Appetites for Mindful Eating

While the definition of a healthy meal may vary depending on whom you ask, it is more relevant than ever for operators.

TREND 5

Appetites for Mindful Eating

CONSUMERS RESPOND TO MENUS THAT FEED INTEREST IN HEALTH-MINDED EATING

In a predictable ritual, many consumers set a New Year’s goal of more-mindful eating. Launching 2022, 46% made the vow for this year; for 18- to 24-year-olds, the number is 48%. The call comes from many corners; doctors urge it, media thrums on it, and marketing elevates it to something just short of sainthood. With 49% of respondents also indicating that they plan to order healthier food for delivery in 2022, the expressed intent to continue eating restaurant meals indicates that diners expect foodservice to meet them on their terms. Providing food choices that fit their idea of what constitutes healthy amid a world of differing approaches, beliefs, and demands is a mandate for many operations across all industry sectors. Key traits and trends help make sense of it.

WHAT DOES HEALTHY MEAN TO CONSUMERS?

In a landmark 2019 study designed to shed light on the U.S. government’s healthy labeling laws, consumers were almost evenly split on whether healthy is based solely on ingredients and nutritional profile or if additional factors like organically grown, non-GMO or “clean label” also indicate the healthfulness of food. Perceptions were also found to be based on at least three underlying dimensions: animal origin, preservation, and freshness/processing. Decreasing a food’s fat, sodium, carbohydrates, and upping protein content are seen as adding to the sense of healthy and, increasingly, food transparency, clear labeling, and food safety also are expected.

For some consumers, eating mindfully also means moderation, balancing healthy and indulgent foods, and consuming foods and beverages that have specific benefits and possibly provoke responses such as relaxation, serenity, and mental alertness; this might include smart water, pro- and prebiotics, and even CBD-enhanced foods.

What’s Your Perception of “Healthy” Based On?

Solely the ingredients and nutritional profile
Factors such as organically grown, non-GMO, and so-called “clean” labels

WHAT TO MENU

Menu items, ingredients, preparations, and terminology can serve as shorthand for customers, signaling affinity with their tastes, values, and interests.

For restaurants, it is important to offer a mix of options that deliver on the range of consumer definitions of healthier foods, from lower calorie, sodium, and fat to organic, local, or higher protein options. Menuing items that they can customize is also important to many diners interested in meeting their own personal definitions of health, perhaps dressing on the side, or chicken grilled instead of fried.

Plant-based meat alternatives are seen as healthier for some consumers and also convey certain values, appealing to those for whom sustainability and earth-friendly are important. Calorie and fat content of such products often is within the same range as for their meat-based counterparts, so consider designing the total dish with plenty of whole, plant-based foods for the most appeal.

Similarly, plant-based dairy alternatives signal values. For some consumers, the appeal comes from allergies or intolerances to dairy milk while others find the plant-based aspect to be the lead trait.

The term ‘fresh’ communicates to consumers food has not been frozen or processed.

Preparation methods are handy as code-speak, with grilled, poached, and seared indicating less fat than fried preparations. Air-fried has similar appeal.

Go beyond water and offer beverages that fit health and wellness lifestyles. Fermented drinks, farm-to-table cocktails, and enhanced coffee draw attention.

Alternative grains and flours can signal health for diners, especially whole grain versions. Amaranth, oat, quinoa, buckwheat, rice, almond, and even banana flour are options to consider.

Studies indicate that “pretty” food that meets classical aesthetics principles such as symmetry, order, and systemic patterns is perceived to be healthier; colorful and attractive presentations amplify the point.

WELL-AGED OPINIONS

Age influences how consumers view health and what attributes they prioritize, with younger demographics parsing all the dietary information much differently than their parents and grandparents. But some things stay the same across generations; a ‘What’s Your Healthy?’ survey showed that Millennials, Gen Xers, and Baby Boomers all believe that their health status tops that of other generations.

No big surprise that the Silent Generation is the most traditional, their meals generally following a meat-and-potatoes formula. If their age comes with associated health conditions, they will modify certain aspects but aren’t at all likely to abandon foods they know and love.

What It Means on Menus
Steak and a baked, please.

For Baby Boomers, being healthy means getting regular medical screenings and following doctors’ orders. They’re inclined to cut calories, make “smart” food choices, and monitor intake of salt and sugar. They reach for known brands, read and compare labels, and place high value on foods that support weight management, cardiovascular health, and digestive health.

What It Means on Menus
Grilled chicken sandwich, extra lettuce, hold the mayo.

Sitting squarely in their middle-age years, Generation X focuses on the relationship between diet, disease, and health. Weight loss matters to them although efforts to drop pounds, as with all generations, can easily be derailed. More than other groups, they believe food and cancer risk are related, believing that diet and lifestyle choices can reduce their chances of a diagnosis.

What It Means on Menus
Salmon, poached and served with broccoli and a sweet potato.

