Vegetarians: A Typology for Foodservice Menu Development
FIU Review
Vegetarians: A Ty polog y for Foodser vice Menu Development
Amir Shani 0 1
Robin B. DiPietro 0 1
0 University of Mississippi , USA
1 Th e University of Southern Mississippi , USA
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/hospitalityreview Part of the Food and Beverage Management Commons, and the Food Processing Commons Recommended Citation
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Vegetarians: A Typology for Foodservice Menu Development
Abstract
There is currently a lack of research about the needs of vegetarians, from a practitioner or academic
perspective. This paper contributes to filling this research gap, by discussing the needs of vegetarians who dine
out and their current difficulties in participating in the dining experience, in the present context. Specifically, it
is argued that the typology of vegetarians presented in this paper, based on their motivations to adopt the
chosen diet, might prove useful for restaurants in order to understand the vegetarian guest and develop menu
items and services that will better cater to their needs. Recommendations for practitioners and future research
areas are presented.
This article is available in Hospitality Review: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/hospitalityreview/vol25/iss2/5
Vegetarians: A Typology for Foodservice
Menu Development
By Amir Shani and Robin B. DiPietro
There is currently a lack of research about the needs of vegetarians, from a practitioner or academic perspective. This paper
contributes to filling this research gap, by discussing the needs of vegetarians who dine out and their current difficulties in participating in the
dining experience, in the present context. Specifically, it is argued that the typology of vegetarians presented in this paper, based on their
motivations to adopt the chosen diet, might prove useful for restaurants in order to understand the vegetarian guest and develop menu items
and services that will better cater to their needs. Recommendations for practitioners and future research areas are presented.
Introduction:
Dining out is one of the prominent forms of leisure activity in Western society, in general, and in
the U.S., in particular. The restaurant industry is a fast growing segment of the United States’ economy.
The National Restaurant Association predicts that 2007 will see $534 billion in sales in the U.S.
foodservice industry, over $1.45 billion a day. The direct sales of the foodservice industry equal four
percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
(National Restaurant Association, 2007)
. Besides its
conventional role of providing prepared food, the restaurant industry provides consumers and businesses
with convenience, value, entertainment, and a social environment away from the stresses of daily life.
Today, more than ever, customers can choose from a tremendous variety of restaurants, from
quick service chains to fine upscale luxury restaurants
(Muller & Woods, 1994)
. In addition, the average
customer has the option to select from a great diversity of flavors and tastes, such as ethnic food or
different styles of cooking. The importance of the restaurant industry is also apparent from the emerging
range of academic research and journals dealing with the theme of restaurant management and foodservice
management. Consumers with more disposable income have been eating out on more than just
“occasions” and this has been seen in the fourteen consecutive years of rising foodservice sales
(National
Restaurant Association, 2007)
.
Despite the size and importance of the foodservice industry, it seems that the response of the
restaurant industry to the important segment of the vegetarian customers was only partial. This lack of
focus on the vegetarian customer base limited their participation in the dining experience. Vegetarians
were usually able to put together a satisfying meal in some restaurants, but the variety and quality of the
selections are, in most cases, rather limited
(Cobe, 2003)
. The main reason for this is that meat (in the
sense of the edible parts of mammals and birds) is still the most universally valued and sought after source
of human nutrition
(Beardsworth & Bryman, 2004)
. Another reason for the relative absence of vegetarian
courses in restaurants is the common perception of vegetarian food as boring and unsatisfying, and the
recoiling of many chefs to cater to vegetarians because of the hard work involved in the preparation and
delivery of a good quality meal
(Kühn, 2006)
.
However, in the past few years, there has been a slight change in the attitude of the restaurant
industry toward vegetarianism. The recognition of the purchasing power of vegetarians, the rising appeal
of healthy food, and the changing attitudes of mainstream restaurant customers have led many restaurants
to offer a greater diversity and quality of non-meat options in their menus
(Yee, 2004)
. Nevertheless, the
knowledge about the vegetarians in relation to dining out and restaurant menu op (...truncated)