The Benefits of Alternative Milk for Restaurants and Cafes (with pricing tips and menu ideas!)

Most restaurateurs can agree that milk is an essential ingredient in the restaurant inventory. As World Plant Milk day rolls around, it’s safe to say that non-dairy milk alternatives are on track to overtake cows’ milk in Australian cafes and restaurants.

A survey of more than 900 cafes found a quarter of Australians chose plant milk over dairy milk. We know that more and more Australians are making the non-dairy switch. But what does this mean for your restaurant?

First, let’s talk about why people are moving away from regular dairy milk. The move away from dairy comes with the rise in adoption of plant-based diets for sustainability, but for some, it could also be because of milk allergies, lactose intolerance or dietary and health considerations.

No matter the motivation, plant-based milk actually comes with a ton of benefits. Your customers know this, so offering alternative milk options could also benefit your restaurant in the long run. 

In this article, we’ll help you get started with (if you haven’t already!) alternative milk options on your cafe or restaurant menu.

What this blog covers:

• Benefits of including alternative milk options to your delivery menu
• Popular alternative milk you can offer at your restaurant or cafe
• How to incorporate alternative milk options into your menu
• Deciding on the right pricing for alternative milk 
• Should you charge extra for alternative milk modifications?
• Alternative milk menu ideas

Keep reading to learn about how you can include alternative milk options into your menu! 

Benefits of adding alternative milk options in your delivery menu

If you’re on the fence about whether or not you should start including alternative milk options for delivery, these are some quick wins your restaurant could score off the plant-based trend.

1. Encourage higher average order volume. Customers who adopt a dairy-free diet are usually willing to pay a little extra to swap to their favourite alternative milk. By offering alternative milk modifications, you get to boost your average basket size with high-margin items like beverages.

2. Increase your consumer base. For people who turn to non-dairy milk due to allergies or intolerance, milk alternatives are more than just a conscious lifestyle option. Having alternative milk options in your menu will help your business cater to more people and gain a new customer base, whether it’s the vegan community or a health-conscious group.

3. Show up more often and rank higher on delivery platforms. Searches for ‘plant-based diet’ and ‘alternative milk’ have spiked over 650% in the past 5 years. Having alternative milk on your menu can improve your chances of appearing and even rank higher on delivery platform searches when customers are looking for options.
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4.Diversify your menu. Did you know that 82% of those who drink alternative milks do so because they enjoy the taste? The difference in flavour and texture that comes with alternative milk can definitely give your menu an edge and inspire diners to try something new.‍

Popular alternative milk you can offer at your restaurant or cafe

With the many options available in the market today, it seems an impossible feat for your restaurant to incorporate all types of alternative milk into your menu. Not only would that incur additional expenses, having to work with the multiple options would also be a hassle to your workflow.

The last thing you want is to drown your staff with customisation requests, especially during rush hours. That’s why we’ve hashed out a quick guide to alt-milk options you could incorporate into your menu! 

• Soy milk
• Nut milk (Almond, cashew, macadamia, hazelnut, pistachio… the list goes on for the expansive nut milk category!)
• Oat milk
• Coconut milk
• Rice milk
• Pea milk

How to incorporate alternative milk options into your menu

Now, let’s get down to business and talk about introducing alternative milk options into your menu. If you’re just getting started, here are a few things you should take into consideration:

1. Train your staff to work with dairy-free milks
Since the flavour and texture of plant milks vary from one another, more time and training will be needed for your staff to learn how to execute drinks and fishes with the different types of non-dairy milk.

For cafes, your baristas need to be able to froth and texture plant milks and know which goes well with the coffees and even non-caffeinated beverages you offer.

2. Allergy awareness
It’s important to keep in mind that nut and soy allergies are fairly common, so training is essential for every staff member to understand your restaurant’s policy on handling food allergies.

Give your customers a heads up when they order something that contains possible allergens and take special requests from customers with food allergies seriously.

It’s also important that nut and soy-based milks are prepared separately from other drinks to avoid contamination. Using separate equipment for each type of milk and colour coding them to help your staff differentiate them is also a good move to avoid cross-contamination.
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3. Consider how you can fine-tune your menu to offer alternative milk options
Offering non-dairy alternatives doesn’t mean you have to scrap your existing menu altogether. Instead, look into fine-tuning your menu to see which item you could swap out to offer non-dairy options.

Choosing the right products for your plant-based menu, especially if you’re looking to incorporate it into your food menu is essential. Remember to also do a thorough crash test to make sure the alternative milk doesn’t split or turn watery in the cooking process.