Millennials take the approach that healthy means eating right and following an exercise regimen. Millennials are interested in organic, farm-to-table, and fresh foods, with ample consideration given to how these foods make them feel. Mental health, muscle health, and immunity that foods may provide are of interest to this age group.

What It Means on Menus
Is the pasta made with organic wheat?

Generation Z’s parents emphasized health and wellness, a truth that greatly influences Zs’ beliefs about food and their approach to eating: According to Piper Sandler, they prefer organic and additive-free foods. Concerned about the planet, climate change, and animal welfare, they’re the largest audience for meat, dairy, and egg analogs and while most continue to eat meat, they’re solidly in the flexitarian camp. More than half—54%, say they like healthy snacks. Conversely, when asked to name favorite healthy snacks, just 4% identified fruits, veggies, or nuts. Operators looking to offer appealing options might consider hummus, whole grain crackers, cut, ready-to-eat veggies or roasted, spiced chickpeas.

What It Means on Menus
I’ll have a low-foam matcha latte now and a meat-free slider in a little while.

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTIONAL

With interest coming from nearly all age groups and especially Gen Zs, the market for functional beverages—those said to provide health benefits beyond their nutritional value—continues to gain strength. Global market valuation, said to be $110,148,000 in 2020, is expected to exceed $200,000,000 by 2030, according to a report by InsightAce Analytic. Infused with all manner of ingredients including botanicals, herbs, electrolytes, adaptogens, fruits and/or vegetables, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics, they offer an alternative to traditional sugary beverages and an option for those who make wellness and self-care a priority. Functional aspects that consumers look for include:

Replenishing
Energizing
Reducing stress
Increasing energy
Contributing to gut health
Strengthening immunity
Sharpening mental acuity

SUPER NATURAL

Describe something as a superfood and interest heightens, a point the mania for kale demonstrates very well. Other items wear the label and benefit from the perception of nutritional superpowers: Extra virgin olive oil, blueberries, acai, garlic, dark chocolate, and apple cider vinegar by now are widely known and embraced for their benefits. What’s next? According to Datassential SNAP!, up-and-coming superfoods worth paying attention to include matcha, watercress, chia, seaweed, breadfruit, kefir, black rice, sprouted grains, and even watermelon seeds.

HEALTHY-MINDED MENU OPTIONS

McDonald’s salads, added more than 30 years ago after clamoring from nutritionists, became a casualty of the pandemic era. Quietly taken off menus, the chain cited menu simplification and improved customer experience as reasons. Most chains menu health-minded choices. In the post-salad days, McD’s offers fruit and maple oatmeal, apple slices, and even the Filet-O-Fish that stands up pretty well. See below for select options at other establishments.

Select options at other chains:

Burger King: Chicken Garden Salad
Chipotle: Vegetarian Burrito Bowl
Le Pain Quotidien: Chia Seed Pudding with banana jam
Native Foods Cafe: Elote Dip with roasted sweet corn, creamy chili-lime sauce, cilantro, plant-based cotija cheese, and tortilla chips
Panera: Low-fat All-natural Chicken Noodle Soup
Pizza Hut: Veggie Lover’s Pizza with thin and crispy crust
Taco Bell: Soft Chicken Taco Fresco Style

Independents:

Green Plant Bowl of fried black rice with hazelnuts, black lentils, avocado, sweet potatoes, roasted carrots and cauliflower, grilled radicchio, microgreens, pea tendrils, green and white tahini, hemp seeds, and cilantro
Mushroom Burger with heirloom tomato, lettuce, beet ketchup, caramelized onions, pickled shallots, mustard, and cashew aioli
White Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad with sprouted quinoa, parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers, lemon juice, olive oil, sunflower-almond dressing, and sesame oil

Kampachi Crudo with Meyer lemon and sun-dried tomato sauce
Pan-Roasted Sole with green olives, toasted almonds, and aged-sherry wine emulsion
Roasted Chicken with maple-glazed baby carrots and grainy mustard reduction
Indian Curry Bowl with red lentil dal, roasted garnet yams, spinach, coconut-mint chutney, spicy tomato jam, and scallions

_{^{Sources: Fast Casual: Consumers Plan to Eat Healthier in 2022 (2022); National Institutes of Health: Consumer Beliefs About Healthy Foods and Diets (2019); Oliver Wyman: Power of Health and Well-Being in Food Retail; Graceland Fruit: Trends and Habits of Gen Z (2021); Allied Market Research: Functional Beverage Market by Type; Restaurant Business: Restaurants Find That Protein Packs a Healthy Punch (2022); Evok Advertising: Healthy Eating, What It Means to Millennials Versus Baby Boomers (2022); Food Insight: Food, Health, and the Gen-X Factor (2019); Piper Sandler: Taking Stock With Teens (2022); P.R. Newswire: Functional Beverages Market (2022).}}