A forced hand?
So what comes next? The UK government is in talks to introduce legislation where outlets and manufacturers are forced to adhere to legal limits on sugar, fat and salt content. Could the same work in this region?
Rai at Ushna agrees people need forcing into a healthier lifestyle and while Ohan thinks outlets should be offering better options without being bound by legislation, ultimately the choice should be left to the consumer. Going “all-heathy” could put your customer base off he says.
“I think it is universally true that most people do not want to be preached to about what they should eat. We generally avoid calorie discussions in our marketing. For example, we are generally 30-50% less calories than other pizzas but we do not use that to sell our pizza. We are also a low-glycemic index food but again not a lead discussion point,” he adds.
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Kumar agrees: “It would be reasonable to say that it is an increasing lack of self-discipline among most people, which is leading to a clear health problem.
“Should the government be sending us to “boot camp” through ever involved legislation clearly proposing to force everyone against their will just because it is deemed good for them? In some cases this may be warranted but at some point the man in the street will have to understand that he has to be responsible for his own health by choosing a lifestyle that is healthy enough for his body.”
Zulian agrees: “Chefs should be able to cook and prepare dishes as they want. It’s not just up to restaurants to work to a limit, people need to know what their limits are.”
A special-diet future
But where gluten, lactose and dairy are concerned — “genuine ailments”, should outlets be legally required to have a “special diets” menu? Should kitchens be regulated to ensure lactose-free, gluten-free and sugar-free options are prepared in the correct environment? Of course then there’s nut-free, yeast-free — the list is quite possibly endless, and that is one of the arguments against.
But Zulian believes such an idea could be a winner: “Food intolerances seem to be on the rise so I’m sure the demand will continue to grow. People also choose sugar free, dairy free items for health reasons, not only because of food intolerances.”
Ohan agrees, particularly where gluten-free is concerned: “Increased awareness of diet related illnesses have also created increased demand for niche products. Gluten free crusts are one such product we offer to cater to this demand.
Celiacs represent less than 1% of the global population yet account for over 6% of our pizza sales. However gluten intolerance is increasingly being diagnosed as a root cause of other ailments. Vegan and lactose intolerant products are another area we are working on,” adds Ohan.
Supplies are still not strong, but it’s getting there, gradually.
“Imported items exist through distributors but at exorbitant prices so in these cases we import directly. Our gluten free crusts are imported from the US for example from a company that specialises in only gluten-free products where cross contamination with gluten is 0%. We have been seeking a high quality vegan cheese without success now for two years,” says Ohan.
Food allergy conscious meals were among the top ten in NRA’s Hottest Menu Trends survey completed by 1500 chefs and Kumar says acknowledging this demand is the way forward: “From offering gluten-free options to separate menus, more chefs are paying attention to this market.”
It is evident that tailoring to such requests is what will seal an outlet’s success.
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