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Nowadays, digital menus typically include allergen and dietary information as best practice - sometimes, it's a legal requirement.
To keep your customers coming back to your venue with the confidence to order and enjoy the food and drink they love, you must ensure your venue provides the necessary information that meets their expectations.
Fortunately for you, we've broken down the reasons why dietary and allergen tags must be included in your digital menu.
Displaying allergen tags on menus is best practice
Between 1960 and 2018, the global rate of people with allergies more than doubled. In England alone, the rate of children hospitalised due to anaphylactic shock increased by 72% between 2013-2019, with figures rising from 1,015 to 1,746.
Of course, any business cannot take these statistics lightly, especially those within the hospitality space. The last thing you want is a customer having an allergic reaction at or after dining at your venue. Thankfully there are things you can do to limit the chances of this happening, and it all starts with updating your digital menu.
With Peazi, our order and pay web app solution lets you update your menu to display the necessary allergen and dietary requirements anytime you like, ensuring your customers know what they're biting into.
Common dietary requirement tags on menus
Sometimes less is more, so when adding dietary requirements to your digital menu, consider using abbreviations to simplify things.
Today's customer, especially those who are allergic to specific food and drink, expects to see allergen advice and dietary options when they order from a web app. Moreover, people are more aware of what to look for when concerning their nutritional needs. So, for example, someone who is gluten-free will scan through your digital menu, notice the abbreviation GF, and instantly know that item caters to their needs.
We've been kind enough to give you some abbreviations you can add to your digital menu. Some of the standard abbreviations include.
- GF: Gluten-Free
- GFO: Gluten-Free Option
- V: Vegetarian
- VO: Vegetarian Option
- VG: Vegan
- VGO: Vegan Option
Now we're not saying to just use the abbreviation to solely explain your venue's dietary and allergen advice, but it will save your customers time as they can quickly scan the menu to easily find what's for them. However, do ensure you include a key somewhere on your web app that provides a bit more detail on what the abbreviation means - just in case one of your customers wants further clarity on an item.
Adding these abbreviations to your digital menu is eazi with Paazi. You can add abbreviations and a key to give your punters confidence in your venue, all done in just a few clicks. Ultimately, this allows your customers to choose their food and drink without asking your staff what they can or cannot eat - something that often wastes time and causes unwanted back and forth between the customer and your kitchen.
Additionally, our bespoke order and pay web app allow you to add custom categories to your digital menu. For example, perhaps you want a vegan category that your customers can easily navigate. No problem, our solution will enable you to do just that.
It’s often a requirement
As your venue is probably aware, various rules and regulations require hospitality businesses to list allergen, dietary and even calorie statements on their digital menu.
In the UK, the Consumer Protection Act 1987 is in place to allow people to claim compensation if any defective food sold in its raw state causes death, damage or injury. Additionally, Natasha's Law, enacted in October 2021, requires venues to display allergen information on pre-packaged food. More recently, in April 2022, new legislation was enforced by Parliament for hospitality venues with over 250 employees, including cafes, restaurants and takeaways, to display calorie information on non-prepacked food and soft drink.
Staying compliant with these requirements may sound scary, but our solution simplifies things. You can amend your allergen and dietary information in minutes when you are set up with your bespoke Peazi digital menu. In addition, our app-less and faff-less solution is really eazi to use, so you can be sure your digital menu stays updated with the current and new legislation.
Did we mention our menus include a search feature? Well, you'll be pleased to know they do. Our searchable feature makes searching for a specific product or dietary requirement a breeze. Gone are the days of tirelessly scrolling through a menu. Instead, if your customers want to see if there's something available, they can simply search for it.
Builds trust and loyalty
When your customers come to your venue, you want them to enjoy themselves and have confidence in the products they're sipping or munching on. So, displaying the allergens and dietary options on your digital menu gives your customers more reassurance about dining at your venue, increasing the chances of them returning to spend their well-earned cash on your tasty drinks and delicious grub.
What's more, when you update your digital menu to cater to the specific needs of your customers, it shows that you care about their health. So, all in all, the more you can do to ensure your customer's safety and well-being, the better.
Ultimately, being open about allergens and dietary information is not only necessary in some instances, but it's an excellent way for your brand to build trust and loyalty. And with trust and loyalty comes increased revenue, repeat business, and long-term stability for your venue. What more could you ask for? How about a solution that makes all this possible?
Well, Peazi offers you a fully bespoke and customisable digital menu you can use to display all your allergen and dietary information. This will put your customer's minds at ease - allowing you to focus on what you do best, serving up top-notch food and drink.
