Nutrition Menu Analysis for Your Food Business
Nutrition Menu Analysis for Restaurants, Food Manufacturers, Schools and More!
Bringing affordable, yet competitive nutrition solutions meeting FDA compliance through careful menu analysis
Christa is a registered dietitian who works with restaurant business owners, country clubs, food manufacturers, producers and food professionals to develop affordable nutrition solutions for their customers. With a focus on menu nutrition analysis, allergy management and menu diversity she uses her 10 years of experience and nutrition compliance software to give you a professional touch without the crazy expense.
Are you looking to provide more offerings for your customers? And have a competitive edge in the market with a focus on making nutrition information accessible?
Catering to Dietary Preferences and Restrictions
Nutrition facts help individuals with specific dietary preferences, restrictions, or health conditions to make suitable choices. This can include people with allergies, those managing conditions like diabetes, or individuals following particular diets (e.g., low-carb, gluten-free, lite, heart-healthy).
Marketing and Differentiation
Providing nutritional information can be a unique selling point. It can attract health-conscious consumers and those who appreciate the effort a restaurant makes to accommodate various dietary needs. This also helps with online ordering helping customers make selections without going to the physical location.
Personal Touch
Christa understands what it’s like being a small business and likes meeting with each restaurant/food owner individually to understand how your operation runs. This way any suggestion can be made with actual knowledge and there are opportunities to be in production.
Previous Projects Requiring Nutrition Menu Analysis
FULL NUTRITION MENU ANALYSIS
THIS SERVICE IS FOR YOUR RESTAURANT IF:
You want to be able to confidently place gluten-free, heart healthy and/or soy free on your menu
Your customers are looking for health conscious options
You want to diversify your current offerings
You have health conscious options already and want the “numbers” to show for it
You want your customers to trust your brand even more
You want to increase online ordering to help alleviate foot traffic
You want a new marketing angle to sell your food products
Final deliverables generally include:
- FDA-compliant menu labels designed according to your recipe and requirements
- Detailed nutritional analysis reports
- File formats of your choice: JPG; PNG; BMP; TIFF; GIF; PDF
- Back up files of each menu item
- Icon that can be used on website & print stating it was reviewed by a registered dietitian
Additional deliverables can be:
- Recipe cards
- Production records
- Product development
- Nutrition Facts Label
- Website input with your developer with all the nutrition facts
- Input nutritionals in your POS system (ie. orders2me, shift4, ect)
- Print design to add to your physical menu
Where is Christa from?
She’s a born and raised Jersey native! When she was a baby [and literally today still] her whole family would rent a beach house either in LBI, Avalon or Ocean City. With such fond memories of ice cream sandwiches, crabbing, sea-shell painting and digging big sand-holes her heart is at the shore.
The nostalgia and kind business owners ignites her to help build up the local restaurant communities giving them the competitive edge so that their revenue is on par or better. She enjoys supporting local and small business owners across the country that she feels personally connected to [probably because she eats there and loves their food!]
FAQS
Simply put, it drives revenue. When a customer has access to this information they trust the restaurant even more. This can offer more opportunities to expand menu offerings and diversify the customer base. Nutrition menu analysis can help substantiate FDA-regulated nutrient claims for food products that state that they are ‘low in sodium’ or ‘low in fat,’ and this can turn into offering different menu options for your customers.
Christa understands running a kitchen (several actually) and how nutrition impacts the communities she serves. With her decade of experience whether counseling patients, working with food management companies or writing for online health publications, she really understands people and their behaviors when it comes to eating out. Plus, she’s had clients such as the American Diabetes Association and Beachbody where she analyzed their recipes and provided nutrition analyses that were published online. Christa can also work with your website developer and online POS system to translate this information onto all your customer facing platforms.
While your restaurant might not be obligated to adhere to current mandatory labeling laws, think about the marketing attractiveness of providing nutrition details and offering healthier food choices to your customers. This puts you in league with chain restaurants and health conscious consumers. When your restaurant hits 20 locations, you will have to have the nutrition facts made available.
It’s a detailed report that will include serving size, calories, calories from fat, fat (g), Saturated fat (g), Trans fat (g), Cholesterol (mg), Sodium (mg), Carbohydrates (g), Total Dietary Fiber (g), Total Sugars (g), Protein (g). You would get something that looks like this below and I would translate it for you on your websites, menus, and/or online POS system.
First, it would be understanding your customer and I like setting up a meeting to do that. Then, I would need access to your standardized recipes and/or production records so that I can write up the analysis with each ingredient using an FDA approved software called ESHA R&D Genesis or Nutritionist Pro. If you’re looking for gluten-free (or similar) I can work with your broad-line distributor or purchasing manager to obtain labels for you to have on-hand in the kitchen indicating foods that definitely meet these qualifications.
Oh, one thousand percent! Imagine wanting to offer a “heart-healthy” section on your menu, and having a dietitian who can help guide the production phase of making recipes that meet specific guidelines outlined by the American Dietary Guidelines. Who knows, you may already have items on your menu that meet these qualifications but now you have the data to prove it through an analysis! I can help communicate this to you and your customer.
It varies however most projects are done within 3-6 weeks. Most recipes can be completed at a rate of 8-14 per day, just to give you an idea!
Larger companies and labs charge an “arm and a leg” for each menu item (~$200-$350 actually! eek!) but what Christa does is work with your budget, ultimate goals and what you want to communicate through your menu to the customer. The best part though, is this is an investment that doesn’t have to repeat every year. Unless you change recipes or menu items, this is a fixture and requires little to no updating.
ESHA Genesis R&D software allows Christa to generate Nutrition Facts panels that comply with government standards, virtually formulate food products, assess the nutritional composition of your recipes, and modify ingredients repeatedly without the need to send your special recipe to the lab each time you make a change. Another software she might use is Nutritionist Pro.
Nutrient claims describe the level of specific nutrients in a food, such as “low fat” or “high in fiber.” These claims help customers quickly identify healthier options and make informed choices. Using nutrient claims on your menu can attract health-conscious diners, enhance your restaurant’s reputation for offering nutritious meals, and comply with regulatory standards. They also add value by clearly communicating the nutritional benefits of your dishes. I can help make that happen!
RESTAURANT & FOOD BUSINESS OWNER ARE YOU READY TO OFFER A LITTLE MORE?
THIS IS YOUR FIRST STEP PLEASE GET IN TOUCH
If you have questions about how I might be able to help in your menu nutrition analysis project, please reach out. It’s always nice to get on the phone and chat with someone!
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