There is a global trend where health-promoting SPA centres are increasingly accompanied by restaurants offering healthier food options. Responding to these worldwide trends and the need to promote a healthier lifestyle and well-being by enhancing not only body treatments but also providing a comprehensive experience that includes nutrition, SPA VILNIUS Anykščiai offers its guests a dining service based on Gut-Friendly Nutrition at the restaurant MIŠKE.
The human microbiome consists of microorganisms present in our body, with the majority of them residing in the gut. These microorganisms not only boost our immune system and protect us from infections but also play a role in digesting food, synthesising ensymes, and producing various metabolites. Each person’s microbiome is unique, like a fingerprint.
Key principles of a gut-friendly diet include:
● More vegetables, more probiotics, and more fiber in meals;
● More steamed, boiled, and baked foods;
● More gluten-free foods.
The goal:
SPA VILNIUS Anykščiai aims to offer its guests a dining service based on Gut-Friendly Nutrition at the restaurant MIŠKE, aiming to provide a comprehensive well-being experience (in this case, through food) and promote a healthier lifestyle choice at home.
1. Short Description of your Spa Resort
SPA VILNIUS is the first modern wellness and SPA treatment centre in Anykščiai. It meets international SPA classification standards and can compete with SPA centres in Central and Eastern Europe. The SPA centre is surrounded by a historical forest Anykščių šilelis and Šventoji river.
The SPA VILNIUS restaurant serves fresh and gourmet dishes prepared by chefs. Guests can also enjoy the sounds of pine trees and birds on the outdoor terrace. Live music concerts are held at weekends or during holidays. The cosy Great Hall offers healthy European dishes made with carefully selected products from the SPA VILNIUS organic garden next to the restaurant, as well as from local farms and trusted suppliers who are committed to the highest standards. MIŠKE serves dishes made with spruce mayonnaise, pine oil, sumac, sea buckthorn, red blueberries and various mushrooms. Fresh vegetables and fruit come from a manicured private garden, while other produce comes from local farmers.
2. Originality
SPA VILNIUS pays a lot of attention to sanitas per cibus – health through food. As a result, SPA VILNIUS particularly concerened about dishes made of seasonal, fresh and easily accessible products. Adapting to the evolving needs of tourism and wellness service consumers, SPA VILNIUS has decided to create new, innovative services to address the emerging challenges in health and nutrition. The core components of the innovative services are based on novelty, practicality, the efficiency of service delivery, and the creation of added value for the end consumer. In order to promote healthy nutrition and lifestyle principles and provide SPA VILNIUS Anykščiai clients with the exclusive opportunity to experience gut-friendly dietary principles, familiarise themselves with their application, and educate them about the possibility of applying such principles at home, a new service has been created – Gut-Friendly Nutrition.
This service provides clients with more unique, personalised experiences during their visit, while also promoting and educating about healthy nutrition and lifestyle principles. Furthermore, the uniqueness and distinctiveness of the service in the market allow for targeting a specific new potential customer group, increasing visitor flow.
The Gut-Friendly Nutrition-based dining service at the restaurant MIŠKE has been created. It introduces a new service delivery scheme, where guests receive a Gut-Friendly Nutrition recommendation plan tailored to their individual needs or the option to choose Gut-Friendly Nutrition-based dining services at the restaurant MIŠKE (including training/consultation on this topic).
The human microbiome, the collection of microorganisms present in our bodies, is primarily located in the gut. These microorganisms not only boost our immune system and protect us from infections but also play a role in digesting food, synthesising ensymes, and producing various metabolites. Each person’s microbiome is unique, like a fingerprint. Scientific research has already proven that the microbiota of healthy and diseased individuals differs significantly. Changes in the gut microbiota have been associated with various conditions such as metabolic syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, obesity, periodontal diseases, influensa virus infection, symptomatic atherosclerosis, and liver diseases, and may also influence cancer development. Recent studies have confirmed not only the microbiota’s connection with the human immune system but also that it can determine the response to stress. Conversely, disrupted microbiota weakens stress resistance. Therefore, it is essential to know the factors that affect the microbiota and ways to restore it. Up to 90% of all diseases may be related to the microbiota, affecting human physical well-being and even mental health. The restaurant MIŠKE team is ready to take a significant step forward in ensuring that customers acquire fundamental principles of a healthier diet, which, when followed, combine different ingredients for overall well-being and nourishing the human microbiome. The main goal should be well-being, health, and the sustainability of healthy choices. Based on customer feedback and clear demand, a new service delivery scheme that more effectively meets customer needs is necessary.
The new service has made the company even more attractive to people looking for targeted wellness services, thus increasing the attractiveness of SPA VILNIUS in the wellness market. This innovation attracts targeted wellness clients. It opens up new opportunities for the company to raise the level of service to an unprecedented level, which exceeds the expectations of the customers and contributes to their overall well-being, which ensures their loyalty and the growth of sales. Results are relevant to the company’s activities, and innovative marketing solutions enable the expansion of service delivery, aiming to retain existing customers and attract new ones.
We have identified the following strategic directions in the service development plan:
- Clarity of the service definition – a clear and specific service that allows the consumer to decide to purchase it, considering its benefits.
- Education:
a. For staff – ensuring the highest quality service delivery.
b. For consumers – encouraging and nurturing a healthier lifestyle choice for better and higher-quality living. - Accessibility of the service considering the customer’s service journey to create the best possible experience when visiting SPA VILNIUS Anykščiai.
