Restaurants Are Using Behavioral Science to Promote Plant-based Eating — and It’s Working

A growing body of evidence shows that eating more plants has lots of benefits — for both human and environmental health. For example, a 2025 EAT-Lancet report found that widespread adoption of plant-heavy diets would prevent approximately 11 million premature deaths annually while cutting agricultural emissions in half. 

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But while most people acknowledge these advantages, vegetarian and vegan diets are still a hard sell. Fortunately, the science on how to change this is getting clearer, too.

WRI’s  Food Service Playbook, which synthesizes findings from nearly 350 academic studies and was tested with 49 industry experts, shows that a few targeted changes to dining environments can significantly influence what people choose to eat. What we see is that when the food purveyors offer an exciting variety of protein choices, people are more willing to explore plant-based options while eating out. Tactics such as shifting menu compositions, featuring plant-rich dishes prominently, and taste-focused naming conventions can subconsciously steer diners toward more sustainable choices. 

WRI’s Coolfood initiative works directly with food service providers to put these techniques into practice. These companies are employing behavioral science techniques to nudge diners toward more planet-friendly choices — and in many cases, it’s working. Customers are purchasing more plant-forward meals, while food service providers are reducing their carbon footprint and often saving money in production costs.

Here, we examine how a few leading food providers are boosting uptake of plant-based options.

Meet the Unicorn Burger

A burger chain might be the last place you’d expect to find exciting plant-based options. MAX Burgers is flipping the script.

The popular Swedish restaurant chain was concerned about the planetary impact of serving only beef burgers, so it set a goal to make plant-based burgers an enticing part of the menu. The numbers speak for themselves: In 2014, non-beef meals made up only 16% of sales; by 2024, that figure rose to 48%.

A major factor is a menu strategy that treats plant-based burgers with the same level of sophistication and innovation as their beef counterparts. The company offers 15 meat-free meals, supported by creative ingredients and marketing campaigns that pique customers’ curiosity. A prime example is the Unicorn Burger, featuring an Impossible Meat patty, gochujang-mayo, and packaging complete with a horn. Or there’s the Smoky BBQ Impossible burger, with pickled red onion and onion rings inside the bun.

A wide variety of exciting choices and slick marketing are only part of the puzzle. MAX’s plant-based offerings are designed to match the taste of their beef counterparts, and, critically, they’re priced the same. This expansion has also helped MAX attract new customer segments, including vegetarians, who might otherwise have avoided the chain.

“Our guests really have the opportunity to choose the tastiest burger for the same price – whether they are choosing beef, plant-based beef or veggie,” said Kai Török, chief sustainability officer at MAX Burgers. “We ensure that our plant-based and veggie options are not more expensive than their meat counterparts.”

Lower-impact Lasagna

Have you ever tried to convince a kid to try a new food? It’s a task most parents dread, but the culinary team at ISS, which services hundreds of school cafeterias, didn’t back down from the challenge. This year, the global caterer rolled out new recipes in 350 U.K. primary schools.

 The company realized that some of its most popular school lunches such as lasagna and spaghetti bolognese came with a hefty planetary impact. Beef is one of the most resource-intensive proteins to produce, using 20 times as much land and generating 20 times more greenhouse gas emissions than plant-based proteins like beans. ISS set out to make its recipes more sustainable without taking away well-loved meals.

Staff started by swapping 30% of meals’ ground beef for lentils, creating a 70-to-30 beef-to-lentil blend. Before launching the blended beef recipes, the ISS culinary team tested them in select schools to ensure the taste, flavor, texture and appearance were similar to the original dishes. They found this required a specific type of lentil: individually quick frozen (IQF) lentils. These lentils are fast to prepare and mirror the texture of ground beef.

The end result was a triple-win for ISS: The new recipe helped achieve a 28% reduction in the company’s per-plate emissions in the U.K. and save 30% on production costs compared to the original lasagna and spaghetti bolognese dishes. And most importantly, the food provider is able to serve a healthy meal that kids still love.

Reimaging World’s Most Famous Meatball

Most people know IKEA for its furniture, but the company also sells a lot of food. With restaurants in more than 400 locations across the world serving over 665 million people each year, IKEA is a popular place to eat — especially for its iconic Swedish meatballs. So when IKEA decided to develop a plant-based meatball recipe, the “plant-ball," leaders knew it had to live up to high standards.

“Texture and aroma play a vital role in recreating meat-based foods with plants, because diners already know what a hot dog or meatball should taste and feel like,” said Daniel Yngvesson, IKEA’s food designer. “When developing plant-based versions, we have to meet those expectations using completely different ingredients, which makes getting the texture right even more important.” To pull this off, they supplemented a pea protein base with onion, potatoes, apple, mushrooms, tomato, and savory seasonings like allspice to recreate the texture and umami flavor of meat.

The attention to detail is paying off. Since launching the plant-ball in 2020, IKEA has seen demand for the product increase 1% year-over-year. FY25 marked a pivotal shift: Sales of beef meatballs declined for the first time ever, while plant-ball sales boasted record growth. Beyond boosting sales, the plant ball has also helped IKEA achieve an 11% reduction in food-related emissions since joining the Coolfood initiative in 2018.

Popularizing Plant-Based Meals

These stories showcase a commitment to culinary innovation and creativity that has created enduring and appealing options for diners.

As climate change continues to affect what crops and animals can be produced and how much they cost, food businesses that invest in serving climate-friendly ingredients are helping build a more sustainable world. The future of food is starting to look (and taste) a lot more interesting.

Learn More About WRI’s CoolFood Initiative

WRI’s Coolfood initiative works with food service organizations to measure and reduce their food-related emissions through plant-rich menu strategies. To learn more or become a member, visit coolfood.org or reach out to the Coolfood team at [email protected].