12.1: Menu Engineering
- Page ID
- 22120
- Understanding the psychology of Menu Engineering
- Gain a working knowledge of menu engineering worksheet construction.
- Gain a working knowledge of menu engineering evaluation.
- Understand the importance of contribution margin.
- Understand ‘menu engineering’ usage for profitability.
- Learn to re-think menu costing based on consumer acceptance.
- Gain the ability to apply different classes of ratios to evaluate different elements of the operation.
“The price of light is less than the cost of darkness.”
Arthur C. Nielsen
“The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight.”
Carly Fiorina
“I never guess. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Albert Einstein
Menu engineering is an interdisciplinary field of study devoted to the deliberate and strategic construction of menus. It is references Menu Psychology. In general, the term menu engineering is used within the hospitality industry (specifically in the context of restaurants), but can be applied to any industry that displays a list of product or service offerings for consumer choice. Typically, the goal with menu engineering is to maximize a firm's profitability by subconsciously encouraging customers to buy what you want them to buy, and discouraging purchase of items you do not want them to buy. The fields of study, which contribute most to menu engineering, include:
- Psychology (perception, attention, emotion/effect)
- Managerial Accounting (contribution margin and unit cost analysis)
- Marketing and Strategy (pricing, promotion)
- Graphic Design (layout, typography)
Psychology of menu engineering
Perception and Attention. Visual perception is inextricable to how customers read a menu. Most menus are presented visually (though many restaurants verbally list daily specials), and the majority of menu engineering recommendations focus on how to increase attention by strategically arranging menu categories within the pages of the menu, and item placement within a menu category. This strategic placement of categories and items refers to the theory of ‘sweet spot’.
The reasoning being ‘sweet spots’ stems from the classical effect in psychology known as the ‘Serial Position Effect’ (aka. the rules of regency and primacy). The thought is that customers are most likely to remember the first and last things they see on a menu—hence, ‘sweet spots’ on a menu should be where the customers look first and last. To date, there is no empirical evidence on the efficacy of the sweet spots on menus.
Customer perception of items offered on a menu also centers on subtle textual manipulations. For example, descriptive labeling of item names may produce positive effects, leading to higher customer satisfaction, and higher perceived product value. Similarly, the presence of dollar signs or other potential monetary cues may cause guests to spend less.
Managerial accounting
The primary goal of menu engineering is to encourage purchase of targeted items, presumably the most profitable items, and to discourage purchase of the least profitable items. To that end, firms must first calculate the cost of each item listed on the menu. This costing exercise should extend to all items listed on the menu, and should reflect all costs incurred to produce and serve. Optimally the cost of items should include food cost (including wasted product and product loss), incremental labor (e.g., cost in in-house butchering, pastry production, or prep), condiments and packaging. Only incremental costs and efforts should be included in the item cost.
The two criteria for determining which menu items deserve inclusion on a menu have been food cost percentage and gross profit. Food cost percentage is calculated by dividing the cost of the menu item ingredients, including surrounding dish items, e.g., salad, bread and butter, condiments, etc. by the menu price. Gross profit calculates by subtracting the menu cost as previously defined, from the menu price. Advocates of Menu Engineering believe that gross profit trumps food cost so they tend to identify menu items with the highest gross profit, items like steaks and seafood, as the items to promote. The downside of this exclusive approach is that items that are high in gross profit are typically the highest priced items on the menu and they typically are on the high end of the food cost percentage scale. This approach works fine in price inelastic markets like country clubs and fine dining white tablecloth restaurants. However, in highly competitive markets, which most restaurants reside, think Applebee's, Chili's, Olive Garden, price points are particularly critical in building customer counts. In addition, do not ignore food cost completely. If food cost increases, total costs must increase enough to lower the overall fixed cost percentage or the bottom line will not improve. This is not a recommended strategy for neighborhood restaurant with average checks under $15.
Those who believe that a low food cost percentage is more important than gross profit will promote the items with the lowest food cost percentage. Unfortunately, these items are typically the lowest priced items on the menu, e.g., chicken, pasta, soups. Promoting only low food cost items will likely result in lowering your average check. Unless the restaurant attracts more customers, overall sales will not be optimal.
Low food cost and high gross profit are not mutually exclusive attributes of a menu item. A second approach called Cost-Margin Analysis identifies items that are both low in food cost and return a higher average gross profit. This analysis works well for restaurants in highly competitive markets where customers are price-sensitive.
