Having dined at countless restaurants to try vegan food across the entire globe over years – we’ve seen them all: the most common and easily to avoid mistakes restaurant owners, managers, chefs and staff are making when introducing new vegan options to a menu. We decided to compile them in a list so it would be easier for you to avoid them!
1. Missing out on ‘veganizing’ the entire dish
Imagine this: you are super proud that your are finally adopting plant-based food onto your menu – instead of beef burgers you are now offering a self-made quinoa-bean burger patty and think it’s delicious! Good job! But don’t forget to ensure that everything else on that dish is vegan too. Did you check if the burger bun contains any milk or eggs? How about the sauce? Is it completely animal-free? This is only one example, and it even happens to the biggest restaurant chains! Just recently BurgerKing launched a new vegan burger and the mayonnaise on there was not vegan. This is only one example – but can be applied anywhere. Too often we came across delicious vegan ice cream only to realize that the ice cream cones were not plant-based and we had to go for the cup again.
2. Not labelling the dish as plant-based on the menu
Never expect your guests to know if a dish is vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free unless you label it this way everywhere where the dish is listed. This does not only include the menu, but also written signs that you might have around your location or menus on food delivery platforms. One more thing about labels: there is a big difference between a vegetarian and a vegan dish so it’s smart to make it easy for the guest to see that difference as well.
3. Lack of staff knowledge about the ingredients
There’s nothing worse than looking forward to an amazing plant-based dish and then loosing the interest by the time you order it because of the lack of knowledge and interest of the waiter or staff. Ensuring that the customer-facing staff is knowledgeable about the existence, ingredients and taste of the new dishes is crucial to the success of the launch. So make sure to get your employees onboard of the change and have them taste the dishes as well.
4. Not sharing the menu additions through marketing campaigns
Especially when short on cash many restaurant owners reduce marketing spendings. But that is in fact one of the worst things to do when launching a new vegan menu. It’s not to say that marketing campaigns have to be expensive, but one has to understand the following: at this point most plant-based eaters do not randomly sit down at a café or restaurant. They do research about where they can find the best vegan options. So not talking about it online or offline is most likely not going to bring you in this new clientele.
5. Overpricing the vegan options
So let’s be honest. You’re not only adding vegan options to your menu to be a better person, contribute more positively to the environment and also avoid animal suffering, you also want to increase your revenue! That’s fine and that’s how it should be. Organic food has long been known as always being overpriced and easily to make money with. However, vegans have been very critical about how much they are willing to spend extra for a plant-based option, which they are, but just don’t over-do it.
6. Limiting the plant-based options to the main course
To be vegan-friendly or appeal to plant-based eaters adding a couple of plant-based main courses without paying attention to the remaining sections of the menu is not going to help you to your success. There’s noting worse than having a limited amount of choices or not being able to indulge into a creamy dessert when this is what the entire (non-vegan) rest of the family is having. Also think about drinks – a surprising amount of drinks (such as juices or wines) is not naturally vegan, so including one or two plant-based options is going to make every vegans day.
7. Lack of availability
Nothing is more frustrating than looking forward to something and then being disappointed. Of course the demand of your new menu items can be much higher than anticipated and that might bring you in jeopardy during the launch (try to avoid it though) but ensure stable availability of your plant-based food items at all times – and if something is not available ensure that communication about it is friendly and apologetic.
8. Tasteless and basic plant-based food
Plant-based food doesn’t have to be bland at all, but it can be – just like any other food. The problem is only that plant-based food often has the stereotype of being tasteless and boring and under no circumstances do you want to enhance this. Because then you might come across as someone who does not really care. So before launch, ensure the menu items are delicious, full of flavor and have been tried and approved by different people.
9. Vegan options are in-line with your food concept
Tasted some amazing vegan sushi at your friend’s house or went for vegan gyros during your vacation and liked it so much that you want to offer it to your guests? Wait a minute – never just offer something plant-based just because it’s delicious, you have to ensure that the vegan dish compliments your concept. So vegan dumplings are normally a no-go in a classic Italian restaurant.
10. Plant-based menu items are to expensive to make
We said it before, and say it again. You should be making a profit with your new plant-based menu items. Generally speaking, your plant-based food should cost you less than the other dishes you are offering, but you will have to make choices and choose the ingredients that fit both your budget and the customer’s budget. But this can also be in regards to time: making everything from scratch can be delicious and cheaper, but do you have that time or would you rather option for e.g. meat replacement made for the hospitality industry?
Did you experience any other crucial mistakes restaurant owners, cooks and staff are doing when catering to vegans? Do you want to hear more about any of the points above or need some help to avoid them? Contact us in any case – we love to chat about any plant-based success plan, story or question you might have.
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