The traditional American diet hasn’t changed a ton over the decades, although recent years has seen a strong push for healthier alternatives and options. And advances in food science has made some of those restrictions or guidelines easier to follow.

To that end, we’ve collected these two Statista infographics showing the latest food & dieting trends among Americans in 2021. Specifically, we’re looking at plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, as well as what dietary/nutrition rules Americans are currently following.

40% of Americans Follow Nutritional Rules

According to findings from Statista's Global Consumer Survey, more than half of Americans follow no nutritional rules or guidelines. And while that may sound like operators can just go about their usual business, they should also consider that means 40% of Americans do follow some sort of nutritional rule.

In short: savvy operators looking to cast the widest possible net should take these dietary needs into account.

Unsurprisingly, low or no carb is the most popular dietary rule (19%), making it the most widespread nutritional regimen. While 10% of the respondents eat and drink lactose-free and 9% have scrapped gluten from their diet, the share of people going full vegetarian or vegan is still surprisingly low at 5% and 3%, respectively.

This means that restaurants should, for sure, have low/no carb meal options and alternatives on the menu. Lactose-free diets isn’t uncommon either due to allergies and should already be part of your restaurant’s workflow. It also would be good to have some vegan & vegetarian options available for guests – beyond the typical garden salad, of course.

Operators can also poll their own guests and social followers to get a better understanding of what their current customers want in terms of dietary options, too. What is happening nationally isn’t always what is happening locally, and a healthy understanding of both can go a long way to making the right call for your restaurant.

Meat & Dairy Alternatives are Booming

Statista Meat & Dairy Alternative Infographic.

Long gone are the days where meat-alternatives tasted like cardboard and powdery chalk. Thanks to advances in food science, people can now enjoy huge variety of tasty protein & dairy alternatives – everything from a creamy oat milk cappuccino to pea-protein hamburgers.

According to research conducted by SPINS on behalf of the Plant Based Foods Association and the Good Food Institute, plant-based foods are already a multi-billion dollar market in the United States, seeing high double-digit sales growth in many categories in 2020. With total sales of $2.5 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively, plant-based milk and meat alternatives are the largest segment within the $7 billion plant-based food market.

With plant-based food growing at such a rapid pace (+27% vs 2019), restaurants looking to win the favor of guests should consider offering quality plant-based meat and diary options (for example: Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, and Oatly). Along with plant-based meat and milk, cheese alternatives saw a 42.5% increase compared to 2019, and should also be on your restaurant’s radar.

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