How to promote plant-based on menus

The consumer opportunity in foodservice

Consumer demand outpaces plant-based meat menu options

According to our consumer insights on plant-based meat and dairy, 71% of U.S. consumers from Gen Z to Gen X are open to these products. Yet in 2025, only about 8% of the top 250 U.S. restaurant chains by revenue offered plant-based meat dishes, based on our analysis.
35% of consumers open to plant-based meat say a top reason they haven’t ordered plant-based meat dishes recently is that restaurants they visit don’t have those options, suggesting there’s a gap between what’s on menus and what consumers want.
Foodservice is a critical channel for the category. According to our consumer insights on plant-based meat, nearly 40% of plant-based meat consumers report purchasing plant-based meat dishes in foodservice in the past year, and 22% say they first tried plant-based meat in foodservice.

Plant-based diners are a high-value customer segment

Plant-based meat diners represent a valuable customer segment. According to Circana’s restaurant insights on plant-based meat, they make nearly 50 percent more restaurant chain purchases annually than the average diner and spend nearly $2,000 per year, more than $500 above the average diner. Checks that include a plant-based meat item are also, on average, 14 percent higher than a buyer’s typical check. Beyond sales, offering plant-based menu options can strengthen brand perception, with more than half of addressable consumers reporting a more positive view of restaurants that offer plant-based choices.

The foodservice consumer journey

Foodservice experiences can shape perceptions of plant-based meat taste, quality, and credibility in unique ways. Unlike retail, where purchasing is often planned and ingredient-driven, restaurant choices are shaped by factors like occasion, social influence, and menu design.

To better understand how diners move from interest to ordering—and the perceptions that shape those decisions—we surveyed thousands of Americans open to plant-based meat (also referred to as “addressable consumers”) about why they dine out, how and when they decide to order plant-based, how they choose what to order, and more.

Occasion shapes menu choices

Addressable consumers most often report dining out to “treat themselves,” which can create a perceived mismatch with plant-based options often associated with health or sustainability. But these diners also eat out for variety, convenience, or when they’re away from home—occasions where plant-based might be a more natural fit.

Many diners have plant-based options in mind before they arrive

More than one in three diners who ordered a plant-based meat dish in the past year were thinking about ordering a plant-based item before they even got to the restaurant, making it key to clearly communicate availability (e.g., through online menus, signage, and marketing) to attract them before they reach the point of choosing from the menu.

Taste and price drive choice

55%

Over half of addressable consumers say expected taste is “very important” when choosing a restaurant dish, making it the top factor considered

34%

Almost a third of consumers open to plant-based meat say a top reason they haven’t ordered it recently is that they don’t think they will like the taste or texture.

30%

Almost a third of consumers open to plant-based meat say a top reason they haven’t ordered it recently is that it’s too expensive.

It’s clear that plant-based meat dishes must compete on taste and price to be considered. Whether they’re out for a special occasion or picking something up during a commute, diners say taste and price are top drivers of both restaurant and menu item choice.

However, these factors alone may not motivate consumers to choose plant-based. About one in three addressable consumers say they also look for healthy choices or specific health benefits, like high-protein, and these are among the top reasons diners report choosing a plant-based meat dish. These provide opportunities for plant-based meat to differentiate itself and reach interested consumer segments during relevant dining-out occasions.

Taste concerns are often based on perception, rather than experience. Research from Dig Insights found consumers are more likely to say they expect not to like the taste of a plant-based meat dish than to report disliking it after trying it. This indicates that perceived risk may be one of the largest barriers to ordering plant-based dishes in restaurants and highlights the importance of menu design in conveying good taste.

Social influence plays an important role

Social influence plays a powerful role in restaurant decisions, especially through dynamics like the “veto vote,” where one person’s preference can drive the decision for the entire group.

1 in 5

Say a top 5 factor in their restaurant choices is where others want to go.

31%

Say they would be convinced to try a plant-based meat dish if someone they know recommends it. 26% would be convinced if the restaurant staff recommends it.

