With the rise of environmental awareness and consumers' increasing demand for low-carbon ingredients and environmentally friendly packaging, this trend has not only driven the development of plant-based meat and sustainable grain foods, but has also gradually spread to the catering industry. What new challenges will this bring to restaurant services?
Deliverect, a multinational company that develops digital catering order integration systems, released an exclusive report on April 20 this year (2022). After conducting a dietary survey on 7,000 consumers worldwide, they found that environmental protection and sustainability awareness are affecting consumers' demand for food. Therefore, Deliverect used the survey results to propose four ways for restaurants to respond to enhance the competitiveness of the stores.
43% of consumers are willing to pay more for restaurants to increase sustainable ingredients
Deliverect found that while 65% of consumers believe that healthier or more sustainable ingredients are more expensive, 43% are still willing to pay for them, and 47% would even change their order to choose more sustainable options. In other words, nearly half of consumers are willing and happy to pay more for environmental sustainability.
Therefore, Deliverect recommends that restaurants offer more local ingredients. "Based on our order data, whether a restaurant is keeping up with the sustainability trend is becoming a key consideration for consumers when choosing a restaurant," Deliverect believes that if the restaurant industry can develop in a sustainable direction, it will align with current consumer trends and help increase restaurant sales and profits.
More than half of consumers also want "simplified and environmentally friendly packaging"
Consumers are not only more interested in sustainable ingredients and dishes. The surge in disposable tableware during the pandemic has also made consumers realize that they may want to choose restaurants with more environmentally friendly packaging materials when ordering takeout or delivery.
According to Deliverect's consumer survey, approximately 54% of people prefer to order from restaurants that simplify takeout or delivery packaging, while 56% prefer restaurants that use eco-friendly packaging instead of disposable plastic cutlery. "While takeout and delivery require a method of getting food from the restaurant to your home, there are some environmentally friendly measures you can take to help both your customers and the planet," the Deliverect report states.
Deliverect provides restaurants with immediate packaging simplification tips, such as proactively asking customers when ordering whether they require sauce packets like ketchup and soy sauce, or providing disposable cutlery, straws, and napkins to reduce unnecessary packaging consumption.
"Small changes can have a big impact. If you still bag and box all the ingredients separately to maintain the shape of the food, you are probably already out of date." Deliverect recommends that restaurants can simply eliminate unnecessary food packaging by putting the food in the same packaging box.
After a restaurant achieves environmental protection and sustainability, it is important to share your efforts with consumers.
If a restaurant can implement the two suggestions above, the next step is to let consumers see the restaurant’s efforts in sustainability and environmental protection!
Deliverect noted that a consumer survey found that 56% of consumers expect restaurants to share their environmentally friendly practices and efforts for takeout and delivery. Therefore, for restaurants, partnering with like-minded suppliers, donating a portion of sales to sustainability organizations, and sharing these initiatives with consumers can be crucial consumer incentives.
Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/234173)
