Five years after its launch as a trade association in 2010, and having grown from 50 Member sites to 5,000, the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) is now launching a new consumer platform to respond to the ever-increasing public appetite for information about the food on their plate. Whilst consumers can consult packaging to guide their choices at home, they are often left in the dark when eating out.
For too long, the industry has been either reluctant or confused about how best to communicate its sustainability and engage consumers in conversation. Now, as well as providing the indispensable and unrivalled Diners’ Guide to good places to eat out, Food Made Good will also campaign on key issues and encourage a conversation between diners and the industry about the issues that matter to them.
Food has a story and diners want to hear it
Mark Linehan, Managing Director of the SRA, said: “Food Made Good celebrates everything that goes into making eating out a genuinely good experience. Foodservice businesses that ignore their customers’ interest in sustainability or fail to communicate about the good things they do, do so at their peril. Instead they should be celebrating their suppliers, and highlighting their positive impact on the community and the environment – helping their customers enjoy their meals that little bit more. Food has a story and diners want to hear it – so our advice is that if you want to be running a successful hospitality business – tell that story.”
Public to commit to one action
Launching at the Abergavenny Food Festival on Friday 18th September, Food Made Good will be urging the public to commit to one action when eating out to help #MakeFoodGood. They can choose from one of the easy actions provided, such as asking for tap water instead of bottled, or create their own. Diners can write their pledge on a napkin, take a photo and post their pledge on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, announcing their pledge with #MakeFoodGood.
Chefs join in
High profile chefs have also been lining up to join in:
Raymond Blanc OBE, President of the SRA, bestselling author, chef and founder of Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and Brasserie Blanc, has pledged:
“I pledge to tell all my chef friends to choose their ingredients grown as close to their restaurant as possible.”
Thomasina Miers, cook, writer, television presenter and founder of Wahaca, has pledged:
“I pledge to always ask for a doggy bag if there is food leftover on our plates.”
Richard H Turner, chef and restaurateur (Hawksmoor, Foxlow, Meatopia), has pledged:
“I pledge to buy sustainable and ethically farmed produce both at home and in all of the restaurants I am involved in.”
Increasing importance of sustainability criteria
The launch of Food Made Good comes as the results of a new survey conducted by Harden’s for the SRA reveal the increasing importance of sustainability criteria in diners’ decision making and the potential benefits for businesses that do communicate with their customers about these issues. The survey revealed:
- More than 90% said they would be more likely to choose a restaurant if it told them about the provenance of their food as well as their impact on society and the environment.
- Three quarters said a restaurant’s ethical and sustainable achievements represent greater value than a 10% discount on the bill.
Not only did the survey demonstrate that value is synonymous with values for diners, it also highlighted the risks for those businesses which refuse to engage with the key issues in five years’ time.
- 93% of those asked in the survey say they consider these issues more now than in 2010
- 83.7% adding that ethical and sustainable criteria had been a deciding factor in their choice of dining destination
- 95% said they expect sustainability issues to exert an even greater influence on their dining decisions in five years’ time
The SRA will continue to operate as the association for its Members, while Food Made Good will be the consumer champion under which all the consumer campaigns are run.
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