How do I write a vegan supplier spec without copying mill marketing onto the menu?
Quick answer
Write two documents. The supplier spec is invoice and receiving: named ingredient, allergens, animal-derived process, and what the mill or farm may print on the packing slip. The diner card is a separate freeze. Copy mill climate, regenerative, or waste-diverted adjectives onto the festive menu only when that same fact is already allowed on the dish row. Winter cards lock now. EmpCo still applies to the printed card from 27 September 2026. Do not invent a mill climate percentage. Diet tags live in vegan vs plant-based labels. Festive eco-friendly freeze lives in seasonal menu claims.
Vs other Intelligence guides
| Guide | Job |
|---|---|
| Vegan vs plant-based labels | Dish tags on the card. Not what purchasing may copy from a mill PDF. |
| Seasonal menu claims | Festive eco-friendly card freeze. This page is the invoice that tries to feed that card. |
| Menu CO2e | Dish kg only with a dish-level LCA. A mill footprint one-pager is not that study. |
| Regenerative on-pack | Farm identity for a product unit. A kitchen may not print regenerative because the mill letterhead says it. |
| Deadstock fabric | Leftover mill cloth on a garment. Not a food invoice. |
| Kitchen policy page | Crawlable diner and AI policy URL. Not a purchasing spec. |
| Certification vs policy | Whether to buy a kitchen mark. Not SKU receiving language. |
| Substantiation folder | Where signed specs and invoices live. This page is what FOH may print from them. |
| This guide | How to write a vegan supplier spec without copying mill marketing onto the menu |
Composite operator guidance. Not legal advice on invoices, allergens, EmpCo, or supplier contracts. Named mill programs follow their own packing slips. Do not treat a worksheet SKU count as a typical mill climate percentage.
Three documents. Do not mix the kits.
| Document | Who it is for | What it may say |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier spec | Purchasing and receiving | Named SKU, allergens, animal-derived process, packing-slip facts you will check |
| Kitchen policy URL | Diners and answer engines | Kitchen type, cross-contact, honey and wine. Policy page |
| Diner card | The table | Diet tags, allergens, named facts already allowed on the dish row |
Staff line: "The spec is receiving. The card is diners. If the mill wrote climate-positive and the dish row does not allow it, the card stays blank on that word." If you cannot name the SKU on the invoice, do not print the mill adjective.
Proof ladder (invoice vs card)
| What is true this week | You may write on the spec | You may print on the card |
|---|---|---|
| Named ingredient, allergens, animal-derived process on the invoice covering this SKU | Those facts. Receiving check. Reject if the slip disagrees | Diet tag and allergen flags from the menu matrix |
| Mill or farm climate, regenerative, waste-diverted, or planet-saving line on the one-pager. No dish-row file | File the PDF. Do not treat it as menu copy | Nothing from that adjective. Festive freeze: seasonal menu claims |
| Named farm already allowed on that dish row, same season | Farm name on the spec if the invoice matches | That named farm only. Not regenerative because the mill letterhead used it |
| Mill kg or CO2e on a supplier slide | Keep it off the spec as a diner claim | Blank unless a dish-level LCA sits in the folder. Menu CO2e |
A mill slogan does not travel. Regenerative still needs a farm file from the product kit. Deadstock is leftover cloth, not leftover oats.
Print vs banned
| Surface | Allow | Kill |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier spec / PO | SKU name, allergens, vegan process fence, what receiving will reject | Paste the mill climate paragraph as approved menu copy |
| Diner card / QR menu | Dish tags and named facts already on the dish row | Climate-positive oats. Eco-friendly winter menu. Regenerative because the mill said so |
| GBP / Instagram | Hours, current plate, named farm if the card already has it | A mill PDF screenshot as the festive story |
| FOH / pass | What the card prints. Spec stays in the office | Servers reading mill marketing off the packing slip |
EmpCo treats vague environmental praise as unfair for EU consumers from 27 September 2026, including menus and QR cards diners see. Mill climate-positive and planet-saving leftover ingredients fail that test even when the invoice is real. US copy still needs a reasonable basis under the FTC Green Guides. This page does not publish a typical mill attach rate or a typical climate percentage. Score leftover adjectives in the green claims calculator.
