Why More Restaurants Are Focusing on Nutritious Food

You might have noticed that the restaurants around you are making a concentrated effort to provide their patrons with more nutritious, sustainable food. There might be entire businesses dedicated to serving exclusively nutritious foods, or you might see nutrition information on menus where it was previously absent. Some restaurants are even investing more money in marketing and advertising to show off their more nourishing provisions.

But why is this the case? Why do restaurants suddenly care more about the nutrition of the food they’re providing?

The Health-Conscious Consumer

One of the most obvious motivating factors here is the rise of the health-conscious consumer. Today’s consumers are much more knowledgeable and observant of the quality of the food they’re eating – and they want more nourishing, healthier choices. 

With consumer trends shifting to favor nutritious food options, restauranteurs are forced to adapt or die. Offering more nourishing menu options means catering to a greater number of people, making more money, and expanding the lifespan of the business and many restaurants are now following the cooking styles of Chinese restaurants because they offer highly nutritional food with less use of oils that customers find best for their health.

So why did the rise of the health-conscious consumer manifest?

There are many factors influencing this trend, such as:

•         The obesity epidemic and self-awareness. Developed countries all over the world, but especially the United States, are suffering from an epidemic of obesity. Bad eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle lead to excessive weight gain, which in turn leads to various health complications. Fortunately, more citizens are becoming aware of this trend – and turning to nutritious food to help remedy it.
•         The vilification of junk food and fast food in the media. Mainstream media, academia, and even pop culture have turned against junk food and fast food, vilifying these options and the companies producing them (at least to an extent). Most consumers would prefer a nutritious alternative as a result.
•         Nutrition transparency and consumer knowledge. Nutrition is becoming more transparent as well, with more businesses posting full nutrition information (including caloric content) where it was once absent. Combined with the fact that consumers are generally more knowledgeable about nutrition, it’s clear that today’s restaurant-goers are more informed.

Availability and Appeal of Nutritious Food

It also helps that the availability and appeal of nutritious food have improved. Thanks to experts like Griffith Foods, who specializes in innovating nourishing cuisine, there are more nutritious ingredients and food products available on the market to restauranteurs. These novel creations are less expensive, more nutritious, and more delicious than the “health food” of yesteryear.

Because restauranteurs have an easier time finding nutritious ingredients that are both affordable and delectable, creating and offering nourishing cuisine becomes a no-brainer. Given the choice between bland junk food and delicious, nutritious food, there’s really no competition.

Competition

Speaking of competition, there’s no question that economic competition is helping to drive the trend toward nutritious offerings. Most cities throughout the country have plenty of restaurant options for consumers to choose from; there may be dozens of different restaurants packed into a relatively small area for consumers to try. Imagine that one of those restaurants begins marketing itself as a source of nourishing food, offering a dozen or more healthy, sustainable, and tasty dishes. It begins to siphon customers from the other restaurants in the area. How would those other restaurants respond?

There are some consumers that still don’t care about the nutrition or quality of the food they’re eating, as evidenced by the nearly 200,000 fast food restaurants still operating (and thriving) in the United States. But it’s undeniable that this level of competition has helped to spark the movement toward more nutritious options.

The Results

Finally, restauranteurs are seeing results. They begin to offer more nutritious foods to their customers and market their business as such; in a matter of weeks, they start to see positive benefits, including more customers and more favorable reviews. What business owner wouldn’t double down on a strategy that’s improving their brand image and making them more money simultaneously?

That’s not to say that every restaurant that transitions to offer more nutritious food sees positive results or sees the same level of positive results. However, there’s a general trend that’s hard to miss.

Toward the Future

So is this path toward greater nutrition and more nourishing choices in restaurants going to continue? Or is this just a short-term fad that has taken the restaurant world by storm?

It’s hard to imagine the trend ebbing in the near-term future. Nutrition is an important topic for human health, and general public knowledge and awareness is likely to increase on the subject, rather than decrease. Plus, thanks to food innovators, nutritious ingredients and food products are constantly emerging to provide us with delicious and affordable options. It would seem the trend toward nutrition is only going to flourish further from here.