Three quarters of consumers rarely or never order desserts out of home, but diners would be willing to part with their money if it was guaranteed to be of a high quality, according to new research from a premium ice cream brand.
A further 65% of those surveyed by Amore di Gelato said that they felt menu options were too limited and failed to answer their needs. The surveyed aimed to gain insight into diners’ attitude to desserts across the out-of-home channel including restaurants, pubs and casual dining outlets.
The average amount consumers were willing to pay for a dessert was found to be £7 among the survey group – but this role to £8.50 for premium-positioned offerings. Amore di Gelato claimed that this demonstrated the potential for operators to drive profits from puddings.
Amore di Gelato managing director Mike Godwin said: “Given that consumers in the UK eat one in every six meals out of home, it’s clear that there is a tremendous loss of potential profit within this channel, which operators should be looking to capitalise on. Key to this is to take desserts seriously, and offer consumers the quality they expect – a great main meal will be forgotten in the case of a terrible follow-up dish.
“For a long time the UK OOH market has fixated on the rest of the menu, neglecting desserts as a concept. Well, the proof really is in the pudding – consumers want desserts and are willing to pay well for one, providing it is as high a quality as the rest of the food they are being served.”
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