Nutrition: Have It Your Way

Forget rigid diets and nutritional fads. Consumers are taking on a more personalized definition of what’s healthy, and they’re making food and beverage choices accordingly.

TREND 3: HEALTH & WELLNESS

Nutrition: Have It Your Way

Like everything else these days, patrons want to be able to customize better-for-you food choices to suit their individual needs, tastes, and goals.

HEALTH IS A HIGHLY PERSONAL MATTER

It’s not that dieting is dead. But according to Technomic, consumers are increasingly taking on a more personalized, holistic view of health. They’re making food and beverage choices based on their personal definition of health, such as food described as natural, organic, high in protein, or functional (for example, items to help boost energy or de-stress).

Consumers may not necessarily follow a specific diet but they do always eat healthy as they define it (cited by 13% of respondents) or eat mostly healthy (44%).¹

In fact, the very idea of what healthy means is evolving: 40% of respondents report that their definition of healthy has changed within the past two years. They are increasingly taking a more individualized and holistic approach to health, including mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

Clearly this provides both an opportunity and challenges for foodservice operators. To stay up to date with consumers’ changing expectations of healthful offerings, menus must continually innovate.

Technomic cites two other trends that are affecting menus:

Functional Eating—In addition to more traditional better-for-you cues such as gluten free and lower in fat, nearly two-thirds (64%) of consumers agree to eating more so-called functional foods and beverages that provide specific nutritional benefits, such as being high in antioxidants or aiding in digestion, compared to two years ago. In addition, 32% would pay more for items that have other functional benefits, a greater percentage than for avoidant claims such as low-sugar, low-fat, low-calorie, and gluten-free.²

What makes an item healthy? “Full of nutrients”; “Low fat”; “Low in sugar”; “Has healthy ingredients”; “Low calorie”; “Well balanced”; “High fiber”; “Vegan”; “All natural”; “Not heavily processed.”¹

Cleaner Eating—The drive away from highly processed foods and toward reducing or eliminating foods that cause digestive issues, including carbohydrates, dairy, and refined sugar, is also affecting the way health-conscious consumers eat. This has led to growing interest in such new diets as Whole30, Ketogenic, and Paleo that eliminate these foods and promote the role of fats and proteins in maintaining health and losing weight.²

How-To: Build a Better-for-You Menu

Providing a number of different choices that fit with current definitions of health can also appeal to less health-conscious diners, however, as long as the usual demands for variety, value, and flavor are met. Consider offering:

Fresh, seasonal ingredients, particularly fruits and vegetables
Unprocessed, natural, and organic foods
Lean proteins such as chicken and fish
Foods with favorable nutritional profiles, such as whole grains, salmon, and dark, leafy greens
Customizable menu platforms such as build-your-own bowls and salads, which allow patrons to control portion size as well as consumption of unwanted ingredients such as gluten and dairy
Vegan, vegetarian, and plant-forward selections, including plant-based proteins
Allergen-free items including gluten-, dairy-, soy-, nut-, and shellfish-free choices

Operators may also want to call out items that make consumers feel good, whether through functional benefits, more transparency, or social responsibility.

^{Sources: [1] Technomic, 2018 Healthy Eating Consumer Trend Report. [2] Technomic, 2016 Healthy Eating Consumer Trend Report.}