Question 1

What is menu engineering?

Accepted Answer

Menu engineering is the practice of analyzing the profitability and popularity of your menu items to make strategic decisions about pricing, placement on the menu, and which items to promote or remove. The goal is to maximize your restaurant's overall profitability.

Question 2

What are the four menu engineering categories?

Accepted Answer

Menu items are typically classified into four categories:Stars (High Profit, High Popularity): Your best items. Keep them consistent and feature them prominently.Puzzles (High Profit, Low Popularity): Profitable but don't sell well. Try promoting them, giving them a better menu description, or slightly lowering the price to encourage sales.Plow Horses (Low Profit, High Popularity): Crowd-pleasers that don't make much money. Try to increase their profitability by reducing ingredient costs or testing a small price increase.Dogs (Low Profit, Low Popularity): Your worst performers. Consider removing them from the menu unless they serve a strategic purpose (e.g., a required vegetarian option).

Question 3

What is "Contribution Margin"?

Accepted Answer

The contribution margin is the profit you make on a single menu item before accounting for fixed operating costs. It's calculated as Selling Price - Food Cost. An item with a high contribution margin is considered "profitable" in menu engineering analysis.

Question 4

How do I determine if an item is "Popular"?

Accepted Answer

Popularity is relative to your other menu items. In a full menu analysis (like our Menu Engineering Matrix calculator), you calculate the average number of items sold. Any item that sells more than the average is considered "High Popularity" or popular. This single-item calculator uses a simple threshold to give you a basic idea, but for a true analysis, you should compare it against your other items.

Question 5

How can I use this information to redesign my menu?

Accepted Answer

Use the categories to guide your menu layout. "Stars" should be placed in high-visibility spots, like the top-right corner of the menu. You might try to draw attention to "Puzzles" with photos or special call-out boxes. "Plow Horses" and "Dogs" can be de-emphasized by placing them in less prominent positions.

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Understanding Menu Engineering

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