Diners seek meal customization opportunities and specialized menus for a variety of reasons, including specific diets, lifestyle choices, food allergies and anything in between.

37% percent of consumers expect to be able to customize their meals when eating out, according to Technomic’s “2020 Future of LSR: Fast Food & Fast Casual Consumer Trend Report.”

Equipment List for Meal Customization

Due to a lingering concern about safety, meal customization requests are currently satisfied by culinary attendants or staff rather than diners, according to Arlene Spiegel, founder and president of New York City-based consultancy Arlene Spiegel & Associates. “Mobile, kiosk and table service can customize dishes, i.e., Sweetgreen, Chipotle and traditional restaurants,” she says.

“If the concept is counter service, equipment needs are about the better use of high-quality hot and cold merchandising elements.”

Spiegel equipment lineup musts for efficient meal customization:

• Refrigerated make stations for sandwiches, pizza, desserts and salads, with additional room for inserts
• Scales, measuring tools, ingredient bins and storage containers for portion-controlled items
• Pump fillers for portioning ingredients into containers for customizing dishes

Creating Custom-ish Connections

Fast-casual chains with customer-facing makelines easily mesh with the trend of hyper-customized options. Some chains have adapted their menu marketing to align with how consumers identify their eating style today.

Three chains that are making an effort to connect their menus to current diet trends:

Chipotle Three popular diets receive specific callouts on Chipotle’s Lifestyle Bowl menu: Whole30, ketogenetic and paleo. Consumers can also opt for more generic high-protein, vegan and vegetarian options.

Rush Bowls With a focus on wellness and functional nutrition, this chain’s bowl- and smoothie-based menu segregates items by Destination, Endurance and Wellness selections to meet customers’ specific goals. 

Mooyah Catering to customers looking for unique combinations, this burger chain promotes a menu that breaks down into vegan, paleo, keto, low-calorie and gluten-free options.

The Next Frontier

The future of specialty diets lies in the area of personal values, such as sustainability, according to research from Datassential. Panera and Just Salad both launched climate-friendly menus in the fall of 2020, which Datassential points out will increase consumer awareness for these offerings.

Panera, for example, promotes these items with a Cool Food Meal designation on the menu for those items it claims have a lower carbon footprint than the traditional American diet. Just Salad added a filter to its online menu called Climatarian, allowing consumers to sort meal options with that label. Other filter options include keto, vegan, gluten-free and paleo.

By the Numbers

Specialty diets reflect an important food motivation that has become increasingly personal, according to Jamie Howe, who handles trends and insights for Chicago-based market research firm Datassential. Here, she connects a few stats from a January 2021 survey that show the diverse approach to eating today:

• 74% of Americans define themselves as omnivores
• 15% reported they were following a low-carb diet
• 9% said they were following a ketogenic eating plan
• 9% said they were following a low-carbon/climate diet
• Paleo is only mentioned on 1% of U.S. restaurant menus