Understand and Leverage Diners’ Sustainability Values

New research reveals how operators can tap into consumer sustainability demands with small steps that can yield big impact.

A practical guide to understanding and leveraging diners’ sustainability values

Adapting to diner sustainability preferences has become essential for restaurants to succeed in an increasingly competitive industry.

The research shows that more than half of diners (57%), termed Sustainability Supporters, actively seek or prefer restaurants that implement sustainable practices. This preference is particularly strong among Gen Z and Millennial diners or those with children under the age of 18.

Although 43% of diners are not influenced by sustainability when choosing a restaurant, a significant portion of all diners are willing to pay more for sustainable ingredients (65%), environmentally friendly to-go packaging (56%), and environmentally friendly restaurant operations (62%).

Our study focused on three key areas to understand the impact of more sustainable practices: ingredients, to-go packaging, operations.

Our recent study of 1,000 U.S. diners reveals compelling evidence that sustainable practices, no matter how small, can meet growing consumer demand and, when communicated effectively, present significant business opportunities.

The insights presented in this report can help restaurant operators further assess, execute, and effectively communicate their sustainability efforts in meaningful ways.

Read on for guidance about how well-placed, transparent sustainability communications can help:

Capture and retain environmentally conscious diners, especially younger generations and families

Support premium pricing through transparent sustainability communications

Create meaningful brand differentiation