Brakes, the UK’s leading foodservice wholesaler, has launched a new campaign to help caterers across schools, colleges and universities capitalise on the new ‘plant forward’ trend.

Plant forward, which emphasises, but does not strictly limit food to plant-based options, is growing in popularity across the world. As a result, Brakes has launched a set of resources, including a new section on its website, https://www.brake.co.uk/why-brakes/education/plant-forward, to help British caterers understand and capitalise on the use of plant-based foods.

The company has provided nutritional information about the benefits of a plant forward approach, alongside practical recipes ideas and menu suggestions. With pressures on costs, Lisa Johnson, sector marketing manager for education at Brakes, has also highlighted the potential cost savings of a plant forward diet, commenting: “A plant forward approach is a virtuous circle providing a sustainable, healthy and cost effective way of catering. There is a lot of pressure on food operations to keep costs down and plant forward is a great way of doing that, as it can cut down on the need for expensive centre of plate protein options.

“Simply removing meat from menus is challenging, both in ensuring that you can meet nutritional standards, but also because the food is unfamiliar and therefore not always welcomed by students. By creating a hybrid with our plant forward solution, we are able to help address cost, nutrition and hungry students!”   

In addition, the company is also highlighting its support for Menus of Change, which started in America and establishes the principles of plant forward catering. The initiative is increasingly being seen in UK universities, where it aids the optimisation of nutrition, health and sustainability across menus.