Cecilia Zhang adjusts her laptop screen as the video call connects. Shortly, three hotel executives nod politely as she begins her presentation on sustainable menu design. What they don’t yet realize is that they’re about to become part of a sustainable food transition spreading rapidly across the country’s food service sector.

Cecilia, a sustainability program director for Lever China, has spent two years in countless meetings like this one—walking through industrial kitchens, reviewing menu designs, helping major hotel chains pilot plant-based options. Her team’s quiet work has accumulated into something extraordinary: in eighteen months, over 4,800 hotel properties and 7,700 chain restaurant locations across China have committed to making plant-based foods a much larger part of their menus.

Why does this matter? A kilogram of beef requires 15,000 liters of water—enough to fill a small swimming pool. Animal agriculture produces greenhouse gas emissions on par with all the world’s cars, planes, and trains combined. In China, where meat consumption has quadrupled since 1980, dietary choices directly shape local climate outcomes.

The health implications run parallel. The World Health Organization classifies processed meat as a carcinogen. High consumption of meat links directly to heart disease, diabetes, and stroke—now leading causes of death across Asia. Plant-based meals, naturally rich in fiber and phytonutrients while lower in saturated fat, address both planetary and human health simultaneously. Each plant-based meal served in these thousands of hotels and restaurants represents tangible impact: water conserved, emissions reduced, health risks lowered.

Building the Foundation

Cecilia’s breakthrough came during pilot programs with several major chains in early 2024. For Dossen Group, one of the first hospitality companies to work with Lever China, the decision toward plant-based adoption came from both responsibility and opportunity.

“Plant-based menus reduce costs in some categories, win approval from younger and health-conscious guests, and strengthen our positioning as a forward-looking hospitality group,” says Grace Hu, Chief Sustainability Officer at Dossen Group, which operates more than 2,000 hotel locations across the country. “These business drivers, combined with environmental and social benefits, convinced us that a bold step was the right step.”

The transformation required careful cultural navigation. Dossen’s chefs explored how to adapt iconic dishes—from dumplings to noodle soups—using plant-based proteins while keeping authentic taste. This approach allowed them to honor tradition while making a statement about innovation and responsibility

The kitchen teams initially approached the project with professional caution, but once chefs began experimenting, they discovered new textures and flavors that worked beautifully in traditional dishes. Several employees told Grace they felt proud to create meals that not only taste good but also reflect modern values. In a short period, Dossen completed the implementation of its new policy, making 30% of its food offerings plant-based.

Insights from early partners like Dossen Group became the foundation for Lever China’s broader strategy: prove sustainability could enhance rather than compromise hospitality excellence.

A Healthier Competition

Cecilia knew successful pilots wouldn’t automatically scale across China’s massive hospitality sector, so Lever China deployed an industry scorecard to make major chains’ sustainability progress visible. The response was immediate. In a culture where corporate leadership defines institutional identity, no one wanted to appear behind rivals.

The cascade was swift. Over the following year, twelve hospitality groups in China, totaling nearly 5,000 properties, committed to making 30-70% of their menus plant-based within the next several months to several years.

“Suddenly sustainability became a competitive necessity,” explains Cecilia. “Executives asked me directly: ‘How fast can we match what our competitors are doing?’”

Among the most ambitious was Orange Hotels, managed by Huazhu Group, one of the largest hospitality groups in China. Orange Hotels committed to converting its menus to be 70% plant-based across its 1,000 hotel locations by the end of 2025. That powerful new policy reflects a broader philosophy within the Group.

“We’re integrating plant-based dining into Huazhu’s ‘Universal Accessibility for All’ project,” says Xuhong Liu, Sustainability Director for Huazhu Group. “This extends our concept of inclusion to guests’ dining tables. By enhancing healthy food choices, we’re fulfilling our commitment to environmental responsibility and health inclusivity for every guest.”

