Au Bon Pain thought its customers would be thrilled when it cut trans fats from all of its cookies a few years ago. After all, Americans are looking for healthier choices, right?
“As soon as it said no trans-fats on the signs, cookie sales went through the floor,” Ed Frechette, senior vice president of marketing at Au Bon Pain said. When they took that information off their signs, sales bounced back. The cookies remained trans-fat free, but “it’s kind of on the QT,” Frechette told a packed room at one of the many food and beverage education sessions at the NRA Show.
Unfortunately, many Americans still equate “healthy” with “bad-tasting.” The solution? Pursue healthy choices, but don’t shove that information down your customer’s throats.
That’s because healthy choices do make business sense, said Paul Lynch, executive chef at Firelake Restaurant in the Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis. “Whenever I put whole grains on the menu, they sell,” Lynch said. He uses whole grains in breakfasts, side dishes and even desserts, and customers literally eat them up, because the dishes taste good. “You can’t look like you’re just going to sit down and sing kumbaya,” Lynch said. “My food doesn’t look like some health ... craze menu — it’s real food.”
And real food tends to be healthy without trying too hard, said Rick Bayless, chef/owner of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo restaurants. His restaurants are built on the principle of creating authentic flavors with real ingredients, and it’s a formula that works from business and health perspectives.
That’s not to say you should deny your healthy credentials to the people who want to know. More and more consumers are actively searching for healthier choices when they eat out, and they want to know what you’ve got.
Web sites like healthydiningfinder.com can help you target the customers who are looking for better choices without scaring off the patrons who still think healthy can’t coexist with tasty. Erica Bohm, vice president of Healthy Dining, said the site highlights and gives nutritional information for four to 10 better-for-you dishes on your menu. Folks who want healthier choices will know you’ve got something for them to eat. The customers looking to indulge won’t need to know that they’re actually eating something a nutritionist would approve of.
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