'Think of each option as an opportunity for guests to return'

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She grew up surrounded by a family of Kosher butchers in New York. But today Meredith Marin, the founder of Vegan Hospitality, makes it her business to help create vegan-friendly menus in restaurants across the globe. In a culture that largely believes that plant-based food is bland, uninteresting and just plain unprofitable, Marin wants to change our perception of plants and how delicious they can be to your customers–and your bottom line. 

What do you say to restaurants that believe they don't need to appeal to vegans?I remind them of the "veto vote,” which is the reality of how groups choose where they will dine out when there is a vegan in the group. If there's a group of 12 people trying to decide where to eat, they will ask the vegan to choose the restaurant. I recently heard a case study from one of our consultants that a restaurant she worked with would have lost a catering order for an office ordering lunch for 60 people because two of those people were vegan. The office told them that they chose their restaurant specifically because they had vegan options.

What do you consider an adequate plant-based menu for restaurants? 
My absolute minimum vegan menu for restaurants in areas where they simply want to test demand is two to three appetizers, two to three mains (one main can be a larger portion of your top-selling appetizer), and at least one dessert. Restaurants in big cities or communities known for being vegan-friendly should have at least double that size. Think of each option as an opportunity for guests to return. If guests have tried all your options, the chances of them circling back to dine with you again in the near future are slim.

What's an easy way for restaurants to add a plant-based option?The easiest way to start would be to veganize your vegetarian option. For example, if you offer a vegan burger patty with cow's milk cheese and a non-vegan bun, then switch the bun to a vegan one and offer plant-based cheese as an option. Join a local vegan Facebook group and tell the group that you're adding vegan options and conduct polls to find out which dishes have the potential to be your best sellers.

Above: Vegan Hospitality founder Meredith Marin. (Courtesy of @veganhospitality/ Instagram)

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