The guide to boosting margins with menu engineering

It's time to rethink your menu! If you're a restaurant owner, menu engineering is a great way to boost your margins. But how does it work? How does it work? We explain it all in this guide, and give you our top 8 tips!

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What is the engineering menu?

Menu engineering" is a common method in the restaurant business, which involves redesigning the menu to maximize sales.

The principle is simple: 

1. first, we analyze the dishes and menu structure;
2. to double or even triple their profitability. 

Warning: you need to keep an open mind and be ready for change for this exercise! It's not unusual to be surprised by what you discover. 

For example: a burger restaurant that wants to be known for its burgers discovers that its fried chicken is not only the best-selling dish, but also the one most frequently highlighted by customers in Google reviews. In this case, a change is in order! Make it a signature dish, use it to create a formula, create a fried chicken burger, even change the restaurant's concept... 

How do you set up a menu engineering strategy?

Understanding the 4 categories of dishes

Before moving on to the tips, let's start with the analysis. 

Take your menu. 

👉 We'll sort your dishes by 2 things: 

• Popularity: how often is a dish ordered?
• Profitability: what is the profit margin generated by this dish?

👉 This will give us 4 categories:

1. ⭐ The stars: popular and profitable dishes ;
2. 🐴 Horses : popular but less profitable dishes ;
3. 🧩 Riddles: less popular but profitable dishes ;
4. 👎 Dead weight: dishes that are neither popular nor profitable.

The aim of the engineering menu is to : 

• showcasing the stars;
• making horses profitable ;

• improve puzzles;
• review deadweight.

Identify the 4 categories of dishes

Create a simple excel spreadsheet. 

👉 For each dish, you will enter: 

• The name of the dish.
• Sales volume (how many times this dish has been ordered per month)
• The selling price of the dish (how much it costs)
• Sales share (what percentage of total sales this dish represents. To do this, multiply the sales volume of the dish by 100, then divide by the total sales volume of all dishes;
• Total cost of ingredients to prepare this dish.
• Dish margin (the difference between the selling price and the cost of ingredients, i.e. selling price - cost of ingredients);
• The dish's total gross margin (multiply the number of times the dish has been sold by the unit margin to find out how much you earn in total).

• Average sales per dish: the number of times your dishes are sold on average (total sales of all dishes divided by the number of dishes).
• Average margin per dish: the average margin for all your dishes (total gross margin divided by total number of sales).

Now you can categorize your dishes:

• Above the two averages, the dish is a "star";
• Below two averages, the dish is a "heavyweight";
• If the sales share of the dish is above the average sales share and the unit margin of the dish is below the average margin, the dish is a "horse";
• If the dish's share of sales is lower than the average share of sales, and the dish's unit margin is higher than the average margin, then the dish will fall into the "enigma" category. 

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That's the end of this mathematical insert! Let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

8 best tips for a successful engineering menu

Maximize popular and profitable dishes

⭐ Now you know your "star" dishes: the most popular and the most profitable!

Those that attract customers and generate the most profit.

Logically, we have to do everything we can to bring them to the fore. 

👉 To do this, you can : 

• Place them strategically on the menu (see tip no. 6). Don't hesitate to add some storytelling ("our signature dish", "the ultimate xxx", "the best xxx in Paris");
• Offer them in formulas, in all your menus, in combo with drinks or desserts;
• Showcase them on Instagram and Facebook. You can create Reels or carousels on their ingredients, preparation, set-up, even, try to make humorous or inspired videos around the story of the dish ;
• Sponsor them on Instagram and Facebook (choose the most liked and appetizing posts and give them a whirl!)
• "Pinner" a story dedicated to all the photos of your star dishes and all the reviews you've been left on them;
• Put them in the photo carousel of your Google business listing, where they'll be most visible: as soon as someone searches for you online.

Pro tip: If you have a signature dish that everyone wants, give the recipe ! It may seem counter-intuitive, but it works (e.g. Big Mamma). Share the recipe on Instagram, your customers will be grateful. They'll get a behind-the-scenes look at the value of the dish, and will try to make it again at home, knowing that the "real" version is yours...

👉 And don't forget to draw conclusions from these star dishes. Why do you think they work? How can you recreate that perfect balance between margin and satisfaction? You can vary them, revisiting them each season with different products...

Make the most of popular dishes that cost you money

🐴 Horses are popular but not very profitable. 

Your customers love them, but they're expensive to create (raw materials, production costs) - typically, a prime rib. 

Indispensable to your reputation, these dishes sell themselves. Don't waste time promoting them!

