5 Menu Trends for Your Restaurant or Cafe
- 5 Oct 2022
5 Menu Trends for Restaurants & Cafés
There is no escaping the fact that owning and running a restaurant or cafe is highly competitive. It seems like every month a new local food and drink venue opens its doors to the public. Some of these establishments see great success, whilst others end up closing their doors before they make it through their first year of operations.
Remaining competitive is essential when it comes to ensuring long-term cafe and restaurant success. There are countless ways that this can be achieved, from improving your environment to boosting your marketing efforts. One area which is often overlooked is creating a highly desirable and engaging menu that encourages people through the door. In this article, we offer you insight into 2022 menu trends and how they could be applied to your cafe or restaurant business.
Vegan
It will come as little surprise that veganism continues to grow in popularity across the UK. We are already seeing a trend for exclusively vegan restaurants opening their doors and seeing fantastic growth.
Offering several vegan options on your menu is a smart way to increase interest in your cafe or restaurant - not just from dedicated vegans, but also from non-vegans who are interested in generally reducing their meat consumption.
Stats show that a massive 500,000 UK residents partook in Veganuary in 2021, showing just how much interest there is in vegan food - even just on occasion. Pair this with predictions that 13 million Brits could be meat-free by the end of 2022 and it is clear that businesses that don't offer a vegan option are missing out on a huge opportunity.
You don’t have to go 100% meat-free to benefit from this trend.
Simply try adding 2-3 vegan dishes to your menu. However, try and think outside of the box rather than offering the usual vegan-friendly options in order to really grab people's attention and bring them through the doors.
Health First
The pandemic has made many of us more health conscious. So, when looking for somewhere to eat we are often seeking out healthier options.
Try adding options to your menu that will help people feel great about the healthier choices they are making. This could include anything from using ingredients that help support gut health to boosting immune systems.
Remember - if there are health benefits to your menu choices, you need to communicate them. However, it is also important to make unfounded claims, so check your facts first.
Sustainable & Ethical Options
Although there are several reasons why people decide to go vegan, many do so as they believe it to be a more sustainable option. So, it is hardly surprising that sustainability is another thing that plays a big part in where people choose to eat.
Outside of vegan options, there are other ways that you can offer sustainable dishes. For example, sourcing produce locally can reduce the miles each ingredient has to travel from source to the plate - in turn, reducing their carbon footprint. Of course, buying locally also makes it easier for you to gain visibility of the standards and quality of the ingredient, which can also have ethical benefits.
For example, as a restaurant owner, you may serve local beef. As this beef is reared nearby it makes it easier for you to stop by and check its living conditions and level of care. This would be very difficult if you sourced your beef from abroad.
Food waste is another big sustainability challenge that you can tackle in your menu choices. With the UK wasting an estimated 3.6 million tonnes of food every year, finding smart ways to reduce waste can improve sustainability.
In fact, using up leftover ingredients has long been established in hospitality, often through ‘chef’s specials’. However, with the public being more aware of food waste it is now more acceptable to advertise how and where you are using up ingredients in order to reduce waste.
Money Savers
There is no hiding the fact that the next few years are going to be financially difficult for many households. With bills increasing and the general cost of living going up, eating at cafes or restaurant is likely to become even more of a luxury.
This is why offering budget-friendly options on your menu could be a smart move. Providing your customers with an option that won’t break the bank will not only help ease the financial strain but allow them to enjoy your service more regularly without worry.
The Unusual
Food delivery businesses such as Deliveroo and UberEats have made it considerably more convenient to have your meals delivered from home. So, if you want to get people through the door of your cafe or restaurant you will need to find ways to make it more of an experience.
There are many ways you can do this such as making your venue appealing. However, you can also offer new and unusual things on your menu that will provoke interest from adventurous eaters. This could include anything from unusual cuts of meats or lesser known vegetables to offering a selection of hard-to-get-hold-of foreign drinks.
Promoting Your Menu
Ultimately, however fantastic you make your menu, it will have little impact on the success of your cafe or restaurant unless people know about it.
Of course, if your menu choices are noteworthy, you will eventually build success through word of mouth. But being proactive in promoting your new menu options will help you build momentum and reach those outside of the circles of your past customers.
Here are some places you can promote your new menu:
- On your website
- On your social media channels
- On a menu board placed outside of your venue
- On a whiteboard or poster located within your venue
Menu Trends 2022: Summary
It is clear that the choices you make for your menu can have a big impact on the ongoing success of your business. Use the tips and trends we have highlighted in this guide to ensure that your menu remains appealing over the next 12 months.
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