In a new report, The Discerning Diner: How consumers’ attitudes to eating out have become more sophisticated, based on the findings of consumer research, the SRA reveals that increasingly savvy diners want to know more about how restaurants operate and more than half will pay more for a meal in a restaurant that is run sustainably.
Diners now care more about the health and nutrition of the meals they eat out and how restaurants are managing their food waste, than about the provenance of the food on their plate, according to new research for the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).
Raymond Blanc, President of the SRA and chef patron of Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons said: “This report provides further evidence that our customers not only want to enjoy high quality food, but also want to know that the restaurants they eat in are managing their business responsibly.”
Significant shift in diners’ priorities
The survey carried out by Populus, shows a significant shift in diners’ priorities.
Food waste, health and nutrition, and locally sourced produce are the three top issues on which diners want restaurants to focus. When the SRA asked consumers the same question in 2009, they ranked local sourcing, organic and employee treatment as their highest priorities.
Only 5% of those asked this time ranked organic as one of their main concerns, compared with 45 per cent when the survey was first conducted in 2009.
Mark Linehan, Managing Director of the SRA, believes the results demonstrate that the dining public has adopted a broader, increasingly informed approach to eating out and now expects more from the restaurants in which they eat, even if diners remain reluctant to ask outright.
Gap between restaurant and customer concerns
A complementary survey of 17 restaurants revealed a substantial perception gap between what restaurants think matters most to their customers and their actual concerns, with restaurants drastically underestimating the importance consumers attach to food waste and health and nutrition in particular.
In its report, the SRA suggests three main ways restaurants can communicate their sustainability:
- using a certification, like the SRA Sustainability Rating, making information readily available for those who want to find it
- through well informed waiters and on their website
- taking action that demonstrates sustainability issues are being tackled
Diners’ desire for more information
Increased interest in these issues has fuelled diners’ desire for more information, and the research reveals that diners don’t feel restaurants tell them enough about the things that matter most to them. 85% say they know little or nothing about the social and environmental standards of the restaurants in which they eat, while almost exactly the same number (84%) want restaurants to tell them more about their sustainability. Diners want to hear more in particular about the three issues that matter most to them: food waste, health and nutrition, and locally sourced produce.
Diners also want to know more about what is in their food. 81% think restaurants should be more transparent about what is in the meals they serve, and 89% said they didn’t receive any information about the nutritional value of their meal.
Restaurants that communicate will prosper
Mark Linehan of the SRA commented: “The restaurants that respond to the wide-ranging demands of increasingly savvy diners and communicate what they are doing effectively, are the ones that will prosper. Restaurants will ignore these findings at their peril as, traditionally, British diners tend to vote with their feet, rather than ask difficult questions or complain.”
56% would pay a premium
More than half (56%) of those surveyed said they would pay a premium for their meal if they knew the restaurant was investing in reducing its environmental impact and taking its social responsibility seriously. Almost half (43%) said they would pay up to 10% more for their meal in a sustainable restaurant.
Non-negotiables
While diners said they expected more expensive restaurants to operate more sustainably, they do regard some issues as non-negotiable. 45% expected restaurants charging less than £10 per head to distribute tips fairly and provide free tap water. In restaurants where a meal costs more than £30 a head, diners expected higher standards of sourcing, with 62% saying all fish in these restaurants should be from sustainable sources and 64% expecting all meat to be from farms with certified animal welfare standards.
The findings in The Discerning Diner: How consumers’ attitudes to eating out have become more sophisticated, are drawn from a series of surveys conducted by Populus of a randomised sample of the UK population (1000 people), together with interviews conducted with 17 SRA Member restaurants, a review of the recent media coverage on sustainability issues and findings from a panel discussion held at the 2013 Sustainable Restaurant Awards. The SRA has also drawn on its expertise working in the sector with both consumers and restaurants.
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