The plant-based meat menu playbook

In a survey of addressable plant-based meat consumers, we asked respondents to select between various plant-based meat menu descriptions in a simulated choice exercise to test the attributes most and least likely to drive preference. Here’s what we found:

Taste and price

Match or beat the price of comparable meat dishes wherever possible. Price had the largest effect on plant-based meat dish preference in the simulated choice exercise. Items priced at or below the conventional equivalent were most often selected, and preference dropped steadily above that threshold—a finding consistent with other research. For example, a study by Datassential showed that only 15 percent of consumers open to plant-based meals are willing to pay more.

Make flavor the primary message. Taste expectations are the other primary driver of choice. In the simulated choice exercise, using sensory language (“delicious,” “rich and savory,” “tender and juicy,”) to describe plant-based meat dishes increased consumer preference. Other resources also highlight the benefit of referencing taste-related attributes like provenance, preparation method (e.g., flame-grilled), and ingredients, and using strong imagery to convey flavor. Of course, actually making the dish delicious is also critical to ensuring consumers are satisfied and return to eat the dish again or tell others about it.

Naming, benefit messaging, and social nudges

Lean into plant identity. Identifiers help diners understand the dish and can signal benefits like taste and health. Terms like “plant-based,” “100% plant,” or “plant-protein” were most effective at driving consumer choice. Avoid “vegan,” “meatless,” and ingredient-forward terms like “soy-based,” which research consistently shows perform worse with mainstream consumers. Known brand names can add credibility, but primarily with consumers who already buy plant-based regularly—they’re less effective as a hook for diners new to the category.

Leverage specific health benefits. In the simulated choice exercise, health-related claims were effective at driving choice, and specific language like “20g of protein” was particularly compelling. Health claims like “high protein” and “heart healthy” were also effective, and other research has confirmed specific claims like this generally outperform vague “healthy” language.

Normalize plant-based choices. While the effect was more modest than other elements of the menu description, leveraging social or normalizing nudges did impact choice. Dishes labeled as “chef’s choice” or “customer favorite” were most likely to be chosen, but a variety of terms like this can be effective.

Menu design and structure

Where the dish is placed on the menu is powerful. Integrating plant-based items into the main menu, next to conventional options rather than a separate vegetarian section, increased selection by 56 percent in one study; listing them first nearly doubled selection rates in another. Integrated placement demonstrates similarity and sets expectations that plant-based dishes will fill the same wants and needs as conventional dishes. Subtly marking items as plant-based or vegetarian (e.g., with small symbols) can help consumers seeking these options find them.

More plant-based options drive more choice: Across studies, increasing the number of plant-based options on a menu has been correlated with increased uptake of plant-based meals, serving as another tactic to normalize them. There may be a tipping point—one study found that when plant-based items represented 75 percent of menu choices rather than 25 percent or 50 percent, diners were more likely to select them.

Make plant-based the default: Where feasible, presenting plant-based dishes as the default choice is a subtle yet impactful way to encourage consumers to eat more plant-based foods. Consumers can still opt into animal-based options if they choose. Plant-based defaults have driven the selection of plant-based options from 31 percent to 82 percent in institutional settings. Read more about the plant-based default approach.

Other foodservice tips and considerations

Looking beyond menu design can help ensure plant-based success in foodservice environments.

Develop plant-based dishes that fit your brand and target customer. Plant-based meat products are available in almost any format that conventional meat products are. And, products are constantly improving with many reaching an important threshold in sensory testing: at least 50 percent of tasters rating it the “same or better” than an animal benchmark in overall liking. This means there are more options than ever to develop plant-based meat dishes that fit your brand and complement the other items on your menu.

Get your team excited about plant-based. Train your frontline staff on how to market plant-based dishes and describe the taste and health benefits. Our research suggests that a quarter of addressable consumers would be convinced to try a plant-based meat dish if the restaurant staff recommends it. For support with plant-based recipe development and culinary training, contact Forward Food.

Consider how plant-based foods integrate with your back-of-the-house operations. Plant-based foods need to fit with your purchasing, storage, food handling, and cooking processes. Most plant-based foods do not require separate cooking equipment unless your brand has a high proportion of consumers with allergies or dietary restrictions.

Trying to get your plant-based meat product on menus? It’s important to understand the benefits that plant-based meat dishes can provide for chefs and foodservice operators, the most effective ways of reaching out and holding their attention, and what they care most about when considering new ingredients. Learn more in GFI’s resource Best practices for engaging with foodservice operators.

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