There is no one-analysis method that is useful on all menu items. If a menu item is a "commodity" like hamburgers, chicken tenders, fajitas, and other items found on many restaurant menus, prices tend to be more moderate. If a menu item is a "specialty" in high demand and unique to a particular restaurant, prices can be higher than average. Technically the restaurant has a "monopoly" on that item until competitors copy them and put it on their menus. Thus, higher prices are appropriate. However, no restaurant can sustain a competitive uniqueness or price advantage over their competition in the end.
Using Menu Engineering in restaurants and menu items where price inelasticity is present deserves recommendation. ‘Cost-Margin’ better suits casual neighborhood restaurants and on menu-items where price points are critical in building and keeping customers. Remember, the customer determines the best price to charge, not the restaurant operator. Customers do not care about your costs; they care about what you charge.
After the cost and price of an item have been determined (see pricing in the Marketing section), evaluation of an item's profitability is based on the item's ‘contribution margin’. The contribution margin calculates as the menu price minus the cost. Menu engineering then focuses on maximizing the contribution margin of each guest's order. Recipe costing should be updated (at least the ingredient cost portion) whenever the menu is reprinted or whenever items are re-engineered. Some simplified calculations of contribution margin include only food costs. The menu engineering worksheet is useful to explore how the menu is performing in the dining room. Calculations can adjust accordingly. An example of the sheet layout and calculations in Microsoft Excel follows. The worksheet is useful to evaluate:
- Menu items by category (appetizer, entrée, dessert, drinks, etc.)
- Number of items sold
- Menu mix, the percentage of sales each item represents in relation to total sales
- Item food cost
- Item selling price
- Item contribution margin
- Total menu cost and sales revenue
- Total contribution margin generated from total sales
Menu Engineering Worksheet
| Menu Item | No. Sold | MM% | Item F.C | Item S.P | Item C.M | Menu Cost | Menu Rev. | Menu C.M |
| Salads | ||||||||
| House Pastrami | 7 | 3.80% | $3.00 | $10.00 | $7.00 | $21.00 | $70.00 | $49.00 |
| House Prosciutto | 10 | 5.43% | $3.00 | $10.00 | $7.00 | $30.00 | $100.00 | $70.00 |
| House Lardo | 5 | 2.72% | $3.00 | $10.00 | $7.00 | $15.00 | $50.00 | $35.00 |
| Salad Caprese | 10 | 5.43% | $2.24 | $8.00 | $5.76 | $22.40 | $80.00 | $57.60 |
| Mediterranean Olives | 4 | 2.17% | $1.50 | $8.00 | $6.50 | $6.00 | $32.00 | $26.00 |
| Fried Calamari | 9 | 4.89% | $2.63 | $8.00 | $5.37 | $23.67 | $72.00 | $48.33 |
| Bagna Cauda | 5 | 2.72% | $4.75 | $8.00 | $3.25 | $23.75 | $40.00 | $16.25 |
| Entrees | ||||||||
| Catch of the Day | 4 | 2.17% | Market Price | |||||
| Sicilian Swordfish | 3 | 1.63% | $8.00 | $20.00 | $12.00 | $24.00 | $60.00 | $36.00 |
| Mussels Di Amore | 4 | 2.17% | $6.00 | $17.00 | $11.00 | $24.00 | $68.00 | $44.00 |
| Sole Filets and Lemon | 4 | 2.17% | $6.00 | $20.00 | $14.00 | $24.00 | $80.00 | $56.00 |
| Sea Bass Pomodoro | 1 | 0.54% | $7.00 | $20.00 | $13.00 | $7.00 | $20.00 | $13.00 |
| Tuscan Salmon | 2 | 1.09% | $4.34 | $20.00 | $15.66 | $8.68 | $40.00 | $31.32 |
| Osso Bucco | 6 | 3.26% | $4.75 | $30.00 | $25.25 | $28.50 | $180.00 | $151.50 |
