CHICAGO – Consumers’ first
line of defense in healthy consumption when they eat out is cutting an item out
or cutting down on an order, which is not the best news for foodservice
operators, reports The NPD Group. Instead of selecting a healthier menu item,
consumers say they are more apt to cut out desserts, have water instead of
revenue-generating beverages, or get a smaller portion when seeking a healthier
meal from a restaurant, according to a soon-to-be-released NPD foodservice
market research report.
“The bottom line is that
even with an increasing number of restaurants offering healthier menu items or
posting calories and other nutritional information, at the end of the day,
consumers see dining out as a treat, an indulgence,” said Bonnie Riggs, NPD
restaurant industry analyst, in a press release.
In addition to cutting
down or out, foodservice consumers look to healthier choices in protein,
preparation, or fit with their diet, finds the NPD study “Healthy at
Foodservice-Consumer Expectations Put in Perspective.” The report found that
consumers order healthier preparations for foods ordered, including ordering smaller
portions.
NPD reports that while
more than half of adults say they eat healthful meals always or most of the
time at home, only a quarter say they eat healthy foods when they go out to
eat. The variance in part reflects differences in consumers’ priorities, which
change depending on where they eat. According to the NPD study, of those
consumers not ordering healthy when they dine out, 37% said that when they go
out to eat, “I want to eat what I want to eat,” and 23% said that “I want to
indulge when I go out to eat.”
“Operators and foodservice
operators are in a challenging position trying to balance meeting their
customers’ wants and needs, like any successful marketer should do, and meeting
societal responsibilities. A first step is understanding healthy from the
consumers’ perspective,” said Riggs.