Merlin Invests in Healthy Options

Leading visitor attraction operator Merlin Entertainments, which owns four of the country’s top theme parks – , LEGOLAND, and Chessington World of Adventures – announced today the next stage in a significant investment programme to improve the food offerings at these Parks, and their other attractions.  This includes working with leading children’s food and nutrition expert, and ‘guru’ of healthy eating for children, Annabel Karmel MBE and includes her range of delicious balanced options for the attractions like fish pie, mild thai curry and pasta dishes – all containing fresh ingredients and vital nutrients for growing children.  These will be available in all Merlin’s UK Parks in time for the Easter holidays.

As market leader Merlin takes very seriously its responsibilities to provide quality services to its visitors – and is very aware of the growing concerns expressed both by parents and other opinion formers concerning diet and health, particularly related to children.  While a day at a theme park or visitor attraction is regarded as a ‘treat’, and as such a time to sometimes relax the rules when it comes to eating – Merlin nevertheless believes that it is important to provide real choice to guests.  Over the last two years therefore they have invested heavily not only in raising the overall quality of visitors’ favourites like burgers and  fish and chips, but also in ensuring that families can find delicious healthy alternatives on the menu if they want them – and that all of these are available at High Street prices.

In 2007 the company made great strides forward with simple changes - jacket potatoes and salads as alternatives to chips with all main meals; grilling or oven baking rather than frying meals whenever possible; increasing the number of vegetarian options on the menus; and making sure 100% fruit juice and water is always available wherever fizzy drinks are on sale.  The company also encourages healthier choices through added value offers such as providing free fruit salad with every kids meal purchased in many of their restaurants.

What else is new in 2008

As well as the new Annabel Karmel meals in 2008, Merlin will be introducing:

•  a new range of fruit and vegetable snack pots like carrot sticks and houmous
•  new fun lunchbox options containing healthier sandwiches, fruit and snacks

•  new menu designs aimed at encouraging visitors, particularly kids to choose the healthiest options

To make it easier for visitors to quickly identify these meals Merlin has developed a ‘Healthy Choices’ logo which will appear clearly both inside and outside the restaurants.  

Commenting, Gary Henderson, Merlin Head of Group Commercial Development, said, ‘Improving the nation’s diet is a huge and highly political issue, and not one which an attraction company can ever look to solve.   That said, we can do our part, regularly reviewing our menu choices in line with changing tastes; and making sure that our traditional and most popular dishes are cooked well, using fresh ingredients wherever possible. That must always be our priority.  With these new initiatives  Merlin is going even further, leading the way in the leisure sector in providing a broad range of well priced food options for all our visitors – whatever their tastes.  Ultimately however – we can never forget that our primary responsibility is to provide a fun and enjoyable ’day out’, and as such to allow our guests 'to take nutritional responsibility for their own food choices while they are with us.‘