{"id":43436,"date":"2020-03-23T09:30:56","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T09:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/?p=43436"},"modified":"2024-02-12T16:20:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T16:20:42","slug":"menu-engineering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/menu-engineering\/","title":{"rendered":"Menu Engineering: How to Use it to Increase Profitability"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that by simply having a menu that is designed in a particular way, you can increase your profits by <\/span>up to 5%<\/b>? If you are responsible for maximising a business\u2019 profitability, you can use the technique of menu engineering. The process is complex and can take time, but when it’s implemented it can have a significant impact. Here, we explain how you can engage customers and increase profitability through menu engineering.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is Menu Engineering?<\/h2>\n

If you work in the hospitality industry it\u2019s likely that you\u2019ll have come across the term menu engineering before. It refers to the process of analysing the performance of every item on a menu. You should consider three key areas, popularity in comparison to similar items, pricing and profit. This should then influence where items are placed on a menu, helping increase profitability per guest.<\/span><\/p>\n

As well as where items are placed, menu engineering also refers to the overall appearance of a menu. Firstly, it must match the tone of the establishment and, importantly, it must be carefully thought out and designed. Often, this is the first thing customers see when deciding where to eat so you need to leave a lasting impression.<\/span><\/p>\n

Menu engineering will give you greater insight into the products you sell and where you can increase your profits pertaining to an individual item.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why Do I Need Menu Engineering?<\/h2>\n

Menu engineering is a tool that will benefit most establishments within the hospitality industry, particularly restaurants. It can be applied to almost any menu, including those online, drink menus, or a specials board.<\/span><\/p>\n

The main reason you need menu engineering is to increase your business\u2019 profitability. It allows you to subconsciously encourage customers to purchase what you want them to. And the dishes you\u2019re going to want them to buy are those with the highest profit margin.<\/span><\/p>\n

You should also focus on calculating the individual cost of menu items. This includes all the ingredients that are required, as well as the costs incurred during the production and serving processes. Menu engineering, then, should form a large part of your cost and profit management.<\/span><\/p>\n

You should also use this information to optimise an item\u2019s contribution to the overall profit margin of the business. For example, you can use menu engineering to manage waste, therefore saving money as well as reducing the amount of food thrown away. You can do this by calculating the quantity of each product that needs to be prepared every day, based on its popularity.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Using a Menu Engineering Matrix<\/h2>\n

A menu engineering matrix will help you to recognise which products are good for your business. More importantly, it’ll help you to identify which you need to focus on more. Throughout the process, you need to put all menu items into one of the four menu engineering categories. You can only do so once you have calculated how much of each menu item has sold during a set period, and the profit driven by each. You can then use this data to plot the item within a menu engineering matrix.<\/span><\/p>\n

A menu engineering matrix is a graph on which you should place each item, based on what you have concluded in terms of popularity and profitability. You can determine popularity by the quantity of the dish sold within a set period, while profitability is the item\u2019s contribution margin. The matrix is split into four categories:<\/span><\/p>\n