You could also rotate your menu to find out which recipe is more popular within your customers. Worried about having to update your menu or remove items repeatedly when unavailable? Otter's Menu Management can help you save time and increase efficiency — add modifiers as and when they become available and update your menus on multiple delivery platforms from a single place.
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If you have extra resources, you could also consider getting creative and coming up with your own dairy-free menu items. Look at alternative milks as another unique ingredient and an opportunity to make exciting new combinations.

That way, you’ll be able to cater to a broader market such as the environmental enthusiasts and health conscious consumers or those who are simply curious and looking for an alternative dining experience.

4. Spread the word!
Once you’re ready to roll out your new (or fine-tuned) menu, the first thing you should do is promote it! It should be clear on your menu which dairy-free milks are available and don’t forget to shout about it on your social media accounts.

Make sure that your new and existing customers know about your new menu adoption as well. Even if they’re not on a plant-based diet, they might keep your restaurant in mind for their next meal with a friend who has such dietary requirements. 

Deciding on the right pricing for alternative milk

Due to processing costs, plant milk may cost more than dairy milk and this would mean an increase in expenses. So what is a reasonable price point for alternative milk items? Here are a couple of things you need to know to make that decision:

1. Know your customers: Are they working adults looking to get their morning brew? Or young diners looking for a place to hang out with their friends? Once you’ve identified the main demographic you’re targeting, it’ll help you with deciding what to offer and how to sell your brand. 

2. Location matters: If your restaurant or cafe operates at an upscale location, chances are that your customers already expect to pay a premium. This doesn’t mean you can’t serve alternative milk options to your customers if your location is in a downtown neighbourhood area. Having options available to those who are open to it (or even actively looking for it!) could also help you gain more loyal customers where you’re at. 

3. Do some research on your competitors: Another way to decide on your pricing is to do some survey on your competitor’s menu prices. You don’t necessarily need to fix your menu pricing to be lower than the cafe down the street. As long as it’s justified by better quality or experience, variation in price is totally understandable!
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4. Profit margin comes first: It all boils down to whether your pricing can cover your actual costs. If priced well, these alternative milk modifiers could even boost your bottomline by increasing your average order volume. Think about direct costs such as labour and ingredients as well as indirect costs such as waste and utility. Factor these into consideration and come up with a realistic average weekly sales figure to help you decide on the sweet spot. 

Should you charge extra for alternative milk modifications?

It’s common for coffee shops to charge extra for non-dairy customisations and most of the time, customers are ready to spend a little more for it. But as your new customer base starts expanding with alternative milks growing in popularity, you might want to consider whether you’d want to leave out the extra charges even if it means higher initial costs.

This is because you might risk turning away your customers if you offload the cost onto them at an adoption stage. In the long run, even if your immediate profit margin may be reduced, you’d gain the opportunity to win a loyal customer in return. You could also come up with strategies such as buying ingredients in bulk or making your alternative milk in-house to lower cost.

That said, it still comes down to the sustainability of your profit margin at the end of the day. So make the call with the best balance for your revenue, customer loyalty and experience.

If you’ve decided to hop on the alt milk bandwagon, what are some easy ways to get started? We’ve got you covered with some quick menu ideas.

Alternative milk menu ideas

• Coconut milk latte
  Coconut milk’s creamy and smooth texture with a hint of its natural flavour in coffee makes it a no-brainer. It’s also got a tropical edge if you’d like to add some jazz for a seasonal summer drink.
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• Cashew milk alfredo pasta
  The creamy and nutty flavour of cashew milk makes it a great dairy substitute for both sweet and savoury dishes. The thick consistency and nuttiness of the cashew is perfect for replacing the milk and cheese in an alfredo pasta (or just any pasta sauce) recipe! 

• Oat milk pancakes
  Here’s one for your breakfast menu! Oat milk’s creamy texture makes it one of the best substitutes for dairy milk and also a great replacement for baking. You can also create a vegan oat milk pancake for your menu by excluding eggs from the recipe. 
  
• ‍Mushroom cream soup (cooked with rice milk!)
  While rice milk’s consistency may not be the best choice to put into coffee, its delicate texture means it does well in soups and light sauces. Rice milk mushroom cream soup can also be a great vegan appetiser and a great base for a hearty casserole dish.
  
• Creamy soy milk ramen
  Soy milk is great for drinking straight from the glass but it also makes a hearty yet creamy broth. In fact, soy milk ramen is a well-loved Japanese dish that doesn’t just serve the vegan diners. 

As alternative milk becomes more than just a viral food trend, but a lifestyle choice and even a dietary requirement for some, offering it as a menu option gives you the opportunity to capture new customers and boost your restaurants bottomline.

If you made it this far, we hope this guide has been helpful on your alternative milk adventures!