A flyer for a new menu at a local pub dropped thought my door.  I have never had the opportunity to go to this place before, even though I drive past it quite frequently, so I was curious to see what they offered.

Flyer restaruant menu

The menu started off well with two starters marked as suitable for vegetarians and so my hopes were raised.  And that is where it ended.  I looked and looked again.  Burgers, Mains, Specials, Desserts – not a vegetarian offering in sight,

In the small print at the bottom were the words ”Please discuss any dietary requirements with us”.  So a glimmer of hope that they could muster up a vegetarian/vegan option if you rang them (and asked nicely).

I fail to understand why you would indicate vegetarian friendly starters and then provide no mains.  The onus is now on me to phone and have THAT conversation, and then feel easily identifiable an slightly awkward when I turn up to eat.

From a marketing perspective is this not a fail from the outset?  A flyer is meant to entice people to spend their money with you.  It is also an expensive form of marketing.  With more people turning to a meat free diet every day, by not advertising meat free options you are excluding 2% of the population.

As teenagers make up the highest proportion of vegetarians you are now excluding/making it difficult for the family trade, which is also a lucrative part of the market.

So a plea to menu planners: double check where your meatless offering starts and stops.  Are you happy with it? And who will you be stopping visiting your establishment?  Can you afford to do this?