By Denise Langenegger, Contributor
Around 32 million US citizens have a diagnosed food allergy, making up 10.8% of all adults and 7.6% of all children. For these members of our communities, simple pleasures like dining out can often become clouded by fears and anxieties that restaurants may be unknowingly placing them at risk.
Much has been done for allergen-awareness in recent years, from the rise of popular health trends like gluten-free diets and increased exposure to allergen incidents through social media, but with 200,000 Americans admitted to hospital for allergic reactions to food every year, more can be done.
By learning more about food allergies and better communicating with those affected by these issues, restaurateurs can help to create a more inclusive environment for all diners. To those making these efforts, here’s how you should be marketing your restaurant to allergen conscious customers.
Develop Interactive Allergen Guides
Several states do require that restaurants clearly display potential allergens both within their menus and by way of clearly labeled interior signage. However, for allergen-conscious guests, navigating these warnings can often be tedious, confusing, and detrimental to their overall dining experience.
As many restaurants now provide digital menus through cell phone apps, the ability to create interactive allergen guides has never been easier. By allowing customers to filter menu items by allergen, diners are given full control over their orders without needing to track down busy servers.
Not only will creating an interactive allergen guide show a commitment to allergen conscious customers, but it’ll also take some weight off staff members and help market your restaurant as a forward-thinking and modern establishment, so there’s really no drawbacks involved.
Pursue Honest Marketing
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest guests respond well to honest marketing. Doing so shows confidence in your product and helps to build trust between you and your diners. Extending this idea to the promotion of allergen-free menu items can help allergen-conscious customers feel much safer.
Secret recipes and hidden ingredients are a constant worry to those dreading an allergic reaction. So by ensuring that your menus, signage and advertisements proudly display all used ingredients, your guests can be assured that exciting new products aren’t to be treated as potential disasters.
Additionally, proudly marketing menu items alongside all included ingredients allows restaurateurs to highlight their use of local suppliers and fresh produce, creating a brand image centered around cleanliness, trust, and reliability that can help to build a strong and loyal customer base.
Work with Allergen-Friendly Suppliers
Shopping for allergen-free food products can often be a time-consuming and difficult task for allergen conscious customers, so many will have developed long-lasting relationships with certain brands that they can trust to offer safe products produced in controlled and uncontaminated environments.
By working with suppliers that have already invested in building a trusting relationship with allergy sufferers, restaurateurs and cafe owners can become part of these networks and benefit from existing brand loyalty.
Offering snacks from clean-label brands like Safe + Fair, who themselves say, “There is nothing more important than food safety”, can act as a visual reminder to diners that your restaurant is committed to catering for allergen conscious customers, helping to strengthen ties with these communities.
Take Pride in Staff Training
Regardless of how many steps you take to create a safe environment for allergen conscious customers, there will always be the unfortunate chance for human error. To reduce this likelihood, it’s essential that restaurateurs invest heavily in comprehensive and regular staff training sessions.
Every member of staff should know exactly which allergens may affect every dish and should be comfortable with how to carefully explain potential risks to customers whenever necessary.
Proudly display your food and allergen training certificates, and incorporate these qualifications into your branding, doing so will help allergen conscious customers identify your restaurant as a trusted and safe place to stop by.
Final Word
Finding a safe spot to eat out can be difficult for food allergy sufferers, especially when decoding potential risks means flicking through fine print and flagging down busy waiters. By proudly incorporating allergen-awareness into restaurant branding, allergen conscious customers can feel comfortable and heard, helping to mark your restaurant as an honest and respected establishment.
