can try to shift the focus to the plant-based components of a dish, for example, by using plant-based products as the main dish, with animal-based products as a side order.
• Replace animal-based ingredients with plant-based staples. Foods with a high share of protein, such as lentils, beans, or tofu, will fill you up, taste good, and have an excellent price-to-performance ratio. Seaweed, dried and fresh mushrooms, olives, and walnuts all provide the popular umami taste often associated with meat.
• Purchase plant-based alternative products in bulk packs. Meat and milk alternatives, as well as plant-based cream, are readily available in sizes suitable for food-service companies. Many manufacturers – including traditional meat and dairy companies – have now developed plant-based product lines for commercial kitchens, for example, Frischli, Naarmann, and Salomon Foodworld.

• Bring the aroma and texture to the fore when naming the dishes: ‘Savoury turmeric sweet potatoes with spicy ginger’ is much more attractive and descriptive than ‘Vegan sweet-potato pan’.
• Integrate plant-based options into the main menu instead of listing them under a separate category – in this way, they will also stand out to people who aren't actively looking for them.
• Use pictograms instead of ‘vegan’ labellings – small symbols such as flowers, leaves, or trees are intuitively recognised by many people without alienating flexitarians. It’s important to clearly differentiate between vegan and vegetarian dishes.

• Taste, taste, taste – this is decisive for the success of a dish, whether plant-based or not. Bear in mind that you usually only have one chance to convince, so it pays to take a little longer to perfect the new dish.
• If the components are homemade, for example, patties or mincemeat, it is advisable to create new recipes that don't have an animal-based counterpart and thus don't have to live up to expectations.
• When you do veganise classics, the aroma and texture of the plant-based options should be as similar as possible to the original meat dish so that the taste profile is matched. Ready-to-serve meat, fish, and dairy product alternatives can be helpful here.
• Plan the costs and the implementation of the goods with care: less processed, plant-based basic foodstuffs such as pulses and cereal products are normally far less expensive than animal-based products. On the other hand, ready-to-serve plant-based alternatives are relatively expensive because they are taxed as luxury foods. It’s important to find a balance – 52% of European consumers think that plant-based products are too expensive (10) – so make sure that your plant-based dishes don’t cost more than your animal-based ones.

The market for plant-based products is continuing to expand. On top of this, there is growing awareness among consumers of the ethical, ecological, and health-related impacts of their diet. This means that restaurants will need to respond to the growing demand for plant-based options if they are to satisfy the needs of a broad spectrum of consumers.

(10) Smart Protein (2021): What consumers want: A survey on European consumer attitudes towards plant-based foods. Country specific insights. European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (No 862957). Online: https://proveg.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FINAL_Pan-EU-consumer-survey_Country-Specific-Insights-2.pdf [16.02.2023]