The Top 5 Life-Saving Apps for Providing Vegan-Friendly Hospitality!

Are you a hotel manager, chef or someone who provides a service, particularly to foreign tourists that may be unfamiliar with the area, the language or local brands? Here are the must-have apps for 2024 to impress your vegan-friendly guests even if you have no idea what that means!

That being said, it's probably best to explain what “vegan” means?

Sometimes trying to understand and remember all of the different dietary restrictions and preferences can get confusing, especially if there is also a language barrier. Vegan is a lifestyle choice, however, it’s important to recognise that when a guest requests “vegan”, they may also be including their allergies and intolerances, so it's essential that you don't assume they're stating a choice alone. It's of paramount importance that you take the responsibility of serving suitable ingredients to every individual guest, with the seriousness that it deserves.

In simple terms, “vegan” means that no animal products are used. This includes obvious animal derived products such as meat, eggs and dairy but also leather, fur, silk and even honey. Pretty straightforward if you know where ingredients come from, right? However, when it comes to the less obvious ingredients, particularly when you haven’t created it yourself, or those which aren’t clearly labeled, it can get tricky to confidently say if something is vegan. Fortunately there are now an array of apps that are available to instantly clarify how vegan-friendly something is. So, let's jump straight in to our top 5 apps for hospitality industry professionals!

1. HappyCow

Predominantly used to identify vegan-friendly restaurants, HappyCow lists local vegan-friendly businesses so that you are able to recommend eateries, spas and stores in the local area. It’s very likely that your vegan guests already use this app as it's widely used in every country but if your guest can’t access the internet or you’d just like to go the extra mile by offering personalised recommendations, HappyCow is a great place to start!

2. Veggie Alternatives

If you’re a chef or provide any food service to your guests, then this app is for you. Veggie Alternatives provides alternatives to non-vegan ingredients and suggests vegan brands, pricing guides and recipe ideas so that you can wow your vegan guests with both your knowledge and creativity!

3. Barnivore

It’s not just animal-derived ingredients or production processes that apply to food menus, but it also applies to the drinks menu. If you’re serving drinks it’s important to remember to confirm that wine was produced in a vegan-friendly fashion and that cocktails don't contain any non-vegan ingredients. Barnivore quickly verifies if a brand of alcohol is vegan-friendly so that you can get back to the busy bar.

4. Leaping Bunny

Unfortunately a lot of products are tested on animals, from spa and body products to cleaning products and beyond. Vegan and non-vegans alike often opt for the “cruelty-free” option so making sure that you’re using cruelty-free hand soap and cleaning solutions will be appreciated by most of your guests.

5. Humane Seal

You may think you’re doing great things by donating to charity and we applaud your intentions! However, it’s not always that easy to see that your donations are being used in the right way. Similarly to Leaping Bunny, Humane Seal does a quick background check to ensure that donations are not used to fund animal experiments. Additionally, if you haven't yet decided on a charity to donate to, they have a long list of charities to choose from!

...and there you have it! Take a few minutes to download these life-saving apps to show off your knowledge of vegan-friendly hospitality and impress your vegan guests whilst making them feel like the valued guests they really are!

For further information on how to improve your brand sustainability through improved vegan-friendliness, make sure you download our free pdf guide and don't hesitate to send your questions to hello@veganhospitalityconsultant.com.