On the other hand, you can : 

• Slightly revise prices. If demand is strong and quality is high, your customers will be understanding. Above all, increase prices gradually and be very transparent (your teams can explain the increase out loud, highlighting the quality of the product, preparation, etc.). Caution: if sales drop, go back to the original price;
• Review portions. Sometimes you can be too generous unintentionally. Remember that quality and rarity go hand in hand;
• Change certain ingredients (e.g. side dishes) to lower the price. For example: choose seasonal produce from local suppliers (be careful not to lose the essence of the dish);
• Renegotiate with your suppliers or change suppliers;
• Offer these dishes in a formula to encourage sales.

Boost the most profitable dishes (solve the riddles)

🧩 Riddles are profitable, but not popular enough. 

Too bad, because these dishes could generate substantial profits if they were ordered more often. These are often dishes with very attractive margins (inexpensive ingredients, low production costs...).

First, try to solve the riddle: why don't these dishes appeal? Are they too niche (the content) or poorly presented (the container)?

Test: 

• Organize a tasting with your teams. What do they think? What could you change to make these dishes more appealing?
• Study the competition : what other restaurants offer this type of dish? How do they sell them, or prepare them differently (e.g. with an original twist)?
• Increase the portion size (especially for dishes that marinate well, like hummus, for example). Be generous;
• Highlight them by restructuring the menu (see tip 6);
• Change their names, add an attractive subtitle ;
• Create a storytelling around the dish: an iconic recipe, a family recipe, a chef's dessert, "don't miss out"... Try to give them value;
• Push these dishes and their storytelling on the social media ;
• Offer these dishes on special or daily menus.

Review "dead weight" dishes

👎 You've reached the dead weight.

These dishes "drag you down" because they're neither popular nor profitable. They cost you more than they earn. 

Once again, ask yourself: why? 

These dishes often clash with the rest of your menu. 

Be radical: 

• Remove them. Remember, a minimalist menu is much more profitable! You can always offer them on request;
• Review the dish from A to Z. Some restaurateurs are attached to "dead weight". But why? Did they work before? Are they part of the restaurant's tradition? If so, it's up to you to bring them up to date!

Find your ideal margin 

We discuss this in more detail in our article on the ideal restaurant margin.

There are several techniques for boosting your margins: 

• Increase the average ticket;
• Reducing food waste;
• Create data sheets with standardized portions;
• Keep an eye on your losses...

Restructure menu

The menu has a huge influence on your customers' choices. Much more than just a list of dishes, it tells a story, embodies a cuisine, inspires desire... 

Tips for restructuring your menu : 

• Identify strategic locations. Know that the first and last dishes are the ones that sell the most! Put an end to alphabetical order, and highlight the dishes that suit you best;
• Don't sort your dishes by increasing price, as this will encourage your customers to choose the cheapest. Be logical, alternate, etc.
• Don't use € or $ symbols, just a number. Studies show that not displaying prices or currency symbols encourages customers to order what they like (and not the cheapest);
• Hire a graphic artist or designer. It's an excellent investment for a unique, eye-catching menu. You can also use Canva to create your own (dozens of modern templates are available);
• Storytelling, storytelling, storytelling. Be careful with dish names and descriptions. "Pasta carbonara" sounds less appetizing than "Real Neapolitan pasta carbonara" or "pasta carbonara de la mama, crispy guanciale, pecorino".
• Don't forget your digital menus: your Instagram feed, your photo carousel on Google... Today, many customers order by looking directly at your restaurant online!
• Offer QR codes AND paper menus. 

Create scripts and train your "push" teams to increase average ticket sales

This part is very important. You have to do much more than tell your teams to "remember to push such and such a dish and such and such a drink!" It has to become a reflex in its own right.

Your teams often don't know how to push what you ask of them. Train them, correct them and coach them. Create scripts for everyone to rehearse, and put them into situations.

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Let's take an example: meat. The reflex is always to ask "how cooked ? Rare, blue, medium rare?" When a customer orders a cocktail, pushing a premium spirit should be a reflex. "A Moscow Mule?" (...) "Which vodka: Grey Goose, Absolute?"' Ditto for wine, supplements, cheese, desserts, coffees, digestifs... Create scripts where a question results in an extra or premium choice. 

Add extras

We've just talked about it: "extras" or additional sales play an important role in foodservice.

The 3 things that work best and are the most interesting to offer : 

1. Coffee. Like all beverages, it's highly profitable. Train a member of your team as a barista and offer premium coffees with excellent margins (cappuccino, flat white, ice coffee...). Finally, always offer it at the end of the meal;
2. Extras. Very common in the United States, these "sides" allow you to dare to take an extra dish because the size is small. They can also be shared as tapas;
3. Desserts. A simple dessert of the day with seasonal fruit always works well (e.g. apple pie). 

You can opt for merchandising, provided it adds real value. It's not selling a few eponymous restaurant T-shirts that's going to boost your margins. On the other hand, offering your signature sriracha sauce in grocery stores, as Petit Bao has done, is a great idea!

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💫 That's the end of this guide! All that's left is for you to test and apply the tips that speak to you. Don't hesitate to share your results with us!

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