- Marketing strategy to increase service awareness, using different communication channels that provide the best return on investment.
STAFF EDUCATION
Staff management in the organization is one of the most crucial aspects of the company’s existence. Each employee must know their place in the company, be familiar with the activities, and be dependent on the people related to those activities, depending on the employee. The successful execution of the work and the new Gut-Friendly Nutrition service will only proceed smoothly when all employees work together systematically. Each employee must clearly know and be able to present the service.
Staff education is conducted in the following aspects:
● By involving them in creating service accessibility. At this stage, employees and the team were involved.
● Introduction to employees. The introduction of the concept of the new service is carried out for both team members who have already joined and for employees who have not yet contributed to it. This allows all employees, without exception, to be able to present the service.
During the introduction, employees are presented with:
o The concept of the service and what it entails.
o The new menu and its composition principles.
o Service development plan
o Ensuring service accessibility
o Marketing actions to increase service awareness.
● Preparation of materials about the service, including brochures and visual, textual, and video content.
CONSUMER EDUCATION
Educating consumers and potential guests is important to ensure the uptake of the new service upon visiting SPA VILNIUS. In this case, consumer education involves presenting the benefits of the new service, Gut-Friendly Nutrition with the option to immediately order the new service.
Considering environmental sustainability and the digital media landscape in Lithuania, information is provided to consumers in digital format, ensuring the ability to purchase the service immediately.
Information about the new service is shared with consumers on the company’s internal portals:
● SPA VILNIUS website;
● SPA VILNIUS Facebook and Instagram social media platforms;
● MIŠKE restaurant Facebook and Instagram social media platforms, ensuring regular communication about the service’s benefits.
SERVICE ACCESSIBILITY – CUSTOMER JOURNEY
During the provision of this comprehensive service, the customer’s journey begins with ordering the service electronically by checking a box or during registration. Upon purchasing such a service, the customer receives a separate breakfast offer for each day: A cold snack, a hot snack, and a dessert prepared and composed based on Gut-Friendly Nutrition principles.
Continuing the customer’s journey, they can choose a health guide consultation (in person or through remote means), during which the guest receives a gut-friendly dietary recommendation plan tailored to their individual needs and the option to choose Gut-Friendly nutrition.
The customer’s journey continues with the branch of nutrition and education, where gut-friendly nutrition consultations are provided. To provide a more comprehensive experience of gut-friendly nutrition, customers are invited to try an individual tasting dinner based on Gut-Friendly Nutrition principles.
Later, recommendations for the customer’s ongoing nutrition are provided.
MARKETING STRATEGY
Based on the strategic directions of the service development plan and the aspect of introducing the new service to the market, it was crucial in the marketing strategy to ensure measures that promote the awareness of the new service.
Target audience:
SPA VILNIUS Anykščiai guests and potential new clients, aged 30–54.
Solution:
Considering the rapid expansion of information technology and communications, most aspects of life are moving into the digital space, and with internet connectivity and various mobile devices being an integral part of life, the use of digital channels to communicate the new service was chosen. Therefore, digital channels were chosen for the communication of the new service, allowing for a faster inclusion of consumers and a more representative presentation of the service.
Tools and actions
● Creation of a publicity campaign concept, including the main communication message, advertising campaign slogans, and suitable layouts for communication. The advertising campaign slogan helps reinforce the memorability of the advertisement and assists consumers in identifying the service.
● Creation of advertising video content for promotion on video platforms, social media, and the company’s website. The content presented the service and encouraged consumers to try it. The material is also used for staff education.
● Creation of textual content to introduce the new service and formatting and preparing the content for use in electronic publicity channels.
● Food and other food product photoshoot to visually promote the service based on gut-friendly nutrition principles.
● Creation of a detailed online content distribution and publicity campaign grid to ensure maximum user engagement and service awareness spread.
When creating the detailed grid, the latest market data and channels and formats for communication that generate the highest user engagement were considered.
3. Impact and benefits
Since the introduction of the Gut-Friendly Nutrition on the menu of restaurant MIŠKE, the breakfast and dinner menus have been tried by almost 200 people.
The importance and relevance of such a nutrition is also demonstrated by the fact that on 4 August, when the guidelines and tips for a gut-friendly diet, which were compiled in collaboration with Kaunas University of Technology scientists, were shared on Facebook, the post received more than 11 000 impressions, 6 500 reach and more than 300 engagement.
Tips and ideas for breakfast are included in the links, which are available to anyone who is interested. Ideas for breakfast are posted in http://bitly.ws/Q2aR and nutrition tips are posted in http://bitly.ws/Q2bh.
4. Sustainability
● All staff make sure that the products on the table are of the highest nutritional value and taste. The decorative ECO Garden under the sky is an innovative project by our gardener and kitchen staff. It ensures the highest quality of organic seasonal produce. The restaurant’s EKO garden is full of herbs, various greens and salads, even vegetables. The kitchen staff use freshly harvested courgettes, carrots, pumpkins, cucumbers and other vegetables.
● Seasonality is a major consideration in the preparation of dishes, and the choice of suppliers is based on cooperation with local farmers. The food comes from local farms no more than 40 km away.
● SPA VILNIUS Anykščiai uses only “Green Lithuanian Energy” – electricity generated from renewable energy sources.
● SPA VILNIUS – a socially responsible company, which adds to reducing air pollution, so we have equipped an electric vehicle charge station next to the hotel in Anykščiai.
MORE INFORMATION:
Vilniaus g. 80, Anykščiai
Lithuania