Next-Level Culinary Greatness

Behind every corporate commitment lie thousands of individual adaptations. Lever China’s approach emphasizes adaptation rather than replacement—showing how plant-based innovation can enhance traditional flavors. In kitchens across the country, chefs have been reimagining techniques, learning unfamiliar ingredients while preserving the complex flavor profiles that define regional Chinese cuisine.

Some say the key to replacing meat is to understand why each ingredient was there originally, then finding new ways to achieve the same flavor—a philosophy evident in kitchens where shiitake mushrooms and fermented black bean sauce now create what were once pork dishes. Traditional methods adapt well to new ingredients. Their chef’s knife work remains unchanged after thirty years, but their mise en place now features jackfruit, nuts or tofu alongside traditional seasonings.

The approach of Cecilia and her team has emphasized cultural sensitivity from the beginning. Hotels learned to present plant-based options as premium choices rather than alternatives, emphasizing craftsmanship and cultural authenticity alongside environmental and health benefits.

“This change is happening now because both the market and the mindset have shifted,” Grace Hu of Dossen Group observes. “Guests expect hotels to take responsibility, and the business case is clear. My advice to other groups is simple: start small, experiment, and listen to your guests. The results will surprise you—it’s easier than it seems, and the benefits go far beyond cost.”

Beyond Hospitality

It’s not just hospitality groups catching on. China’s restaurant industry is now also beginning to embrace plant-based foods at scale, with a number of major chains committing to transform their menus over the next two years, thanks to partnerships with Lever China.

Picture the transformation at Yang Guo Fu, one of the world’s largest hot pot restaurant chains, with over 7,000 locations across China and beyond. The company’s signature malatang experience remains unchanged—the numbing Sichuan pepper heat, the ritual of selecting ingredients from refrigerated displays, the communal bubbling pot. But walk through any of their bright orange-branded locations now, and half the selection trays overflow with plants. King oyster mushrooms sliced thick for a satisfying chew. Lotus root wheels that snap between teeth. Corn kernels, bamboo shoots, glass noodles. The broth still burns with chili oil, still makes eyes water, but what swims in it has shifted.

Additional restaurant industry leaders have followed suit. Da Long Yi is shifting its menu to 45% plant-based across its 400+ outlets in China. Big Pizza, a self-service chain with over 300 restaurants, pledged to make 30% of its menu plant-based by next year—their buffet-style counters now featuring roasted pepper pizzas under heat lamps, mushroom and truffle flatbreads, sweet corn varieties displayed alongside traditional options.

These three restaurant groups’ commitments will impact over 7,700 locations—equivalent to every single restaurant in Manhattan adopting meaningful plant-based foods policies simultaneously. The ripple effects extend beyond numbers: suppliers developing new products, farmers shifting crops, an entire ecosystem adapting to feed changing tastes.

One Sustainable Meal at a Time

From a window, Cecilia and her colleagues Yue Zheng and Wenjia Fan overlook a city where food culture shapes daily rhythms. They can see countless restaurants and hotels—many now part of the transformation Lever China helped architect through patient, practical work.

“Sustainability feels abstract until you see it happening in individual kitchens, in the food you’re about to eat,” Cecilia reflects. “Every chef who learns exceptional plant-based techniques, every server who confidently recommends sustainable options, every individual choosing to eat a plant-based meal because it’s available and promoted—that’s how systems change.”

The afternoon brings three more calls: a hotel group in Beijing wanting seasonal menu guidance, procurement managers in Shenzhen needing supplier recommendations, and a major restaurant chain willing to discuss protein innovations. As Cecilia opens her laptop again, steam rises from her teacup. Outside, Shanghai continues its constant motion— millions making daily choices about dining. More of those choices will be healthy and sustainable ones, thanks to the team’s behind-the-scenes work on a transformation starting to reshape how China thinks about food sustainability.

Lever China is a Shanghai-based consultancy that works with leading companies to help them upgrade their food sourcing for a more humane, safe, and sustainable supply chain, focusing on upgraded animal protein and plant-based foods. Lever Foundation is a partner of Lever China.