Plant-based concepts around the world

Walk down any busy street of restaurants and you cannot fail to notice the increase in vegetarian, vegan and plant-based dishes on menus. Today, more consumers than ever consider the climate impact of their meals.

According to 2022’s “Young & Hungry” study by the Cassandra Report, 21% of both Millennials and Gen Z (in the US) prioritize the environment when making their choice, an increase of 20% over the past surveys. State of the Plate’s report says 70% of US consumers are trying to reduce the amount of meat they eat.

We are not only committed to serving our consumers dishes they love, but also to reducing our carbon footprint to limit the impact our business has on the environment. Our goal is to offer more than 30% plant-based meals by 2025.

Find out about some of the plant-based menu concepts on offer in our restaurants around the world:

Plant-powered Mondays in the United States

Once a week, our cafes across north America offer consumers additional plant-based meals and dishes with reduced animal protein. Launched in the summer of 2022, our chefs used consumer insights to ensure understanding of the ingredients and dishes our consumers want to experience, ensuring a menu packed with authentic flavors from around the world.

Plant-powered has been popular with our university locations increasing their plant-based menu offering by more than 7% across the board.

New plant-based choices on the menu in the Philippines

In partnership with a large client at sites in Cebu, Bonifacio Global City and Quezon City, Sodexo Philippines launched new plant-based dishes as part of a program to advocate for a sustainable future. Plant-based meals now account for about 20 percent of the menu, with a new collection of plant-based recipes created for implementation across all sites. 

Locally we’ve teamed up with the Unilever Philippines ‘The Vegetarian Butcher’ brand to develop unique delightful dishes using their plant-based meat products.

Promoting responsible food consumption in Chile

In Chile, the Sodexo culinary team has launched ‘Veggie Offer’. Veggie Offer promotes the consumption of sustainable food through plant-based nutrition, animal health and welfare and raising awareness on the influence food decisions have on the planet.

Made up of more than 100 main dishes, soups and creams, low-calorie options and desserts, Veggie Offer is varied and nutritionally balanced, featuring sustainable ingredients as well as fresh and seasonal foods. We’ve noticed our consumers are changing their habits and becoming more flexitarian every day.

Engaging young diners in the United Kingdom

In 2022, the Sodexo team in the UK, together with WWF, launched Plant+ by Finer Diner across a selection of schools, a concept combining plant-based dishes with interactive information, school challenges, teacher toolkits and more. The team also held taster sessions in our schools where the top meat-based issues were replaced with versions made from 100-percent plants, grains or vegetables to encourage skeptical young diners to try the new dishes.

A new plant-forward restaurant in the Netherlands

In May 2022, Sodexo opened the new restaurant C30 at the Shell campus in The Hague, Netherlands. The first fully plant-forward/vegetarian restaurant within the Shell Global contract. The offer was inspired by the high street and the many plant-forward restaurants in the market. With street food, deli bar, bespoke salads and homestyle classics, we included new and innovative recipes. 

The food is as simple as possible, providing lower levels of fat, sugar and salt while focusing on fresh vegetables and fruits. Guests will find many new protein alternatives in C30’s recipes as well as locally sourced ingredients and wonky (aka unloved and ungraded) fruit and vegetables. All disposables are biodegradable, fitting within Shell’s and Sodexo’s sustainability ambitions.

Guest feedback has been very positive. We are pleased to hear from so many guests who state that they are more than happy to miss a meat dish in favor of a plant-based one.

Launching plant-based menus for patients in Thailand

There’s a reason why Bangkok is known as Food City, with chefs crating amazing plant-based specialities all around the city. And the Sodexo restaurant at Phyathai 2 Hospital is no exception. Here the plant-based trend has been incorporated into patient dining and room service. With healthy menus and encouragement to try plant proteins, PYT 2 is the first location to bring plant-based dining to patients and the menus are now expanding to other facilities. 

Find out more about our Food Services