What we know

Around 70-90% of carbon emissions from hospitality businesses are in Scope 3, of which food purchasing is a substantial part.^1,2

Research shows transport accounts for less than 10% of food related emissions, whilst the production of food accounts for more than 80% of emissions^3,4.

What the data tells us:

• swapping beef for beans or tofu per meal - reduces carbon emissions up to 90%⁵
• swapping the same weight of beef for lentils - reduces water use up to 80%⁶
• swapping animal protein for plant-based - reduces land use up to 75%⁶

Therefore which food you choose, not whether it's local, has a much bigger impact.

Plant-based dishes can be up to 30% cheaper, resulting in higher margins⁷.

48% of UK consumers are looking to reduce their meat intake⁸. Delicious plant-based dishes with the right marketing can appeal to everyone, not just those who identify as plant-based, potentially widening your customer base.

Consumers are choosing vegetable dishes over meat and dairy because they are motivated to improve their health (48%) and the environment (29%)⁸. Offering more plant-based dishes on your menu shows you care about these drivers too, helping to strengthen your brand.

As climate change impacts supply chains and input costs, the lower water and lands requirements for plant-based foods mean they’re already seeing lower price increases compared to meat alternatives⁹. This provides reduced pricing/margin risks.

1. Marketing

Studies show how you describe plant-based dishes and where you place them on your menu impacts how often they sell.

Description:

• Making your plant-based dishes sound delicious by focusing on ingredients and provenance can increase sales by 13% to 38%¹⁰.

Menu placement:

• Integrating plant-based options within the main menu rather than in a seperate section or completley different menu can increase sales of these dishes by up to 50%¹¹.
• Listing them first on the menu, can help increase sales too¹¹.

2. Ratios

The more plant-based dishes are on your menu, the more it becomes a cultural norm for customers to choose them. This helps to potentially increase sell through rates and reduce food waste, thereby increasing margins.

• Doubling the number of plant-based dishes - can lead to a 40-78% increase in sales of plant-based dishes¹²

• 75 / 25 plant-based to meat options - the sweet spot where meat-eaters are most likely to start opting for plant-based dishes¹³

• 80 - 100% plant-based options - can lead to a 50-70% reduction in emissions¹⁴

3. Plant-based Default

You don’t need to have a 100% plant-based menu, the goal isn’t to remove choice.

• Add meat option: Implementing a plant-based by default menu means the easiest option for customers is to choose plant-based dishes, but they should still be able to add meat on to certain dishes if they want to. This takes away the difficulty barrier from choosing plant-based and shifts it to meat options.