According to a new study by the consulting firm Kearney, 80 percent of consumers indicate they have some awareness of the impact their food choices have on climate and the environment – a trend the report calls “climavorism.” Do you know how your guests feel about the proteins on your menu – and could you offer customizable options that allow them to make climate-conscious decisions about what they order? More restaurant brands across the country are making this possible. The Kearney research dovetails with a vast expansion of plant-based proteins appearing on menus nationwide, from the plant-based panko chicken being offered as an add-on ingredient to any dish at Noodles & Co. to the black bean patty and egg white breakfast sandwich on offer at Dunkin’. As you consider new menu options, how might you expand the presence of plant-based proteins – both those that are intended as meat substitutes and other dishes that are naturally plant-based? Can you make them shine not simply as understudies to meat but as appealing options in their own right?

About 30 percent of Americans purposefully avoid gluten. Do you have some reliable go-to grains that help you adapt a dish as needed without sacrificing taste? Across your menu, consider where you might offer brown rice, quinoa, wild rice or gluten-free pastas in place of traditional white rice and pasta. Having a range of these staples on hand can help you stretch your menu – both for guests with gluten allergies and for others looking to customize their order with a nutrient-dense base.

Supply chain challenges have made it all the more important for restaurants to support regional suppliers and source what is plentiful, local and easily transported. As you source more seasonal items, look for ways they can help you refresh a menu item that may be popular but could benefit from a new twist. Weaving seasonal additions into everything from salads to desserts can help you add creativity and color to your menu, as well as give a long-standing menu item a welcome update.

Comfort food is always on trend. But as much as guests crave the nostalgic comfort of a dish they know well, they also want something creative and interesting – a step beyond what they might think about preparing at home. Making small adjustments can offer that interest and extend your menu. Consider how global spices, seasonal produce or new marinades or sauces might complement the classic dishes you serve.

​For many Americans, mealtime has increasingly become snack time. According to a Harris Poll conducted last year, 70 percent of millennials say they prefer snacks to meals. Further, industry research indicates that a large percentage of Americans replace one meal each week with a snack – and some eat no formal meals at all. This means there’s room for expansion on your snack and appetizer menu. As the pandemic has shifted people’s eating patterns, could any of your offerings serve as mini meals for guests who aren’t eating as many entrées?

​It’s one of the paradoxes of running a restaurant right now: Accommodate the preferences of your guests – but do so with a smaller staff, a slimmed-down menu and an unpredictable supply of ingredients. While that can be challenging for sure, there are simple ways to give guests the range of options they crave without stretching your inventory to its limit. Looking to your spices, sauces, dressings and condiments can help you create many variations on a dish and offer the customization guests are demanding – all without requiring a lot of staff training or consuming valuable real estate in your pantry. Try changing up the seasoning and dipping sauces on your appetizer menu to create a new special, using a popular soup to transform the flavor of a pasta dish, or looking to various combinations of condiments and global spices to add a range of international flavors to your burger menu. Even minor tweaks to a marinade can change the experience of an entrée. Turning to these options can be a labor saver, as well as a tool to save time on staff training. As you look across your inventory, what shelf-stable ingredients could you use to create multiple menu items that are new to your guests?

At a time when there’s so much pressure to simplify menus and do more with fewer ingredients, planning a menu can feel restricting for chefs. One thing that may help lend new interest to a recipe is bringing in a variety of ingredient shapes and textures. A different pasta shape can make a dish feel more upscale, while swapping in quinoa or freekeh for the noodles in a dish can make it an appealing option on your salad menu.

Ask any chocoholic: Chocolate is a critical comfort food in times of stress. Right now, chocolate is weaving its way through menus in a growing range of flavors, colors and global profiles. A recent FSR Magazine report says we’re in the midst of a chocolate craze, with 71 percent of North American consumers looking for new chocolate experiences, according to Dawn Foods. Regardless of your guests’ preferences, there is a chocolate to meet your needs: Consider dark chocolate for its antioxidants, spice-infused varieties that offer global flavor, sweet-and-savory combinations, or less-expected varieties like ruby chocolate for guests looking to try something newer on the scene.

Before the pandemic, restaurant delivery packaging was making strides toward sustainability as greener containers, no-cutlery-included policies and reusable containers were all on the rise. While those efforts stalled a bit amid lockdowns and supply chain challenges, industry analysts expect sustainable packaging to rebound in a big way this year. It helps that consumers have expressed greater willingness to pay for it than in the past: A McKinsey study found that 60-70 percent of consumers said they would pay more for sustainable packaging. Further, how the packaging communicates sustainability is important too: Approximately 35-36 percent of the survey respondents said they would buy additional sustainably packaged products if they were more available in stores, available for more products, and better labeled to indicate green packaging. In terms of materials used, consumers are interested in recyclable and recycled plastic packaging, fiber-based packaging, higher levels of recycled content in the products they use, and increased compostable packaging options. In your business this year, how can you improve your sustainability and communicate it through your packaging? Consider not only adopting new packaging materials but also offering reusable options, labeling the green packaging you use to demonstrate your efforts to guests, promoting those efforts on your website and social media, and encouraging guests (via your website and digital ordering channels) to be mindful of the environment when using takeaway packaging.

Consumers are eager to eat alternative proteins. The research firm NPD group found that in April 2021, shipments of alternative protein products from food service distributors to commercial restaurants had climbed by 60 percent year-over-year. Further, a report released in January from The Good Food Institute predicted there would be continued diversification of alternative protein sources in the months ahead. As consumers and restaurants seek out more sustainable sources of nutrients, how far are you stretching the boundaries of what protein looks like on your menu? In addition to substitutes for animal protein, think about naturally plant-based sources including beans, seeds, grains and fortified pastas.