| Veal Marsala | 4 | 2.17% | $4.75 | $22.00 | $17.25 | $19.00 | $88.00 | $69.00 |
| Veal Marengo | 2 | 1.09% | $4.75 | $22.00 | $17.25 | $9.50 | $44.00 | $34.50 |
| Veal Lamponi | 2 | 1.09% | $2.31 | $22.00 | $19.69 | $4.62 | $44.00 | $39.38 |
| Rosa di Parma | 2 | 1.09% | $3.54 | $25.00 | $21.46 | $7.08 | $50.00 | $42.92 |
| Lamb Stew | 5 | 2.72% | $2.33 | $25.00 | $22.67 | $11.65 | $125.00 | $113.35 |
| Seared Lamb Chops | 9 | 4.89% | $5.33 | $30.00 | $24.67 | $47.97 | $270.00 | $222.03 |
| Fettucini al Pesto | 7 | 3.80% | $5.00 | $18.00 | $13.00 | $35.00 | $126.00 | $91.00 |
| White Truffle Risotto | 6 | 3.26% | $8.97 | $20.00 | $11.03 | $53.82 | $120.00 | $66.18 |
| Cheese and Basil Agnolotti | 7 | 3.80% | $2.23 | $18.00 | $15.77 | $15.61 | $126.00 | $110.39 |
| Scallops and Angel Hair | 8 | 4.35% | $3.75 | $22.00 | $18.25 | $30.00 | $176.00 | $146.00 |
| Pizza Magherita | 5 | 2.72% | $5.00 | $15.00 | $10.00 | $25.00 | $75.00 | $50.00 |
| Smoked Scamorza Pizza | 3 | 1.63% | $6.00 | $15.00 | $9.00 | $18.00 | $45.00 | $27.00 |
| Desserts | ||||||||
| Sorbets | 7 | 3.80% | $3.00 | $5.00 | $2.00 | $21.00 | $35.00 | $14.00 |
| Gelato | 9 | 4.89% | $5.00 | $8.00 | $3.00 | $45.00 | $72.00 | $27.00 |
| Fruit and Cheese Tray | 3 | 1.63% | $5.00 | $8.00 | $3.00 | $15.00 | $24.00 | $9.00 |
| Cannoli | 3 | 1.63% | $3.00 | $7.00 | $4.00 | $9.00 | $21.00 | $12.00 |
| Panna Cotta | 4 | 2.17% | $3.00 | $7.00 | $4.00 | $12.00 | $28.00 | $16.00 |
| Moscato Soaked Genoise | 7 | 3.80% | $3.00 | $8.00 | $5.00 | $21.00 | $56.00 | $35.00 |
| Tiramisu | 8 | 4.35% | $5.00 | $8.00 | $3.00 | $40.00 | $64.00 | $24.00 |
| Angel Wings | 6 | 3.26% | $0.10 | $5.00 | $4.90 | $0.60 | $30.00 | $29.40 |
| Pandoro | 3 | 1.63% | $0.25 | $5.00 | $4.75 | $0.75 | $15.00 | $14.25 |
| Total items | 184 | 100.00% | $2,526.00 | $1,826.40 | ||||
| Averages | $4.04 | $14.97 | $10.89 | $20.56 | ||||
Menu Engineering Worksheet Calculations
- Number Sold: (1) A total of all menu items sold. (2) A total by menu category (appetizers, entrées, desserts, etc.).
- Menu Mix (MM%): (1) a percentage of the total number of all menu item sales, (2) a percentage of the total number of sales by specific category, (2) both category and total number of all sales.
- Item Food Cost (Item F.C.): (1) the food cost of the recipe – with no additional costs added.
- Item Selling Price (Item S.P.): the calculated price (possibly a combination of mark-up methods) for an item as stated on the menu.
- Item Contribution Margin (Item C.M.): (1) The selling price minus the food cost, (2) various other cost could be subtracted to arrive at the contribution margin figure such as labor and utilities.
- Menu Cost: the ‘food cost’ multiplied by the ‘number of items sold’.
- Menu Revenue: The item’s ‘selling price’ multiplied by the ‘number of items sold’.
- Menu Contribution Margin: (1) the item contribution item multiplied by the number of items sold, (2) the ‘menu revenue’ minus ‘menu cost’.
- Food Cost: ‘menu cost’ divided by ‘menu revenue’.
- Average Contribution Margin: (1) contribution margin divided by number of item sales. (2) contribution can be calculated by item, menu category, or total menu items.
- Revenue Per Average Seating Hour (REV PASH): total menu revenue divided by the total number of covers served.
- Revenue Per Occupied Seating Hour (REV POSH): the total sales per hour divided by the number of covers served per hour.
