WhatsApp template to announce your restaurant's seasonal menu change

The new season has arrived and you changed the menu of your restaurant, pizzeria, or food place. Now comes the hard part: how do you tell your customers without sounding like spam and without Meta rejecting your template? Here we bring you a WhatsApp template ready to copy, designed for the food industry, with the structure that the official WhatsApp Business API approves and that you can load into Wando so the AI can use it on its own when appropriate.

• {{1}} — Customer's name (e.g., 'Maria').
• {{2}} — Your business name (e.g., 'Don Luigi's Pizzeria').
• {{3}} — New dish or category 1 (e.g., 'the new truffle pastas').
• {{4}} — New dish or category 2 (e.g., 'the seasonal pizzas with mushrooms').
• {{5}} — Link to the menu on your website, Instagram, or Google Drive (e.g., 'https://yoursite.com/menu').
• {{6}} — Contact phone number or direct link to WhatsApp (e.g., '+54 9 11 5555 5555').

How to load this template in WhatsApp Business (and in Wando)

1. 1Go to WhatsApp Manager (business.facebook.com) and navigate to 'Message templates'.
2. 2Create a new template, choose the 'Marketing' category, and paste the sample message with the variables {{1}}, {{2}}, etc.
3. 3Submit the template for review. Meta approves it within up to 48 hours (it can be less, but don't promise exact times).
4. 4Once approved, load it into Wando from the panel: paste the template, assign the variables, and choose when to send it (e.g., to customers who ordered in the last 3 months).
5. 5When Wando's AI detects that a customer asks about the menu or that it's a good time to notify them, it will use that template and your team approves it with one click before sending.

When to send this notice (and when not to)

Timing is everything. This notice works if you send it when the menu change is already active, not before. Ideally: on a Monday or Tuesday mid-morning (10-11 hs) or in the afternoon (16-17 hs), when people are deciding what to eat and aren't in the lunch rush. Avoid Friday nights, weekends, and holidays: your customer is eating out or partying, not reading restaurant messages.

Don't send it to everyone equally. Segment: those who ordered in the last 60-90 days, those who live in your delivery area, those who open your messages. If you send the same notice to someone who hasn't bought from you in a year, they'll just mark your number as spam. With Wando, you can tag contacts and filter by tags so you don't throw your message away.

The 3 most likely customer responses (and how to answer them)

1. 'What new dishes do you have?'

• {{1}} — Customer's name.
• {{2}} and {{3}} — New dishes.
• {{4}} — A dish they removed (e.g., 'the pineapple pizza, which is no longer available').
• {{5}} — Link to the menu.

2. 'Are you still running the Tuesday promo?'

3. 'I'm not interested, don't write to me anymore'

Important: if a customer asks you not to message them, respect that and remove them from the list. In Wando, you can tag them as 'Do not contact' so the AI doesn't send them anything again. That protects you from complaints and from Meta penalizing you.

How to measure if the announcement worked

• Response rate: how many replied 'what's new?' or asked for the menu? If it's below 10%, review the message or the segmentation.
• Actual orders: how many of those who responded ended up buying? That's the real return.
• Unsubscribes: if more than 2% ask you not to message them, you're being annoying. Adjust the frequency.
• Clicks on the menu link: if you use a shortened or tracked link, you'll see how many opened it.

Mistakes that make Meta reject your template (or make the customer ignore it)

• Promising something you can't deliver: '50% discount' without clarifying conditions. Meta rejects misleading promotions.
• Missing opt-in: sending marketing to people who never gave you the OK. Besides rejection, they can block your number.
• Writing EVERYTHING IN CAPS or overusing emojis. It looks like spam and Meta penalizes it.
• Not including a way to unsubscribe: if the customer has no way to ask you not to message them, you risk a complaint.
• Sending the same message to everyone without segmenting: the customer who isn't interested ignores it and marks you as spam.

Message variants: more formal or more casual

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I absolutely need a Meta-approved template to announce the menu change? Yes, if you use the official WhatsApp API (like Wando does). Marketing messages require an approved template and customer opt-in. If you use the regular WhatsApp Business app without API, you can send free messages, but you cannot automate or scale.

How long does Meta take to approve the template? Up to 48 hours, although it is usually less. There is no way to speed it up; prepare the message well in advance before your menu launch.

What if a customer replies 'not interested'? You remove them from the marketing list (in Wando, by tagging them as 'Do not contact') and reply with a friendly message apologizing. Do not message them again.

Can I send the same message via Instagram or Messenger? Yes, in Wando you can use the same contacts and templates on Instagram and Messenger, in addition to WhatsApp. But be careful: each channel has its own rules; on Instagram you don't need an approved template for direct messages, but you must respect spam policies.

How do I make Wando's AI use this template automatically? Upload it in the panel, assign the variables, and set a trigger: for example, when a customer asks 'what's new?' or 'did the menu change?', the AI suggests this template and your team approves it with one click. You can also use it for manual campaigns to a segment.

Which industries have their own landing page in Wando? Food service, e-commerce, retail, beauty, real estate, health, and academies. If your business is in another industry, you can still use Wando, but the template in this article is designed for food service.