In an environment of high inflation and rising energy costs it is crucial that your menu is working for you and designed to maximise profit whilst not sacrificing quality.
Discover our top tips to increase profitability by optimising your menu and up-selling your drinks offer.
Menu Optimisation
Simplify your offer by removing or editing items which don't work
Explore which menu items are ordered the least and generate little revenue. These items bleed money and should either be dropped or re-worked to create a new menu item that there is demand for. Also. consider using the ingredients from the deleted menu item to create your specials for that week!
Spotlight items that do work
Make sure your best sellers and items which have the highest profit margins are well promoted on your menus. You also want to make sure that your front of house team know what these items are and that they should be the go to recommendations when customers ask what they should order.
Innovate to reduce costs
When was the last time you checked alternative products and prices? Has a new product been launched that could be just as good but a more cost effective option? Do you need streaky?
Would another variant of a similar quality also be an option such as middle bacon?
Do you use the same product as a menu item and as an ingredient: could you use another cheaper product when in some applications? When was the last time you looked at the different options?
Boost Margins
UPSELLING AND PROMOTING YOUR DRINKS OFFER
Upsell
If someone is paying to upgrade their meal. chips to kumara fries for example. Have you given the same prompts on your drinks menu? Take the ever-popular G & T - are you prompting that they can upgrade to a rhubarb and raspberry tonic or a premium orange flavoured gin?
After dinner drinks
As an industry, we're getting better at this. How many times have you been asked whilst dining out if you would like to see the dessert menu? Well. the same should be done for drinks. Missing out on a prompt for a digestive could be skipping out on a 70% GP opportunity.
Food and wine pairings
and choose a wine to marry with each one. This sour margin - identify your top five selling dishes and choose a wine to marry with each one. This can be done by the glass or bottle and helps in three ways:
Your customer gets a recommendation and this will come across as professional
Staff are more likely to retain information on a smaller number of wines rather than the whole wine list
And finally, you have the chance to upsell from house wines and introduce customers to your wider wine list.
Keep alert!
Keep your eyes peeled at tables with glasses that are low on drinks. A polite little. "Would you like a top up?" or "another drink?" could mean another spontaneous round of drinks. Plus it comes across as pro-active and attentive. great when you consider that the average spend of a customer increases with friendly service.