Marketing (price and promotion)
By using ‘menu mix’ (also called the guest demand) and ‘gross profit’ margins, the relative performance of each menu item is determined, and assigned one of the following terms (based on the BCG Matrix):
Stars. A ‘Star’ is extremely popular and has a high contribution margin. Ideally, Stars should be your flagship or signature menu items.
Plow Horse or Workhorse. A ‘Plow Horse’ is high in popularity but low in contribution margin. Plow horse menu items sell well, but do not significantly increase revenue.
Puzzles. A ‘Puzzle’ is generally low in popularity and high in contribution margin. Puzzle dishes are difficult to sell but have a high profit margin.
Dogs. A ‘Dog’ is low in popularity and low in contribution margin. They are difficult to sell and produce little profit when they do sell.
In general, items within a relevant comparable set (for example, entrees, or chicken entrees) should be priced to have similar contribution margins—this way, the restaurant would make the same amount of money, no matter what item the guest chooses to order.
Contribution Margin
The concept of break-even analysis deals with the ‘contribution margin’ of a product. The contribution margin is the excess between the selling price of the good and total variable costs. For example, if a product sells for $100, total fixed costs are $25 per product and total variable costs are $60 per product, the product has a contribution margin of the product is $40 ($100 - $60). This $40 reflects the amount of revenue collected to cover fixed costs and retention as net profit. Fixed costs are not a part of calculating the contribution margin.
The concept of break-even analysis deals with the ‘contribution margin’ of a product. The contribution margin is the excess between the selling price of the good and total variable costs. For example, if a product sells for $100, total fixed costs are $25 per product and total variable costs are $60 per product, the product has a contribution margin of the product is $40 ($100 - $60). This $40 reflects the amount of revenue collected to cover fixed costs and retention as net profit. Fixed costs are not a part of calculating the contribution margin.
Formulas for Break-Even Analysis
Calculating Breakeven Point Using Fixed Costs
- Total Fixed Costs / by unit (average) = contribution margin
- Contribution Margin = Selling price – Item food cost
The calculation of break-even analysis using fixed cost uses two formulas. First, the ‘total fixed costs’ are divided the ‘unit contribution margin’. In the example above, assume total company fixed costs are $20,000. With a contribution margin of $40, the break-even point is 500 units ($20,000 divided by $40). Upon the sale of 500 units, you can pay all fixed costs, and the company will report a net profit or loss of ‘0’ dollars.
Calculating Breakeven Point Using Sales Dollars
- Breakeven = Total fixed costs/ by contribution margin ratio
- Contribution Margin Ratio = Contribution margin/by sales price
Alternatively, the break-even point in sales dollars calculates by dividing ‘total fixed costs’ by the ‘contribution margin ratio’. The contribution margin ratio is the contribution margin per unit divided by the sale price. Using the example above, the contribution margin ratio is 40% ($40 contribution margin per unit divided by $100 sale price per unit). Therefore, the break-even point in sales dollars is $50,000 ($20,000 total fixed costs divided by 40%). This figured may be confirmed as the break-even in ‘units’ (500) multiplied by the sale price ($100) equals $50,000.
Menu Engineering Usage for profitability
While menu engineering is most often occurs in the context of traditional paper restaurant menus, the concepts are equally applicable to menus posted online, drink menus, specials written on table tents, and items written on menu boards. Simply put, if you sell items that have varying levels of profitability and popularity, menu engineering may help you increase your bottom line. The difference between the more and less successful attempts at menu engineering does not hinge on an establishment’s type or size. Instead, the determining factors are the restaurant owner/manager’s knowledge of the menu and willingness to put in the time and effort needed to understand the process and execute changes.
The Menu Engineering process:
- Cost your menu. (You cannot skip this step!)
- Categorize menu items according to profit and popularity levels.
- Design your menu.
- Test your new menu design.
- Review your engineering worksheet over time
Costing the Menu
‘Costing a menu’ refers to the process of breaking down every item on your menu to its individual ingredients and determining exactly how much it costs to create each of these items. Establishments absolutely must cost their menu to the penny for food (not labor) costs because the engineering process depends heavily on the profitability level of each menu item. It is important to note that the person who performs the menu costing is generally the best person to be in charge of the menu-engineering process, as that person will be highly knowledgeable about the food costs of each menu item. For this reason, I always suggest that someone in charge at the restaurant perform the costing process.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems in the restaurant industry is that roughly 80% of restaurants don’t cost their menu, and another 5% cost their menus incorrectly (“correct” menu costing means that everything is costed consistently by a single person, as different people will cost items differently). The reason behind the 80% figure is simple: costing a menu is very time consuming. Unfortunately, there is no way around that fact, and you have to put in the work if you want to reap the benefits of a more profitable menu.
