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Why Restaurants, Pubs, and Hotels Should Approach Menu Changes with Great Care

"Where's the beef?" "Sorry, Sir. Beef's off the menu"

In the hospitality industry, a well-crafted menu is more than just a list of food and drink options: It’s a central part of the establishment’s identity and a key element in building customer loyalty. 

Whether it’s the warm familiarity of a local pub, the seasonal variety of a hotel restaurant, or the inventive flair of a trendy café, the menu reflects the values and tastes that define a place. 

Making changes to this carefully balanced list is therefore no small decision. Here’s why restaurants, pubs, hotels, and other eateries should approach menu changes with great care, considering their clientele's preferences and even seeking input from regular diners.

1. Consistency Is Key to Customer Loyalty

For many patrons, the familiarity of a menu is part of what draws them back time and again. Each establishment has its signature dishes, whether it’s the classic fish and chips at the corner pub or the gourmet burger at a local diner. 

Regulars appreciate the certainty of knowing their favourite items will be available whenever they visit. Abruptly changing a menu without considering regulars can leave these loyal customers feeling alienated, causing them to seek out alternatives where their expectations are met.

2. Balancing Tradition with Innovation

Adapting menus can indeed be essential, especially for keeping up with culinary trends, seasonal ingredients, or dietary demands. 

But it’s crucial for eateries to balance innovation with tradition, maintaining elements of the menu that have historically proven popular with regulars. 

Some diners may embrace the excitement of trying new dishes, but others prefer the comfort of the familiar. A menu that offers a blend of both can keep long-standing customers happy while attracting new ones.

3. Understanding Customer Preferences through Feedback

An often-overlooked aspect of menu changes is customer feedback, particularly from those who visit frequently. 

These patrons have a vested interest in the success of the establishment and are likely to have valuable insights into which dishes resonate and which ones don’t. 

By soliciting feedback, whether through in-person surveys, comment cards, or social media, restaurants can gain an honest understanding of what their core audience wants, helping to avoid costly mistakes. 

After all, implementing a new menu that doesn’t align with customer preferences can result in reduced satisfaction and a drop in repeat business.

"Mummy, I don't like my meat!"

4. The Financial Risk of Unpopular Menu Changes

Introducing a new menu requires an investment in ingredients, training for kitchen staff, and potential adjustments to supply chains. 

If customers react negatively to the new selection, it can lead to unsold stock, wasted resources, and a tangible impact on profits. 

Restaurants can minimise this risk by carefully testing new dishes with a small sample of loyal customers or by introducing a “specials” board to gauge interest before committing to a permanent change.

5. Building a Sense of Community with Regular Diners

When eateries invite input from regular diners, they foster a sense of community and loyalty. Patrons feel valued when their opinions are sought, making them more likely to stay loyal and even recommend the place to others. 

This inclusive approach signals that an establishment genuinely cares about its customers’ experience. Furthermore, engaging with customers about potential changes can generate a positive buzz, creating anticipation for new menu items and strengthening the diner-restaurant relationship.

6. Keeping Up with Dietary and Lifestyle Preferences

As diets and lifestyles evolve, so do customers’ needs. From plant-based diets to gluten-free options, more diners today have specific dietary preferences. By involving regular patrons in discussions about menu changes, restaurants can ensure they’re catering to these preferences in a way that feels inclusive and genuine. Letting the chef "have their head" (just because they are the chef) and change the menu at their caprice isn't necessarily good for business. 

After all, whilst "canard rôti à la sauce à la bave d'escargot" might look good on the menu (and on the chef's CV) how many diners would happily eat roast duck in snail slime sauce?

 A dedicated effort to meet customer needs, not just jumping on dietary trends, or fads of the moment, will more likely result in sustainable popularity and customer satisfaction.

7. Crafting an Experience, Not Just a Meal

Menus serve not only as a food list but as a reflection of the entire dining experience. A pub that removes its beloved Sunday roast from the menu, for instance, risks eroding its place as a cosy weekend staple for families. 

By considering changes carefully, eateries ensure they maintain the atmosphere and experience that diners cherish. 

A thoughtful menu change preserves the essence of the establishment while enhancing the customer experience, creating a lasting impression.

A restaurant that my wife and I patronised at least twice a week won't be seeing us dining there again any time in the near future. 

They previously had a lunch menu of a wide variety of genuinely gourmet sandwiches. Imagine our disappointment and displeasure when we found that the entire menu had been stripped of all sandwiches and that the menu now consists of scorched and somewhat tough paninis, some potted meat things, flavoured butter on a roll of bread and that was about it.  

