Many Americans have dietary restrictions, whether by choice or for health reasons. By adding or altering a few items on your menu, you will be better able to serve and profit from patrons on restricted diets. 

Benefits of Offering Food to People with Dietary Restrictions

Offering foods for those with special diets is not only good for your customers, but it's also good for business. Your restaurant will now appeal to a larger, more diverse group of diners who may not have visited your establishment before because you didn't have options for them. The upgrade in your menu will also give you something to crow about:

• You can spread awareness for your new or modified menu items through your social channels. For example, you can post on your restaurant's social media pages that you are newly offering vegan and vegetarian items.

• You can update the information on your business listings to let people know you now serve food that is friendly for [insert dietary restrictions you now cater to]. Do you have a Menufy restaurant website? Be sure to read to the end of this post!

• You can sign up with apps that help people find restaurants that offer food they can eat. For example, Happy Cow is an app that points you to restaurants that provide vegan options. You can reach a greater audience if you're featured on these platforms.

Types of Dietary Restrictions and Meals You Can Serve to People with Dietary Restrictions 

Dietary restrictions generally fall into three categories: weight loss/health, religious/ethical, and food allergies. 

Weight Loss and Health

An estimated 45 million Americans go on a weight loss diet each year. By including "diet" dishes in your menu, you can tap into this vast market.

Some common weight management diets include:

• Low Calorie: A low-calorie diet is exactly what it sounds like. Your menu is likely to already have a few low-calorie items, so all you might have to do is add the calorie count for each item (or only the low-calorie ones) to your menu.

• Keto: People on keto diets eat lots of foods with healthy fat (avocados, meat, cheese, etc.) and limit their carb intake. You probably already have foods that can be modified slightly to make them keto-friendly. For instance, you can serve your meat dishes with a side salad or steamed vegetables instead of potatoes or rice.

• Paleo: This diet is based on the hunters and gatherers living about 10,000 years ago and limits the quantity of processed food dieters should eat. An easy way to include paleo-friendly items in your menu is to offer simple, unprocessed meals, such as fish with a side of vegetables.

Religious and Moral Diets 

Some religions, such as Judaism and Islam, have their own set of dietary restrictions. Some people choose a diet for ethical reasons.

• Kosher Diet: Kosher diets involve some logistical steps, such as having a rabbi bless the food and not serving meat and dairy together. It's challenging to offer kosher dishes on your menu without opening a fully kosher restaurant because of rules like this.

• Halal Diet: Many Muslims follow a halal diet. To offer halal foods at your restaurant, you can buy meat from certified vendors who sell it. You can serve halal meat to most customers.

• Vegetarian: Vegetarians don't eat meat, but they do have dairy. To create some vegetarian meals for your menu, you can start by offering meat substitutes. For example, if you serve hamburgers, you can add a veggie burger to your menu. If you have an Italian restaurant, you can offer lasagna with eggplant. You can also get creative with veggies by tossing them in spices and herbs and serving them over a base of rice, quinoa, etc.

• Vegan: Vegans do not eat meat or animal products of any kind. You could offer cheese replacements, plant-based milk, and meat substitutes (tofu, jackfruit, and sofrito, for example) to cater to vegans. There will be a lot of crossover between vegan and vegetarian dishes, so you can also create items like veggies with herbs and a base to serve to either group.

Food Allergy and Health Diets

Thirty-two million Americans suffer from a food allergy of some kind. Food allergies need to be taken very seriously. In addition to the considerations below, it helps to list the ingredients used in your dishes (or have them available on request) and include information about what common food allergens are used in your kitchen. 

For example, if your restaurant uses nuts or nut butter, there may be a risk of cross-contamination with dishes that do not contain nuts. 

• Lactose Intolerance: Those with lactose intolerance can't break down some of the enzymes in dairy, which triggers digestive issues. Cater to people with lactose intolerance by having non-dairy substitutions available, such as oat or almond milk. You can note somewhere on your menu that these options are available to your customers.

• Nuts: People with a nut allergy can have a life-threatening reaction when exposed to even the slightest trace of nuts. If you can't make your restaurant completely nut-free, it may be difficult to offer nut-free items on your menu. The best way to handle this may be to have a note on your menu that says foods are prepared in a kitchen that includes nuts and that there may be cross-contamination. If your restaurant doesn't use nuts, you can apply that label to your menu instead: "We are a nut-free establishment!"

• Shellfish: People with a shellfish allergy can't eat lobster, shrimp, oysters, or crab. Shellfish allergies are known to sometimes manifest in adulthood and cause anaphylactic shock. Luckily, you probably don't need to do much to cater to the selfish-free crowd. Patrons can simply elect to have a different meal.

• Eggs: Egg allergies usually go away when a child is around seven years old, though some may continue to have an allergy into adulthood. Depending on the dish, you can use an egg substitute (typically for baking) or use tofu for dishes like "egg scrambles." Tofu scrambles are also an excellent option for vegetarians and vegans.

• Gluten-Free: Gluten is a protein found in grains that some people are sensitive or allergic to. You can offer wheat substitutes, which are becoming more and more common, or get creative with your existing gluten-free dishes, for example, by updating or adding new salads to your menu.

Suggestions for Incorporating Foods for Customers with Dietary Restrictions

It would be best if you first decided which items make the most sense to include on your menu. Consider factors like what kind of food you serve, dishes already on your menu that you can offer as-is or slightly modify, your restaurant's location, the culture of your restaurant and the area around it, etc.

For example, 

• Suppose you have a bakery or coffeehouse that serves breakfast. In that case, you can offer non-cow's milk in your coffee beverages or egg alternatives in your baked goods to cater to vegans and people with lactose intolerance.

• If you are located in a bigger city, you may want to think about offering more vegan and vegetarian items.

• If you live somewhere with a strong fitness focus, you may want to include keto or paleo items on your menu.

You don't have to reinvent the wheel to introduce menu items for people with dietary restrictions. You can start simple. For example, add a veggie burger option to your burger list, or offer a pasta dish that holds the meat and adds more veggies.

You should also think about how you're going to annotate your menu to show that you're serving these options. You could use a symbol to mark the suitable items for people with dietary restrictions (for example, a leaf for vegan options or a K for keto). 

You could also offer a separate menu for those with certain dietary restrictions, such as a simple vegan/vegetarian menu. Also, don't forget to note the ingredients of foods for those who suffer from food allergies. 

How Do I Specify Food Types on my Menufy Restaurant Website?

From your Manager account, go to your Dashboard and scroll down to the Profile section and hit Change Profile. Once on the Profile page, select all applicable food types in the Food Types dropdown, such as:

• Gluten-free

• Halal

• Kosher

• Organic

• Vegan

• Vegetarian

Customers can then filter restaurants by these food types when searching from the Menufy.com marketplace.