There is no question that Americans value quality over price. The specific ingredients in food items carry just as much value, if not more, than how much an item costs. For this reason, many restaurants are moving toward more natural and healthier menu options. How can you provide your customers with healthier food items, while also remaining competitive? It requires careful menu planning, creativity with traditional food items, and keeping up with new trends.
Careful and advanced menu planning
The menu is one of the most important parts of restaurant success. Many consumers will view a restaurant?s menu before deciding to frequent that business. If you do not have a wide variety of menu options to cater to all guests, you are likely to lose the sale. Also, if your menu items are not consistent with your brand and value, customers are unlikely to return in the future. If you portray and advertise a view of health and high quality ingredients, but do not provide, you are running the risk of turning your customers away.
To stay consistent with a healthy brand image, you want to offer customers products like wild caught Alaskan salmon and grass fed meat recipes. Wild caught Alaskan salmon is one of the healthier alternatives of fish menu items. Wild salmon has 32% fewer calories than its farmed counterpart, according to data from the National Nutritional Database. Pay careful attention to every single food item that you choose to put on your menu.
Creativity with traditional food items
Consumers agree to pay restaurant prices because they are offered a product that they cannot get anywhere else. If they felt they could cook the same menu items at home, at a much cheaper price, they would not spend as much. Over time, menu items become dull and forgotten. Healthier food items tend to taste bland and plain and often do not attract a lot of attention on their own. However, with a creative menu and twist on traditional food items, you can keep your customers interested. With wild caught Alaskan salmon being one of the accepted healthier alternatives among customers, find menu items that are unique containing the salmon.
Wild salmon averages out at 13 grams of fat in a half filet, compared to 27 grams in farmed salmon. Instead of simply offering wild caught Alaskan salmon on the menu, spice it up or serve it with some fresh and local vegetables. A great way to increase creativity while also keeping menu items fresh and healthy is to pair up with local meat farmers. Local meat farmers are aware of the best techniques used to keep items fresh and healthy. Pair this with your creative menu design and you will have a unique and competitive restaurant brand in no time.
Keep up with current and new trends
There will always be current food trends. Consumers will shun one type of food one day, and then praise it the next. To become a successful restaurant owner, it is important to keep up with these trends. If your customers currently want the healthiest of beef products, buy grass fed steaks. With the internet, you can come across almost any type of supply or product. You can even purchase dry aged beef for sale online. Americans on average eat 66.5 pounds of beef every year. The consumption and menu item of beef dishes is not going anywhere. It just takes a little design and awareness of current trends to keep it relevant.
Healthy is the current American dietary trend. Americans want to know what they are eating. They want to know what is in the product, how it was raised, and what it was raised on. To remain competitive and successful in the lucrative restaurant industry, you must keep up with these current trends. It is also important to incorporate them into a unique menu, while also carefully planning out every item on the menu with an intended purpose and design.