Final Thoughts

Restaurants, pubs, hotels, and other eateries that approach menu changes with great care and consideration build trust and loyalty among their patrons. By seeking feedback from regular diners, establishments can better understand their customers’ preferences, balancing tradition with innovation and making choices that resonate with their audience. Thoughtful menu changes, implemented with an inclusive approach, can lead to a richer dining experience for all, strengthening the relationship between the establishment and its patrons.

In the end, a carefully curated menu isn’t just good business, it’s a reflection of an eatery’s commitment to its customers.

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Uber Eats expands partnership with Morrisons Supermarkets

Morrisons is to grow its immediacy offering in partnerships with Uber Eats. With the expansion, Morrisons will add over 400 supermarkets to the Uber Eats platform over the coming days.

Using Uber Eats’ technology, customers who use the Uber Eats platform can exclusively order from tens of thousands of items from Morrisons supermarkets. 

The average delivery time for Uber Eats customers in the UK is under 30 minutes. 

With this partnership customers will be able to order everyday essentials and Market Street fresh favourites from Morrisons as well as last minute dinners and must-have treats from The Best range.  Hundreds of these products have also been price matched to Morrisons supermarkets. 

The expansion of this partnership, which already included Morrisons Daily convenience stores, comes as Uber Eats recently revealed that in the past two years, the number of people who have placed a grocery order on Uber Eats in the UK has nearly doubled. 

Alex Troughton, Head of Grocery & Retail, Uber Eats, Europe, Middle East and Africa said: “It is fantastic to be expanding our partnership with Morrisons to include their supermarkets for the first time. Building on this partnership means customers who use our platform will have even more choice when ordering with us, with delivery in as little as 20 minutes, all at the touch of a button.”

Charlotte Exell, Morrisons Online Director, said: “We’re delighted to be offering customers another fast and convenient way to get Morrisons groceries delivered straight to their door by expanding our successful partnership with Uber.   We're committed to offering our customers great value high quality products however they choose to shop with us.” 

www.morrisons.com

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Food producers should take Foodsteps

Foodsteps, a top food sustainability platform, has announced the launch of its Scope 3 Assessments to help food businesses meet rigorous sustainability reporting standards more easily and affordably. 

With new sustainability regulations like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), California's Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB253), and the IFRS S2 requiring detailed emissions reporting across Scopes 1, 2, and 3, food companies face mounting pressure to ensure transparency in their environmental impact.

Research shows up to 95% of a food company’s carbon footprint comes from Scope 3 emissions (related to supply chain activities). 

Foodsteps offers an industry-leading solution designed specifically at the food industry. The assessments give food companies granular carbon measurements that meet reporting requirements while also providing actionable insights for targeted decarbonisation.

Stephanie Pereira, Climate & Environment Impact Analyst at Compass Group UK&I, emphasised the impact of Foodsteps’ services: “Foodsteps analysed 1.7 million rows of food and beverage data with Compass. The insights from Foodsteps contributed to the development of Compass' Transition Plan, which is aligned to the goals of the UK government’s Transition Plan Taskforce. 

"Based on this successful experience, we partnered with Foodsteps once again to measure our FY24 food and beverage data. By working with Foodsteps on Scope 3 Assessments and recipe measurement, Compass has made evidence-based ingredient choices and utilised menu modelling to inform decisions, empowering stakeholders to drive change within their sectors.”

Foodsteps’ Scope 3 Assessments simplify regulatory compliance, such as with the CSRD, by reducing costs and enhancing data accuracy. Backed by a robust database of over 40,000 emissions factors and expert support from in-house data scientists, Foodsteps delivers reliable Scope 3 data tailored to the food industry. Beyond compliance, its assessments reveal emissions hotspots in supply chains, enabling businesses to make targeted reductions and rely less on costly offsets. Trusted by brands like KFC, Ella’s Kitchen, and Compass Group, Foodsteps has proven success in elevating sustainability credentials for leading food businesses.

Foodsteps Founder and Director, Anya Doherty said, “Decarbonising our food systems requires significant work, and Scope 3 data is key to unlocking this potential. With increasing regulatory demands for precise supply chain reporting, the food and beverage industry urgently needs accurate, comprehensive data. Foodsteps is proud to bring to market the first purpose-built solution for the food industry to tackle the complex but necessary exercise of measuring and reporting on Scope 3 emissions.”

With the launch of Scope 3 Assessments, Foodsteps supports food businesses in navigating sustainability reporting mandates while actively advancing decarbonisation goals. Food companies are encouraged to explore how Foodsteps’ assessments can ease regulatory burdens and build long-term value at www.foodsteps.earth.