Diner Designed ANZ

Research by Lightspeed shows sustainable food sourcing as the number one expectation of venues among Australian diners for 2025, providing operators with clear guidance for what is driving customer choices. Also significant is the unstoppable influence of food allergy, food intolerance and lifestyle-related meal requests.

According to Centre for Food and Allergy Research (CFAR), Australia has the highest prevalence of rapid-onset food allergy in the world, with rates of anaphylaxis continuing to rise. When rolled together, a staggering 3.7m Australians have a food allergy or a food intolerance, and this doesn’t include those who must avoid gluten due to living with coeliac disease. Flexible dish preparation is an increasing requirement for a viable business.

In addition, younger diners have an expectation they can have input into dishes, and the popularity of customised options from the likes of Fishbowl and Guzman y Gomez underlines this shift. Casual dining venues can meet this need by offering choice around sauces and dressings, flavour profiles (for example, sweet or spicy), and proteins and vegetables. Involving customers in the dining experience by seeking their feedback on menu choices is another way to boost interactivity with diners.

Make no mistake, the trend for the diner designed menu is here and predicted to grow!

Tips from our UFS Chefs to bring this trend to life:

Use AI to deliver curated experiences for a generation that has grown up with technology, such as designing inclusive menus, recommending dishes based on a customer’s previous orders and creating vegetarian versions of meat-based meals

Deliver on dietary personalisation with digital menus that filter allergens, animal products and other nutritional data

Create menus with base meals that allow diners to add their choice of ingredients, such as build-your-own bowls. Venues are now starting to list base versions of classic dishes, such as avocado on toast, with a range of optional extras that give the diner significant control over the composition of their dish

Invite diners to describe the type of meal they’d like to eat, then use the culinary skills of your kitchen to create matching dishes, such as new Nordic restaurant Freyja, located in Melbourne’s CBD, which crafts a four-course meal around its diners’ tastes