The process of categorizing each of your menu items will allow you to determine how to apply your menu-engineering efforts. This process can be broken into three parts:
- Split your menu into “categories” and “sections”
The term ‘category’ refers to the way you break your menu out at the broadest level. The list of what a category entails is not set in stone, but for some guidance, the following are the names of some common categories: Appetizers, Entrees, Desserts, and Drinks. The key is that there is no overlap between the menu items in the various categories and that the list makes sense for your particular menu.
Break out your categories into sections. You can define ‘section’ in different ways according to your menu’s content, but to give you some guidance, here are some common sections that fit into the ‘Entrée’ category: Vegetarian Entrees, Seafood Entrees, Meat Entrees; and here are some for the ‘Drinks’ category: alcoholic Drinks and non-alcoholic Drinks. However you define your sections, be sure to keep distinct types of menu items separate from each other (that is, do not include a collection of vegetarian entrees and meat entrees in the same section).
- Place each of your menu items into one of four quadrants
Go through each of your menu items, and using data for a recent time-period (perhaps the most recent month) then place each menu item into one of four quadrants:
- Stars—high profitability and high popularity
- Plow-horses—low profitability and high popularity
- Puzzles—high profitability and low popularity
- Dogs—low profitability and low popularity
- Determine the fate of menu items in each of the four quadrants
Use the profit/popularity information from part (b) to help determine how you want to deal with each of your menu items. You will need to look at the menu items ranked by profitability and popularity at the category level first and then at the section level. Viewing your data at the category level can help you decide where to place the various sections of your menu (for example, if steak items are your Stars, you may want to work hardest to promote the Meat Entrees section). Viewing the data at the section level will then enable you to determine how to place and promote menu items within each section of your menu. The decisions you make will result from a combination of art (not science) and common sense. While every situation is different, here is some guidance for how to act on the data you have generated:
- Stars—your menu should highlight your Stars.
- Plow-horses—you may want to create more profitability in these versions of items. For instance, soup-and-salad specials often fall into this category and you might try turning such a special into a more profitable three-salad sampler.
- Puzzles—make sure your servers are promoting these items and investigate whether customers like the taste of the items in question. Sometimes simply lowering prices will increase sales volume enough to produce higher overall profits, and you may want to consider reinventing items in this category.
- Dogs—essentially, this can be a ‘liver and onions’ dilemma. Some people love the dish. While omitting such items may be an option, you cannot necessarily omit everything in this category (just think of a grilled cheese sandwich that is a staple among your youngest customers). Your best option may sometimes be to deemphasize these items by simply listing their title and prices on your menu and not putting any further effort into their promotion.
Once you have worked through this step, your menu-engineering goals are in place and you are ready to begin the menu design phase.
Re-design your menu
Part of the design process involves highlighting the items you want to sell the most (your Stars), but it goes beyond this and can’t be accomplished with a simple checklist. When designing your menu it pays to consider your customer base: what types of customers order which items, what drives them to your establishment (a certain dish, cheap drinks, and atmosphere), do your customers read your menu thoroughly, and other factors. Menu design does not exist in a vacuum, and having such information informs how and when you should apply certain menu design techniques. That said, when it comes to menu-engineering techniques, there are certainly best practices. The following guidelines include enough of them to turn your menu into a profit center:
- Use visual cues to highlight the items you want to sell most
You can use various types of graphics to highlight an item, such as putting a box around it, placing a photograph or drawing near it, or placing an asterisk next to it.
Here are some things to keep in mind when using this technique:
- Space requirements. Highlighting items often takes up additional menu space, so please do not make the mistake I have seen many times when restaurant operators choose a menu cover that does not provide enough room to promote their items effectively.
- Frequency. As you increase the number of items highlighted with visual cues, the impact that these cues have on your bottom line will decline and your menu may begin to look cluttered. Limit myself to one highlighted item per category.
- Photographs. Using a photograph can increase sales of an item by as much as 30% when there is just one photograph on the page (again, the more you use visual cues, the lower their impact). That said, photographs on a menu also tend to cheapen the entire menu concept, so do not use this technique at a high-end eatery.
