Webinar Recap: How Customizable Portions Can Cut Food Waste and Improve Business

Nearly 70% of restaurant food waste comes from what diners leave on their plates. Yet almost 60% of consumers say they’d be more likely to visit a restaurant that offers customizable portions. In other words, customers want more say over how much they’re served.

That tension—and opportunity—was at the center of ReFED’s recent webinar, More (or Less) for Your Money? The Case for Customizable Portions at Restaurants, featuring:

• Sara Burnett (ReFED)

• Huy Do (Datassential)

• Abby Fammartino (Menus of Change University Research Collaborative)

• Laura Ferry (Portion Balance Coalition at Georgetown University)

• Gina Green (Earth Commons Institute at Georgetown University)

The panel’s takeaway was simple:

Portion flexibility isn’t just about sustainability. It’s good business.

Here are some takeaways for restaurant operators.

1. Serve the Customer’s Needs: Appetite, Budget, and Experience

Customizable portions can help restaurants stand out because they match what diners are seeking: more control.

Huy Do spoke about the importance of differentiation and loyalty in a world where diners are more selective:

“Customizability becomes a really important point of differentiation in a crowded marketplace… It’s about being more top of mind and standing out among your diners.”

Abby Fammartino reinforced that customizable portions appeal to diners who want more choice.

“It’s really a menu strategy that centers around consumer choice… It offers diners more control over meal sizes.”

From a culinary and operational perspective, Fammartino noted that this approach is smart “low-risk margin management,” helping restaurants improve profitability while reducing waste.

When portions align with diner needs, leading to spending less, eating lighter, or avoiding leftovers, the guest experience improves, and the likelihood of food waste decreases.

2. Empower Your Team to Reduce Food Waste and Increase Profits

The people closest to the waste often have the best ideas on how to reduce it.

Your team—especially dishwashers, bussers, and servers—has a front-row seat to plate waste.

In the Georgetown-led research, only 20% of businesses surveyed were actively measuring plate waste. That’s a blind spot—but not a difficult one to fix.

Gina Green’s team conducted plate waste audits by separating and weighing returned food. She emphasized that the process wasn’t complex.

“What we did was not rocket science… we were simply observing trends and patterns.”

Restaurants don’t need a lab to uncover food waste patterns. They need training, observation, and communication among team members.

As Gina advised:

“Work with your employees… to create positive feedback loops that allow them to share what plate scraps wind up in the trash.”

Abby Fammartino reinforced the point:

“Look at what food gets wasted to guide opportunities for flexible portion sizes at your restaurant.”

Based on team observations, restaurants can:

• Pilot optional sides instead of default bundles

• Introduce half portions or “right-sized” options

• Use portion guides to standardize serving sizes

When staff track what’s thrown away, waste becomes easier to reduce.

3. Portion Strategy and the Triple Bottom Line

A common barrier to flexible portions is concern around how customers will react, resulting in lost revenue, shrinkflation backlash, unhappy guests.

But the data tell a different story.

According to Datassential’s findings, nearly half of consumers were surprised by portion sizes, and a third wished their meal had been smaller. Some of those surveyed reported eating past fullness to avoid waste, while others routinely leave food behind.

More food doesn’t automatically mean more value. It can create friction with the diner. Laura Ferry argued that portion flexibility offers a better approach:

“Portion strategy doesn’t have to be reactive. With simple measurement and thoughtful customization, it becomes a proactive way to manage waste, respond to customer demand, and run a tighter operation—without compromising the guest experience.”

Restaurants are being asked to improve margins, defend pricing, respond to health trends, and prove sustainability—all at the same time. Proactive portion strategy helps address all four.

Sara Burnett confirmed the proactive portion size business strategy:

“This is about the triple bottom line… Portion optimization is one of the very few strategies that actually delivers on all of that.”

Instead of defaulting to one large portion size, restaurants can make intentional decisions about how much food goes on the plate.

That affects real things:

• How much product is purchased

• How much ends up in the trash

• How often guests leave food behind

Customizable portions aren’t about smaller plates. They’re about serving the right amount of food.

Go Deeper

Want to explore the data and insights behind these recommendations?

• Read From Plate to Profit: How Portion Customization Elevates Dining and Reduces Waste, a ReFED report produced in collaboration with Datassential.

• Watch the recording of More (or Less) for Your Money? The Case for Customizable Portions at Restaurants.