Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to Expand Plant-Based Menu Options in Thailand

Luxury hospitality group Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has teamed up with Lever Foundation to advance plant-based food options on its restaurant menus in Thailand, as part of its Global Sustainable Tourism Council certification.

A month after the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) directed its certified hotels to boost plant-based options on their menus, one of its members has committed to advancing this effort in Thailand.

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts is working with sustainability non-profit Lever Foundation to strengthen plant-based dining and responsible sourcing at its properties in Bangkok and Phuket.

The partnership marks a significant step forward in the two hotels’ sustainability efforts and establishes a structured framework for shared action in the coming years, with Rosewood set to expand its plant-based menu offerings and promote conscious culinary choices.

“Building on the progress we have already made, this partnership brings valuable expertise to our ongoing journey,” said Luca de Negri, Rosewood’s director of culinary operations for Southeast Asia. “We believe that sustainability and exceptional dining are not in tension; they elevate each other.”

Rosewood and Lever Foundation to launch plant-based education and training programmes

The collaboration is built on a shared goal of bolstering the sustainability and resilience of food supply chains at Rosewood’s Bangkok and Phuket locations.

The luxury hospitality operator has been building its eco-friendly foundations in recent years, particularly through the Partners in Provenance initiative, which focuses on procuring protein and produce within a 400km radius to support local farmers and minimise transportation emissions. Lever Foundation will bring external expertise and strategic guidance to speed up progress on this front.

Internal capacity building is a central pillar of the partnership: the two hotels and the non-profit will deliver targeted training and stakeholder education programmes for culinary, marketing, and operations teams.

These initiatives are built to equip teams with the knowledge, skills and tools to enhance menus and communicate plant-based options compellingly to Rosewood guests. Lever Foundation’s expertise in sustainable food sourcing and plant-based food systems will support the hotels’ teams with kitchen preparation, ingredient sourcing, guest-facing storytelling and brand communication.

Rosewood Bangkok’s signature restaurant, Lakorn, is already expanding its menu to include Thai-inspired plant-based dishes made with local ingredients, while the Phuket location – which was the scene of season 3 of HBO hit The White Lotus – is broadening its breakfast offerings at the Red Sauce eatery with a health-forward plant-based focus.

“Rosewood Bangkok and Rosewood Phuket exemplify what it means to take a thoughtful, whole-of-business approach to sustainable hospitality,” said Ribbin Nichapa Nisabodee, corporate engagement manager at Lever Foundation.

“From responsible local sourcing to investing in their teams’ knowledge and capability, they are building something genuinely lasting and demonstrating that world-class dining and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand,” she added.

Hotel industry goes big on plants

Rosewood has already set a clear, measurable goal to expand its sustainable sourcing policy across its properties over the years to come. “This direction reflects our respect for local ingredients, our guests’ evolving values, and our responsibility to the communities and environments we operate within,” said de Negri.

According to Lever Foundation, Thai consumers are increasingly prioritising health-conscious and environmentally responsible dining when deciding where to stay and eat. And even the government has called for a shift to a plant-rich food system.

It’s why the non-profit expanded its policy initiative to expand the availability and appeal of plant-based menu options at hotels and restaurants in Thailand earlier this year.

“In Thailand, awareness of plant-based food is increasing, but many consumers still perceive it as a niche lifestyle choice rather than an everyday option. Businesses have an opportunity to make plant-based dishes more visible, affordable, and appealing to mainstream consumers by emphasising taste, convenience, and value,” Nichapa Nisabodee told Green Queen in July.

Rosewood’s move follows the GSTC’s publication of its new food and beverage standard last month, which asked hotels to make 30% of their menus predominantly plant-based. It came a year after the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance teamed up with US non-profit Vegan Hospitality to help member hotels expand plant-based dining solutions and meet evolving sustainability goals.

A growing number of hotel groups have already made commitments in favour of plant-rich menus across the globe. Accor, the parent company of Novotel, Raffles, Pullman, and Ibis, has pledged to turn half its menu meatless globally by 2030.

Within Asia, IHG Hotels & Resorts has pledged to make 30% of its menus in the Philippines plant-based, spanning brands like Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. And in China, at least a dozen leading hotels have made similar commitments, including Accor, Langham (both of which plan to turn 50% of their menu vegan by 2030), IHG, Marriott, and Dossen Group (30% by 2025), among others.