Speaking at The Caterer’s Plant-based Summit, our insights & marketing manager Kirsty Matthews shared her tips on how to grow your menu.
What we eat, and the way we eat is changing and operators are having to adapt to the appetite for change, while navigating through the challenges the pandemic has presented.
Cater across all parts
“Consumers are looking for all-day dining options. They can be up and out the house before they’ve had a chance to eat breakfast and could be out all the way through to dinner.
“Consider how you pitch the items you offer so you’re not having to add complexity but you’re catering to everyone’s needs. Pancakes are a great example as they can be served for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dessert.
“Toasties are another great example. As well as proving to be a popular lunch-time dining option, they transfer well to takeaway, allowing you to expand your sales opportunity without needing to expand your space.
“Offering coffees and cakes is another great low-risk means of filling tables in between breakfast, lunch and dinner. And with vegan a number of vegan cake mixes now available, it’s easier than ever before to offer vegan-suitable options that will capture attention.
Allow your customers to customise
“Almost 30% of UK menus are now customisable according to Lumina Intelligence.
“Offering a limited menu is a great way of managing complexity both front and back of house and it doesn’t haven’t to restrict the options available to customers. Customisation is key. Many dishes lend themselves well to customisation – bacon or avocado on a burger? Mushrooms or pepperoni on your pizza? Or maybe you’ll have both? Would you prefer cheddar or nacho cheese on your dirty fries?
“Offering customisation is also a great way to draw in vegan diners, too. Plant-based consumers lean towards independent restaurants and coffee shops because there is a perception that they’ll be more flexible with menu alterations or dietary requirements.
“Limited menus can still offer a lot of options to your customers.
Source menu multi-taskers
“Get clever with the products you’re using in your kitchen or bakery. Having versatile building block sauces that can multi-task across your menu is something that can help grow your menu. A sauce that pairs both plant-based and meat-based dishes saves you time and money while allowing you to cater for the growing number of vegan diners.
“The smarter your ingredients, the fewer products you’re handling in your kitchen.”
Macphie has created a series of Make More with Macphie videos to help show operators how to make the best of use its product range. Find out more here.