How Brands Are Capitalizing on the Clean Eating Trend Without Going Broke

Clean eating has been one of the most dominant food trends of 2016. And as more brands start to incorporate fresh, locally-sourced ingredients into their menus, it becomes increasingly clear that this trend is here to stay.

“Clean labels remains a dominant trend in food and drinks, and is set to become more important in beauty and personal care,” said John Madden, head of ingredients at Euromonitor International, in an interview with CNBC. He continued, “The clean label tag can mean many things but at its heart is consumers having trust in the product they consume, and an understanding that they are beneficial and safe. The use of natural ingredients and the removal of artificial and more controversial ingredients, such as certain preservatives and antimicrobials, continues.”

The clean eating craze all started with Chipotle—the brand was one of the first big names to promote simple recipes made with natural ingredients. As consumers caught on and the demand for clean options started to rise, more brands made it a part of their DNA. Panera Bread has dominated the conversation as of late—the brand has been making headlines since it announced it was removing artificial flavors, sweeteners and preservatives from its menu and line of grocery items in stores across the country.

But making the switch over to fresh ingredients can be costly for fast casual brands. True locally-sourced food comes at a premium—a bag of vegetables can cost up to four times more at a farmer’s market than from a large distributor. In order to avoid putting those costs back on the consumer by drastically increasing prices, brands are relying on high demand to boost their bottom lines.

People are more concerned with what they’re eating than ever before—according to a survey by the National Restaurant Association, 57 percent of consumers said the availability of local food is an important factor in deciding where to go out to eat. So when a brand offers a heightened level of transparency when it comes to its ingredients, consumers are more likely to become loyal customers.

Brands are also trying to keep costs down by forming relationships with local farms and vendors. That’s why farm-to-table concepts are experiencing such rapid growth.

Bob Benenson, who manages communications for the nonprofit FamilyFarmed that promotes local, organic foods and provides support and training to farmers, told QSR Magazine, “Farm to table went from a little niche… to a trend to a way of cooking, a way of doing business that has become so common that if you talk to some of the original farm-to-table chefs… they’ll say they don’t even use [the term] anymore because it would be cliché. It’s just the way we do our business.”

Another approach that franchisors are taking in order to the lower the price on healthy menu items is differentiating between ingredients that are worth more money and those that can be purchased for less. Saladworks, for example, spent six months finding all natural, never frozen chicken that lived up to the clean eating definition it knew its consumers were looking for. Because the item is one of the most popular salad toppings on its menu, the brand was willing to pay a higher price. But in order to offset that and prevent menu prices from skyrocketing, Saladworks looked for ways to take the cost out of other products.

“We’ve made a commitment to our franchisees to keep the quality of our food up while driving the cost down. You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other,” said Patrick Sugrue, CEO of Saladworks. “We do our due diligence when it comes to working with the right suppliers—we want to source our ingredients from someone who will deliver the freshest, safest and most delicious food, not go with the easy option.”

Because the clean eating movement is still young, it’s unclear how exactly brands will be able to maintain steady revenue streams while at the same time trying to incorporate fresh, locally sourced ingredients into their menus. But fast casual brands will have to work together with various local vendors in order to be successful.

“You have to trust each other and figure out how you make this work in an honest way so that everybody can win and everybody can be successful,” said Dan Long, the co-founder and chief culinary innovator behind Mad Greens, in an interview with QSR Magazine. “It doesn’t help us if we drive such a hard bargain that it puts them out of business. That’s in nobody’s interest.”