It can be difficult to go out to eat if you’re on a special diet because of food allergies, being a vegan, or needing to avoid certain ingredients. However, more restaurants are beginning to offer more options for their diners, including more vegan and gluten-free choices. Here are five benefits that your business can enjoy by offering special foods on its menu.
Expand Customer Base
Since it can be difficult to find restaurants offering foods for people eating special diets, more guests will visit your restaurant to try your menu. When people with special food needs find out that they can eat gluten-free, vegan, or other special entrees or desserts, they will want to try your food out. If they like it, they will keep coming back because you can cater to their needs.
Free Publicity
Along with your advertisements and social media promotions, word of mouth can be a powerful tool. When people find out that you offer special menus for those who avoid certain foods, have allergies, or cannot eat gluten, they will tell others. Word of mouth has been shown to be the most trusted form of promotion with 92% of people believing recommendations of family members and friends for businesses.
Make More Money
There has been an increased interest from people for special foods on restaurant menus. People want to be able to take their families or dates out for a meal with food choices on the menu that they or anyone else can order. By offering gluten-free, diabetic-friendly, or vegan foods, your restaurant can increase its profits because more people will have options for dining out when they want to celebrate special occasions with their families or friends.
Less Work for Cooks
For some food options, you can order prepared menu items or pre-packaged preparations for special food needs. By having companies who already make vegan or gluten-free menu items such as custom cupcakes supply your restaurant, you won’t need to buy sparsely-used ingredients. In addition, your cooks will not need to learn different recipes or cooking techniques unless the item because a regular part of the menu.
Avoid Problems with Options
Another reason for buying vegan, gluten-free, or nut-free products from another source is to avoid problems with cross-contamination. You would need to purchase some separate equipment such as blenders or mixers to prepare foods for people with certain allergies. To avoid the expense of purchasing more equipment and sourcing special food ingredients, it would be less expensive to purchase pre-made foods from other vendors to serve on your menu.
If someone were to have an allergic reaction to a food menu item marked gluten-free or nut-free, your restaurant could face legal action. However, by allowing a company specialising in certain foods to supply your needs, you can avoid any liability.
The cost difference reflects the opportunity to avoid accidentally cross-contaminating food and making someone very ill. By offering specialty foods, you can take advantage of these benefits to increase profits for your business.
