Consumers are slowly translating their at-home healthy eating habits to their eating out experience and the café segment is benefiting with a range of health-conscious and allergy-friendly meal options, according to a provider of industry research, analysis and forecasting services in Australia, BIS Shrapnel.
Given eating out is now a way of life for many generations and socio-economic groups in Australia, consumers are in many cases pushing fast-food outlets, restaurants and cafés to offer a greater range of healthy eating options and free-from foods, according to BIS Shrapnel’s Australian Foodservice 2007 report.
BIS Shrapnel surveyed around 1,100 foodservice outlets for the Australian Foodservice 2007 report on social responsibility issues, challenges to growth, brand knowledge and ordering processes.
When questioned about healthy eating, the following menu options had been requested by foodservice outlet customers:
- 62% of survey respondents had been asked for vegetarian meals,
- 57% had been asked about low-fat meals, and
- 44% about diet products.
“There’s no doubt that consumers are increasingly asking for vegetarian, lactose-free, gluten-free, additive-free, low-fat and diet products at restaurants and cafés, and their local supermarkets,” said Food and Beverages Unit Manager, Sissel Rosengren.
“Cafés that are doing really well are already starting to differentiate themselves by offering healthy snacks, a wider range of vegetarian options, part-organic meals, Fairtrade coffee and gluten and lactose-free menu options -- and marking these options clearly on their menus.
“We expect concepts such as Fairtrade, food miles and carbon-neutral will have a growing impact on menus and supermarket shelves as consumer and business understanding of these issues improves.
“Out of the businesses we surveyed for this report, GM really wasn’t on the radar for them as yet, but we expect to see an increased awareness when we do the next survey in 12 months time,” said Rosengren.
Fast-food chains are gradually responding to the healthy eating push by removing trans-fats from their kitchens and adding low-fat and light meal options to their menus.
However, BIS Shrapnel believes the up-take of organic and Fairtrade food products is being held back by a lack of trust from operators who question whether the products, which are sold at premium prices, are actually what they claim to be.
“If enough customers ask for Fairtrade coffee or organic produce, retailers will stock it, but there is a wide-ranging perception these products may not be what they claim and cost double,” said Rosengren. “This is largely an education issue -- consumers and retailers are mistrustful of the level of certification organic and Fairtrade produce undergoes.”
Despite the rising diagnosis of lactose intolerance and Celiac disease, and the effort on the part of some foodservice operators to cater for these food intolerances, Rosengren believes food manufacturers could do more to increase their range of free-from products. Rosengren notes there is a distinct lack of food options, especially for Celiacs in snacks and light meal options, which limits what foodservice operators can in turn provide to its customers.
“For consumers who are lactose or gluten intolerant, there is also a concern the certification of free-from products is perhaps not as stringent as it should be. It is also extremely difficult in a working kitchen to create gluten-free areas -- it’s a challenge for the foodservice industry that is still to be effectively resolved.”
Carbon-neutral is another trend that is slowly seeping into the foodservice sector.
To date, Australia has one carbon-neutral café in Sydney and Melbourne, but despite the growing concern in this country regarding the environment, there is no financial incentive for foodservice businesses to go carbon-neutral. Rosengren believes the impetus will come from consumers and momentum will slowly build in the next few years.