- Do not list your prices in a column down the right side of your menu
This is the number-one problem seen with restaurant menus. Placing your prices in a column causes customers to focus on price, not your food. This could lead them to choose the cheapest item in the column. Instead, place prices just two spaces after the end of the item description, using the same type font size and style. Also, do not use a dollar sign or the word “dollar” next to the price, as that causes customers to think about money.
- Use menu item descriptions to your advantage
Another common problem is a menu’s failure to have an item’s description reflect its importance. Do not list your $40 lobster without a description and then write an entire paragraph about your $10 hamburger. It should be the other way around. When writing descriptions, keep these two tips in mind:
- Use descriptions to set an item apart—Do not just list the ingredients; use evocative text that can pique a guest’s interest in a dish. In addition, you may want to tell customers why the item is on your menu: Did your grandmother use this recipe? Was it your favorite dessert as a child? Humanizing a dish takes it out of the realm of being a commodity.
- Mention brand names—if your ingredients include items (such as sauces, spices) made by ‘well-known’ and respected brand names, include these brand names in your description; they enhance the perception of the item’s quality.
- Recognize that there is a science to listing each menu section’s items
- List order matters. Although you may list your appetizer and entree menu items in a vertical list, one through six, the level of customer focus on each of these six positions does not follow the same order. The first few spots enjoy levels of importance that correspond to their position in the list, but after that, it is the last item in the list that gets the most attention. The items just above the last item in the list are the most ignored.
- Lists should be short. My goal is to put five or fewer items into each section, with a maximum of seven. More than seven items in a list constitutes information overload for the customer, and when this happens customers often default to ordering the most common item (such as burgers). Unfortunately, the most common menu items tend not to be the most profitable ones. On the other hand, smaller lists are easier to navigate and lead to higher profitability due to the purchasing of higher-profit entrees and a higher number of add-on items.
- Use your menu cover’s configuration to your advantage
Not all menu cover configurations (one panel, two panels, etc.) are equal creations. They differ in the way customers react to them and in the extent to which they allow menu engineering to affect your profits. Choose carefully. Below is a list of some common menu cover configurations and their impact on your engineering efforts:
- One-panel menu. People make decisions faster with these menus, but they will not order as much, thus leading to lower profitability per customer. The reason for this phenomenon is that this menu cover configuration does not evoke a full dining experience; it indicates something more light and casual.
- Two-panel menu. Whenever possible, this is the best configuration to use. It is easy to read and induces the strong feeling of a full dining experience.
- Three-panel menu. This is a valid choice if you have many items to sell and need the space, but the two-panel version is easier to read.
- Many-panel menu. The more panels you have in your menu cover the less control you have over the menu. Larger menus hinder your ability to influence customers’ actions.
- Take advantage of customers’ eye-movement patterns
The eyes of your customers tend to focus on certain areas of your menu depending on your menu cover’s configuration. You can use knowledge of these patterns to place chosen menu items in spots where they are likely to receive the most—or least—attention.
Unless otherwise stated, the information below refers to hardcover menu covers with solid cover material, not views of a menu page, on the outer sides of the front and back panels:
| Menu Configuration | Area of Most Attention | Area of Least Attention |
|---|---|---|
| One-Panel | Top of the page | Just below the bottom of the page (if your one-panel menu cover displays menu items on both sides of the cover, all entrees should appear on the front side, as those on the back will not receive as much attention.) |
| Two-Panel | Top of the right-side panel | Just above the bottom of the left-side panel |
| Three-Panel Book-Style | Top of the third panel gets the most respect. | Just above the bottom of the first panel |
| Many-Panel | Top of each page | Just above the bottom of each page |
If the dish you want to promote is very expensive, you may want to keep it out of the menu’s highest focal point, as this may make your restaurant appear too expensive. Pricing is an integral part of your ‘positioning strategy’.
- Think outside the menu
While the term “menu engineering” implies that the menu is responsible for your profit increase, some of your engineering profits can stem from teaching your staff which items are priorities. They are the ones who interact with your customers, and they can be instrumental in guiding customers to your most profitable or signature dishes.
- Test your new menu design
Whatever method you choose, remember that when it comes to designing the one piece of free advertising that all of your customers will see—your menu—there is always room for profit improvement. Continually test new menu designs