Insight commissioned by The Real Soup Co. has uncovered that while 97% of vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians or those with allergies regularly look for new flavours when eating out, 52% are bored with current choices.
The award-winning fresh soup supplier is launching a new campaign - #Freeyourmenus - helping caterers combat menu boredom from those with special diets, and giving sites the keys to profit from this growing demographic of diner.
With an estimated 44% of the UK population living with an allergic disease* and the number of people adhering to a vegan diet quadrupling over the last 10 years**, The Real Soup Co.’s campaign has been created to demonstrate the company’s breadth of allergen-friendly options, and the ease in which they can help satisfy those with special dietary requirements.
With insight from The Vegan Society earmarking veganism and non-gluten diets as the most difficult to cater for, innovative flavours like the multi award-winning Indonesian Chickpea and Coconut, French Onion and Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato soups take the hard work out of service, while offering a much needed antidote to run-of-the mill options.
The company is also launching an updated, free-to-download nutritional guide for each of its 20+ range, detailing not only allergens, calories, fat, sugar and salt contents, but including full breakdowns of folic acid and vitamin levels – key considerations, especially for those catering in the healthcare sector.
David Colwell, Business Development Manager, Real Soup Co., commented, “Our research has uncovered that 47% of vegetarians, vegans, pescetarians or those with allergies eat out at least once a week – bringing the sheer scale of the opportunity into focus. Allied to this, 66% of these diners regularly considering soup as a starter, with 73% saying they would pay more for a freshly made soup.
“In the healthcare sector, when it comes to patient or resident feeding, these considerations are just as important.
“Put simply, we can and must do better to prevent people living with special diets from suffering inferior choices – soup is not only a fantastic gluten-free alternative to a lunchtime sandwich, it is also a viable starter option for many of these diners. Introducing innovative fresh flavours is key to ensuring uptake.”
