Rebel Gelato Insights

Menu design

Studies suggest there is a growing business case. 58% of consumers choose plant-based or vegetarian options; sometimes, often or always(1), and plant-based catering can cut costs by up to 30% while cutting carbon up to 84% (2).

The data says consumers are more likely to choose plant-based options when they are:

• Integrated into the main menu, rather than in a separate plant-based section (3), or

• Made the default option (4)

Our approach with Rebel Gelato utilised the plant-based default menu option and our experience was a positive one. We had both strong sales and overwhelmingly positive consumer feedback. Many customers said our ice cream was just as tasty or better than dairy alternatives they’d tried. 

Far from being put off, customers seemed excited to discover an enjoyable new option for when they fancy an indulgent treat. 

We worked with Eco-I North West, funded by Northern Powerhouse and the EU Regional Development Fund, to establish the carbon emissions of our business.

All our recipes used an oat milk base, except for our Rhubarb and Custard flavour which used a soya base. To establish the carbon emissions of our ice cream we compared our most popular flavour Double Chocolate to a dairy equivalent.

Our recipe emitted 0.93 kg CO2e per litre of ice cream compared to 2.79 kg CO2e per litre of ice cream using a cow’s milk base. This is a large carbon saving of 62% and our customers lapped it up.

We’ve brought together our significant experience of the challenges and opportunities offered by low carbon menus, with exisiting data and research to launch Green Menu Insights. Our aim is to provide new data that helps SMEs take advantage of the business opportunities offered by low carbon menus. 

Our next piece of research looks to uncover what support would help SMEs tap into the growing business opportunities presented by plant-based food and reduce their carbon footprint at the same time.