Young consumers are used to being bombarded with information, some of which is accurate and some of which is not. Naturally, they reject much of it and chart their own path to health and wellness. In response, food service operators need to be ready to answer questions about menu items as they arise, ensuring that no matter what a customer's dietary choices are, Food and beverages must be provided.
That was the assessment of participants on a panel entitled “Better Food for Customers = Better Business for You” at the National Restaurant Show.
Karin Stutz, an industry veteran and current director of Kura Sushi and Hawaiian Brothers, is the founder and CEO of Handcut Foods, a contract food service company that is part of the Compass Group. They were joined by Georg Mazilov and Lizzie Fryer, director of menu research. The conversation was moderated by Adrian Smith of New Hope, which runs the Natural Products Expo, and provided insight into research firm Technomic.
“There is a lot of misinformation and bad marketing out there,” Mazilov said. In response to this, individuals, especially his generation Z, are “listening to their bodies” and deciding what to eat.
“Everyone is looking for their own interpretation of what's good for them,” he says. “It's not one size fits all.”
And it's not necessarily specifically about nutrition, Friar says. Today's consumers often recognize that ingredients and menus that are environmentally friendly, sustainable, and animal welfare are better for them.
Additionally, the decades-old trend in which healthy eating meant cutting out things like calories and fat has been replaced by more positive messages.
“Now businesses are looking at things like functional ingredients that they can add to help people,” Frier said.
But Stutz said it's still important to remove ingredients that may be unnatural, such as stabilizers and artificial colors.
It's an initiative she spearheaded when she was president of McAllister's Deli, at a time when Whole Foods Market's natural/local/organic message was gaining popularity and Panera was introducing ingredients it didn't use. It was around the same time that the “Banned List” was announced. Do not put it in food.
Stutz started by making sure new SKUs coming into McAllister's didn't contain certain artificial ingredients, and then began asking suppliers to eliminate those ingredients from existing products.
“We found that our suppliers were willing to support that,” she said. “If you ask for better ingredients, you will get it.”
Mazilov said guests are looking for ingredients that are free of artificial ingredients and speak of authenticity and transparency.
“It's almost an anti-industrial trend,” he says.
But guests, especially young people, don't want to be lectured to, he added.
“They are doing inquiry-based learning,” he said. While they would likely push back if provided with information, he told restaurateurs in the audience that customers need information readily available when they ask questions.
“We're talking about very smart consumers, consumers who have a lot of information,” he said. “You should know that. [food and beverage] You're putting it out there. ”
Stutz, who was also president and CEO of the vegan chain Native Foods, said customers can create unique products based on their perceived needs, such as looking for products that are gluten-, soy- and MSG-free. agreed that the decision was made.
“I've never seen anyone say, 'Where's the healthy section on the menu?'”
She said she is waiting for our society to reach a tipping point where “people want to eat healthy food and actually go to restaurants.” But the restaurant experience remains focused on luxury.
Nevertheless, those healthy items need to be there, Fryer said. These will help drive increased traffic and keep them coming through the door, even if your guests ultimately choose to opt for the cheeseburger and no salad. Offering better-for-you products can also help eliminate the “veto vote” by providing options for guests who want them, she said.
Stutz added that luxury food and good-for-you food don't have to be mutually exclusive, and said the restaurant industry should be proactive in demanding cleaner ingredients from suppliers.
Mazilov added that healthy and sustainable products also need to be approachable and affordable. “If not, it's just virtue signaling,” he says.
Stutz added that no matter what a product's message or actual nutritional content is, people have to like eating it.
“At the end of the day, the taste has to be great,” she said. “nothing else matters.”
New Hope and Technomic are both divisions of Informa, which also runs restaurant shows.
Contact Brett Thorne: [email protected]