3-minute read ---

As consumers become more educated about nutrition and wellness, their dining preferences are shifting towards healthier, more nutritious options. Restaurant owners who embrace this change not only cater to current demand but also prepare their business for long-term success. Here’s why offering healthier menu options is a smart business move for restaurants and how it can benefit your bottom line.

Why Make a Change? Rising Consumer Demand
The demand for health-conscious food and drink options has continued to grow in recent years. Now, health-conscious customers are not content to make their own food at home. They are looking for a restaurant that supports their health and lifestyle, and are willing to go the extra mile (often literally) for these businesses. These can be customers with food allergies, or those choosing to reduce sugar intake, seek out plant-based proteins, or avoid foods that contain artificial additives or food coloring.

Popular diets like vegetarian, gluten-free, keto, and paleo also represent a significant shift in how people view food and nutrition. By staying ahead of these trends, restaurants can ensure that their menu remains relevant and appealing, and stay ahead of their competition. But it doesn’t have to be hard. Sometimes, simply offering a few health-conscious options such as smoothie bowls, grain salads, and lean protein dishes can cater to these diets and show that your restaurant is in tune with modern customers' dietary preferences.

​Here’s what else healthier menus can do for your business:

By offering healthier options, restaurants expand their customer base

Seasonal ingredients are often available from local suppliers

Capture a Broader Audience
By offering healthier options, restaurants expand their customer base. Health-conscious diners, including vegans, vegetarians, and those with dietary restrictions such as gluten-free or low-carb diets, often struggle to find suitable options when dining out. By providing diverse, healthy choices, merchants capture a broader audience. Especially where diets and food allergies are concerned, satisfied customers are more likely to return to the restaurant and bring their friends and families. In this way, restaurants also increase group dining traffic to their business, as well as retain a new customer niche.

Enhance Your Brand Image
Incorporating healthy menu items can significantly boost your restaurant’s reputation. Many customers today are not just looking for a place to eat, but one that reflects their values for health and wellness. By demonstrating a commitment to health and wellness, restaurants position themselves as very customer-centric and in tune with customer preferences. This can lead to increased customer loyalty, positive reviews, and word-of-mouth referrals, all of which are invaluable in the competitive restaurant industry.

Support the Community
Healthier menu options can include fresh, seasonal ingredients, which are often available from local suppliers. By working with local suppliers, many restaurant owners find that fresh produce, whole grains, and lean proteins can be less expensive than processed foods and can be used in a variety of dishes. Supporting local farmers can also reduce the restaurant’s carbon footprint, which will also grab the attention of eco-minded diners.

Keeping it Simple: Beginner Changes to Consider
Transitioning to a healthier menu doesn’t mean a complete overhaul of your existing offerings. Start by introducing a few key items and build from there. Consider adding:

• Whole Grains: brown rice, quinoa, or farro as alternatives to refined grains
• Lean Proteins: grilled chicken, fish, and plant-based protein
• Fresh Vegetables: seasonal vegetables in salads, sides, and mains
• Healthy Beverages: freshly squeezed juices, herbal teas, and naturally flavored water
• Plant-Based Options: legumes, tofu, or tempeh

Marketing Your Healthier Menu
Once you’ve revamped your menu, let your customers know! Use social media to highlight new dishes, emphasizing their health benefits. Train your staff to discuss the nutritional aspects of your menu items with diners. Make ingredient lists available on your website that customers can view via QR code. Consider hosting tasting events or offering special promotions to introduce the latest additions to your customers.

Easily Update Restaurant Menus with Aldelo Express
Operators that use Aldelo Express AI Menu Builder, Global Price Changer, and Matrix Menu Builder features enjoy industry-leading speed and convenience when updating their digital menus. Traditional printed menus can require regular reprinting as operators make changes to menu item pricing, ingredients, availability, or descriptions. The associated costs not only quickly add up over time, but require advance planning to ensure that printing orders are in the restaurant when the changes become “live.” With Aldelo Express, users easily update digital menus without the need for paper or printing, and become immediately available to in-store and remote customers.

Learn more by contacting an Aldelo representative today at [email protected] or 925-621-2410

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Please contact an Aldelo representative today for more details, 
including a free Aldelo Express POS demo trial

[email protected] | 877-639-8767 | [email protected]

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