Vegetarian Journal's Foodservice Update
Healthy Tips and Recipes for Institutions
Volume V, Number 3 Summer 1997
WAYS TO INTRODUCE VEGETARIAN ITEMS
By Cathy Schmelter
The following excerpt is from an article based on interviews with the
Marriott Foodservice staff at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota.
Cathy Schmelter is a Dietetic Intern at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
She wrote this article while doing a week-long internship with The Vegetarian
Resource Group.
To ensure success, let your customers know that vegetarian
items are available. Explain the benefits of selecting these items. Some
ideas for introducing veggie items include:
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If you currently offer 3 meat options, offer only 2 meat options and add
one vegetarian option. For example, offer a bean burrito alongside existing
meat burrito choices such as chicken or beef.
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Place a poster out front announcing "We offer these vegetarian items daily."
List the items offered. Many breakfast items are already vegetarian including
fresh fruit, hot cereals, and bagels. At lunch, you may offer a vegetarian
burger as one of your grilled items. For dinner, you may serve fresh pasta
with vegetables.
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Some customers read the menu every day. Offer some "Did you know?" information
with today’s feature on the menu. It could be as simple as "Did you
know that a veggie burger can have 50-90% less fat than a regular burger?"
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Provide free samples of any new vegetarian items. Place some vegetarian chili
in small paper cups on top of the counter for the customers to sample as
they are deciding on their food order.
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You may create a sign suggesting menu items a vegetarian could select in
place of regular meat items. For example, a veggie burger may be selected
instead of a regular burger, vegetarian chili may be chosen instead of ground
beef chili, and veggie lo mein may be selected instead of chicken chow
mein.
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Identify that the veggie product can meet many dietary needs. For example,
it has "X" amount of protein, iron, or calcium.
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Offer vegetarian recipes that your customers can make at home.
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Give coupons to customers for discounts on vegetarian items. Offer 5% off
their next purchase of a vegetarian item.
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Select one day a week to offer vegetarian items. For example, every Wednesday
could be vegetarian day.
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Have a theme day or vegetarian week. Display banners and posters advertising
the event. Set up a display of vegetarian items to be offered. Every day
during the week, offer 1-2 vegetarian items on the menu. Give free samples.
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Offer a free passport card with a variety of vegetarian items on it. Every
time a vegetarian item is ordered, the card is punched. After so many punches,
the customer receives a free item.
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Sponsor a drawing for prizes. Every time a vegetarian item is purchased,
the person’s name is put into a drawing to win a free prize (free lunch,
radio, water bottle, etc.)
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Set food displays in a visible place. Offer an attractive visual display,
such as an array of fresh beans or a plate of the actual item being served
(change the display every hour or keep it under glass to maintain a fresh
look).
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Develop an icon or symbol on your menu that helps customers quickly identify
vegetarian items.
More Creative Ways to Offer Vegetarian Items:
Stop Light System: Red, Yellow, and Green. Color schemes (stickers or icons)
that identify vegetarian items for customers. For example:
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Red = Items that contain meat or meat products, i.e. chicken broth
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Yellow = Items contain dairy or cheese
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Green = Vegan selection
Sandwich Area:
Offer grilled vegetarian sandwiches or a vegetarian pita sandwich.
Chili Bar:
Set up an all you can eat chili bar. Offer one beef, one turkey, and one
vegetarian chili to induce customers to try the vegetarian item. The customers
will pay for the bar so you won’t have to give away free samples.
Combo Meal:
Set up a combo meal that includes a vegetarian item. An example may be a
vegetarian pita with soup and a drink. Offer the pita combo meal at a set
price. Offer a 10% discount for purchasing the entire meal or a 5% discount
for purchasing the sandwich only.
Buffet:
Offer a buffet of vegetarian items which include four main items (vegetarian
lasagna, vegetable chow mein, lentil casserole, and vegetable burritos).
Offer two soups (vegetarian vegetable and vegetarian chili), two vegetables
(corn and curried vegetables), potatoes and rice, salad, fruit, bread, and
drink. All for a set price. Or make it a theme: Italian, Mexican or Chinese.
Testing New Items:
To test new items, you may want to start with a recipe file of vegetarian
items. For example, out of 30 items, select 20 to test. Test the items over
a period of one month. In week one, test five recipes, week two test five,
and weeks three and four test five. The chef should prepare the items, then
the staff should taste them to determine if they should be offered or not.
After the items have been selected, the recipes should be standardized for
your organization.
Determine the number of servings to offer. Is there a small or large demand
for these items? Also determine the selling price. Do you want the items
to be lower in price to entice customers to buy them, or do you want to provide
them as a specialty item that costs more?
Some of the big sellers at the hospital we surveyed include: vegetarian chili,
fresh vegetable pasta, veggie stuffed peppers, veggie stir-fry, veggie lo
mein, broccoli cheesebake, veggie pizza, vegetarian lasagna, veggie burgers,
eggplant Parmesan, and salads. Of course the items sold vary from organization
to organization.
This organization has not introduced many vegetarian items that have not
sold well. The only item that did poorly was a 3-bean chili which was offered
three years ago and has not been reintroduced.
Staff:
It is very important to train your staff to be familiar with the ingredients
in the vegetarian items. If there is a system for identifying the differences
between vegetarian items, (i.e. vegan and non-vegan foods), be sure they
know what the differences are.
If you are providing a bar that has vegetarian and non-vegetarian items,
make sure that the vegetarian items are kept separate. The vegetarian items
should be marked clearly so that staff will not get them confused with the
meat items. Separate utensils should be used to serve the vegetarian products.
Tracking Vegetarian Dishes:
It is important to spend time tracking the items to see which are selling
well. Make modifications based on both successes and failures. For example,
look at the top 20 sales items to see how many of them are vegetarian items.
Plan and Then Work the Plan:
Essentially, to add a new item, determine your market, survey your customers,
test items, standardize recipes and then make it available to the customer.
Items should be made available for six months. If they are well received,
keep them in the system. Delete the items not well received.
Excerpts from the Spring 1997 Issue:
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