Spec freeze (labeled example)
Walk this week's invoices with purchasing and the typesetter. Replace every cell. Do not copy the example as a mill benchmark.
| Field | Worked example | Your cell |
|---|---|---|
| Live SKUs on the winter / festive card | 14 SKUs example | [card_skus] |
| Invoices that name the SKU | 11 example | [named_invoices] |
| Mill climate / regenerative / waste-diverted lines on those slips | 3 example. File them. Do not typeset | [mill_adjectives] |
| Adjectives already allowed on the dish row | 0 example | [card_allowed] |
The 14 / 11 / 3 / 0 cells are worksheet labels, not a purchasing quota. If [card_allowed] is zero, mill marketing stays off the card. Print the dish tags. Leave the climate paragraph in the folder.
Go / no-go
| Call | When |
|---|---|
| No-go on mill-to-menu copy | Climate-positive, regenerative, waste-diverted, or planet-saving lines from a mill PDF typeset onto the card, invented mill %, dish kg from a supplier slide |
| Go on a receiving spec | Named SKU, allergens, animal-derived process, reject rules, mill marketing filed not printed |
| Go on diner print | Dish row already allows the fact, same season, card / QR / GBP match, EmpCo generics off |
| Partial go | Lock the winter card this week with diet tags and named farms you already have. Strip mill adjectives. Do not wait for a prettier climate one-pager |
Score leftover mill adjectives on live cards, QR, and Posts. Contribution on a climate oat line is not proof the claim is allowed.
The invoice is not the menu
Receiving still checks the slip. Typesetting still follows the dish row. If the mill wrote a climate paragraph, file it. Do not let it become the festive card.
Template fields and 7-day run
| Field | Fill with | Do not invent |
|---|---|---|
[sku] | Ingredient or product the spec covers | A line-wide mill climate claim |
[invoice_facts] | Name, allergens, process on the slip | A fact the packing slip does not carry |
[mill_adjective] | Climate / regenerative / waste-diverted / none | Upgrading none into eco-friendly oats |
[dish_row_allows] | yes / no from the card freeze | Yes because the mill PDF looks official |
[markets] | US / EU / UK / both | One climate burst for every diner |
Brief: "SKU: [sku]. Invoice facts: [invoice_facts]. Mill adjective: [mill_adjective]. Dish row allows: [dish_row_allows]. Markets: [markets]. If dish row is no, diner print of that adjective is blank."
- Day 1: Export every mill, farm, climate, regenerative, waste-diverted, and planet-saving line on invoices, one-pagers, the winter card, QR, GBP, and Instagram.
- Day 2: For each live card SKU, fill [invoice_facts] and [mill_adjective]. Mark packing-slip mismatches for receiving, not for typesetting.
- Day 3: Freeze banned mill-to-menu copy. Sign it. File invoices in the substantiation folder.
- Day 4: Rewrite the spec as receiving only. Diet tags stay in the menu matrix. Festive eco-friendly stays in seasonal menu claims.
- Day 5: Lock the winter / festive card this week. Strip mill adjectives the dish row does not allow. Kg lines stay in menu CO2e.
- Day 6: Match QR, GBP, and FOH. Kitchen policy URL stays the diner story: kitchen policy. Regenerative farm words stay in regenerative on-pack.
- Day 7: Score leftover mill adjectives in the green claims calculator. No-go if a mill PDF is still the festive headline. EmpCo crawl: hospitality copy.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a vegan supplier spec without copying mill marketing onto the menu?
Write the spec as invoice and receiving: named SKU, allergens, animal-derived process, reject rules. Keep mill climate, regenerative, and waste-diverted adjectives off the diner card unless that same fact is already allowed on the dish row. Do not invent a mill climate percentage. Winter cards lock now. File the PDF. Do not typeset it.
Is this the same as diet tags or the festive card freeze?
No. Diet tags are vegan vs plant-based on the dish. Seasonal menu claims freeze eco-friendly festive copy. This page is the purchasing document that tries to feed those cards. Do not recook those kits to cover mill PDFs.
Can we print regenerative because the mill invoice says it?
Not from the mill letterhead alone. Regenerative still needs a farm file for that claim. A kitchen may print a named farm already on the dish row. It may not upgrade mill marketing into regenerative oats.
Can we print a kg from the mill one-pager?
Not as a dish kg. Menu CO2e needs a dish-level LCA for that recipe. A supplier slide is not that study. Leave the number off the card.
What do we measure if not mill attach %?
Leftover mill adjectives on live cards, QR, and Posts, packing-slip mismatches at receiving, and unpublished drafts. Sales on a climate oat line are not proof the claim is allowed.