Wanted: More Veggie Choices on Restaurant Menus
Consumers find that the current vegetarian options in restaurants are too limited for their taste, and they would appreciate more variety in restaurant menu items, according to an independent research commissioned by vegetarian food distributor Vegetarian Express last February.
“Over half of consumers feel there are not enough vegetarian dishes on menus when eating out, with a third wanting to see between five and ten options available the recent research found amongst other revealing facts,” Vegetarian Express said.
According to Vegetarian Express, 58% of its survey’s respondents “feel there aren’t enough vegetarian options when eating out,” while over a third, or 33%, would prefer at least five to 10 vegetarian options on menus. And proving that healthy eating includes holidays, nearly a quarter or 23% insist on “more vegetarian options at Christmas.”
While not commonly associated with vegetarian fare, a whopping 71% “would like to see more protein incorporated into vegetarian meals,” with beans (63%) being the most favoured alternative protein source, followed by nuts (48%), tofu (37%), and quinoa (31%). Yet despite craving for protein, 71% still want “lighter vegetarian options,” with 12% longing for more vegetarian bar snacks.
In terms of meal courses, mains (63%) lack the most vegetarian options, followed by starters (35%), desserts (18%), children’s courses (16%), and sides (13%). Some people also feel (17%) that there aren’t too many vegetarian breakfast options.
Indian cuisine, meanwhile, tops the list as the cuisine considered the best for vegetarians at 41%, followed by British (28%), and Asian (22%), with Mexican and American cuisine bringing up the rear at only 2% each.
Specific details on the survey were not immediately made available.
Vegetarian Express, established in 1987 by businessman David Jonas, is a leading specialist vegetarian and vegan food distributor in the United Kingdom. It currently offers food distribution, menu development, and training services.
“Our aim is to promote and cater for the continually growing trend for healthy eating, with a particular focus on healthy eating in the work place. We are also specialists in ethnic ingredients with an excellent reputation for our extensive range of high quality authentic products,” Vegetarian Express states on its website.
