US Healthy Dining Trends Report 2023

With a divide among consumers as to whether restaurants can support their health goals, it’s important for operators to consider how trends in healthy dining affect their business. This report explores—backed with consumer data—the most relevant healthy dining trends affecting the foodservice industry in the US.

Below, we provide the key areas covered and offer handpicked insights from the report.

Key Areas Covered

• How consumers approach healthy dining at restaurants.
• How consumers perceive healthy menu items.
• Features consumers desire in healthy menu items.
• Attitudes towards eating healthy at home and away from home.

Healthy Dining: Market Overview

Consumers usually cut back on dining out first when trying to save money. This puts restaurants with a health focus in a challenging position, as the premium prices associated with healthy menu items may prompt visitors to swerve. Operators can combat this perception of high prices with education, and enable consumers to customise their meals with healthier options at low costs.

The Healthy Dining Consumer: Preferences and Trends

• Consumers don’t think of healthy menu options as the most appealing for taste and price. This includes both healthy and indulgent diners. By focusing on improving taste and value for money, through flavour experimentation, larger portion sizes, and visual appeal, consistent trial can be encouraged.
• Consumers are not looking for a purely functional experience when it comes to dining on healthy options at restaurants. Diners will compare healthy and indulgent options similarly and down to important desired features like being appetising and having a good portion size.
• Less than a third associate fast casual restaurants with healthy options. Few perceive this restaurant type to have healthy options, despite it being a common offering. For fast casual operators, highlighting these options with robust messaging around freshness, quality, and sourcing may prove beneficial.

What’s Next for Healthy Dining?

There is a split among consumers concerning their confidence in restaurants to support their health objectives. It’s now the responsibility of restaurants to regain that trust by reassuring consumers that they can cater to their unique and adaptable definitions of health, while also providing an enjoyable experience that is not restrictive.

This report offers a complete analysis of how to effectively appeal to consumers considering healthy dining options. Buy your copy today and understand your customers’ preferences. For more relevant reports, explore our foodservice market research.

Additional Features Included in Your Report

• Different Digital Formats: PDF for conveniently sharing with your team, PowerPoint for quickly including in your presentations.
• Custom PowerPoints: Incorporate our consumer research data into your own work so you can win over your clients and stakeholders. Select insights from your report to create a custom presentation that is ready to download in minutes.
• Mintel’s Clients Portal: Our portal provides instant access to actionable analysis, podcasts, and trend pieces relevant to your industry that are published almost daily, as well as our annual Global Consumer Trends. You can also browse our extensive library of market research reports.

Expert Analysis

Leading foodservice analyst Varchasvi provides a detailed analysis of healthy dining trends in the US with this report.

As definitions of healthy eating continually expand and shift, restaurants are tasked with making this generally restrictive task feel inviting and enjoyable.

 

Varchasvi
Research Analyst