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Diners are becoming increasingly health conscious and as a result, the demand for healthy food options on restaurant menus is greater than ever. For years, diners have felt let down by the lack of healthy food choices on offer, but that seems to be changing...
In our most recent diner survey, 62% of respondents said that healthy food choices are more readily available at lunchtime compared with last year; and a respective 54% and 47% said the same for dinner and breakfast. Considering the fact that two-thirds of respondents said that healthy choices are a top priority when dining out, it's great to see that restaurants are finally responding to diners' increasing demand for healthy food options.
However, while restaurants seem to be making the effort to cater for health-conscious diners, the same can't be said for pubs: nearly two-thirds of survey respondents believe that pubs aren't doing enough to ensure they offer a good variety of healthy dishes, while a mere 4% said that they provided the most menu variety.
Supermarkets came top of the list when respondents were asked to name which outlets they believed offered the best variety of healthy lunch options. Counter service outlets and restaurants came second and third place, respectively.
Paving the way for healthy lunch options are 'grab to go' outlets, with respondents citing Tossed and Pret a Manger as their top choices. These outlets are providing diners with simple, affordable healthy food options served quickly. And when grabbing a bite to eat at lunch, our survey shows that diners place taste, price and nutritional value above all else.
What's clear is that diners are recognising the efforts made by restaurants to diversify their healthy food choices. At the same time, pub operators clearly need to up their game if they want to appeal to this large market.
Are you doing all you can to cater to this market? Read our previous article, Making Your Menu Appeal To Health-Conscious Diners, for some tips.
