Does a grill menu redesign influence sales, nutrients purchased, and consumer acceptance in a worksite cafeteria?

Abstract

Worksite cafeterias are compelling venues to improve diet quality through environmental changes.We conducted a pre-post study to evaluate how a cafeteria-initiated grill menu redesign influenced sales, revenue, and nutrient content of foods purchased. Secondly, we evaluated consumer opinions about menu changes to inform practices for worksite environment interventions. Monthly sales data (2012–2015) were used to compute gross sales and revenue of entrées and side dishes pre-post menu changes. Alternative protein sources replaced red meat; nutrient composition and nutrients purchased were compared using Food Pro software. Consumer responses were queried using online surveys; open-ended responses were analyzed using NVivo. Differences in sales and nutrient content pre-post menu redesign were tested with Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests. Gross sales of entrées (61 vs. 222servings/month; p=0.01) and side dishes (120 vs. 365servings/month; p=0.001) increased more than three-fold post-menu changes. Revenue from entrées (312 vs. 1144USD/month; p=0.01) and side dishes (238 vs. 914USD/month; p=0.001) also increased; per entrée, consumers purchased significantly more unsaturated fat (5g), and less saturated fat (3g) and sodium (100mg). For side dishes, they purchased fewer calories (48kcal) and unsaturated fat (2.9g), but more fiber (1.8g), and sodium (260mg). Four themes emerged from consumer responses: the importance of 1) variety, novelty, choice; 2) cost, affordability, value; 3) health; and 4) food quality, taste. Menu redesign can improve nutrient content, while also increasing sales and revenue. Multi-dimensional assessment of the nutritional, consumer, and retailer implications is desirable practice for enacting similar environmental changes. Keywords: Worksite health promotion, Food environment change, Consumer satisfaction, Menu redesign, Sales and revenue