Food Menu Engineering Spreadsheet

							                                                                                                                                                                        Sysco Hampton Roads
   Why is menu engineering so important?                                                                                                                                       presents
As you try to find ways to increase profits in your restaurant, the easiest way to do that is to maximize
the profit dollars from your existing customers. In other words...if you have the exact same number
                                                                                                                                                                   Menu Engineering
of people eat at your restaurant in a given year, you still have the opportunity to achieve higher profits
by encouraging your guests to order more profitable items. This menu engineering exercise will allow
you, as a business owner, to take the emotion out of decisions you make pertaining to your menu and
                                                                                                                              $erious About $uccess
allow you to base those decisions on data and facts.


Menu Engineering is a Three Step Process
                                                                                                            If you are serious about success, Sysco Hampton
Step 1 : Gather Your Data                                                                                   Roads is serious about helping you!
There are four things you will need to gather to complete a Menu Engineering Exercise....
                                                                                                            Please contact your Marketing Associate to find out
1. A Menu Engineering Spreadsheet
                                                                                                            about all of our “Serious About Success” Operational
       • This can be found in the member section of www.RestaurantOwner.com.                                and Business Building Tools.
2. Your current pricing for each item on your menu
                                                                                                            •   Pouring on the Profits with Beverage
3. The food cost of every item you sell on your menu                                                        •   Increasing Sales with Take-Out
       • For help with this, please contact your Sysco Hampton Roads Marketing Associate. They have         •   Kids Marketing
                                                                                                            •   Increasing Repeat Business
         a menu analysis program that will break down the cost of each ingredient that goes into a          •   Marketing to New Customers
         menu item. This program also updates pricing automatically, so as prices fluctuate, it adjusts      •   Implementing a Successful Direct Mail Campaign
         your costs.                                                                                        •   Developing a Recipe Manual
                                                                                                            •   Hiring Great Employees
       • Be sure to include some of the all too often “forgotten costs” such as plate garnish and           •   Steakology 101 - How To Cook The Perfect Steak
         sauces.                                                                                            •   Addressing Healthy Dining Trends
                                                                                                            •   Food Safety 101 - Serving Food Safely
4. Your sales of each item on your menu for a given time frame                                              •   Key Components To Consider When
       • With most POS systems, a sales report can be generated for a given time frame.                         Pricing Your Menu
       • For an accurate menu engineering analysis, at least one month of sales totals is needed;           •   Menu Engineering - Analyzing the Bottom Line
                                                                                                                Performance Of Your Menu Items
         however, the longer the time frame, the better information you will obtain.


Step 2 : Enter Your Data
There are several tabs on the spreadsheet, the first of which is a detailed set of instructions and the
                                                                                                                                                                      Anal yzing the bottom
second tab is an example spreadsheet for you to refer to. The rest of the tabs are actual worksheets
for you to enter in your data. The only information that you are required to enter is an item                                                                       line performance of your
description, the quantity sold, the item food cost and the item sell price. The rest of the worksheet             7000 Harbour View Blvd. • Suffolk, VA 23435       menu items and how they
populates automatically.                                                                                               1-800-234-2451 • (757) 673-4000
                                                                                                                         www.SyscoHamptonRoads.com                 contribute to your profits.
                                                                                     M E N U                        E N G I N E E R I N G
  Step 3 : Analyze the Data
  Below is a copy of the sample spreadsheet that is provided in the Menu Engineering Worksheet from www.RestaurantOwner.com. The last column on the far right provides you with valuable information to make educated business
  decisions regarding items on your menu. Each item falls into a “Menu Item Class”: Star, Workhorse, Challenge or Dog. Below is an explanation of what each Menu Item Class means and what to do with those items.




                       Star                                                     Workhorse                                                             Challenge                                                                Dog
        Makes Good                                                     Doesn’t Make                                                       Makes Good                  Doesn’t                                    Doesn’t Make             Doesn’t
                                  Sells Well                                                      Sells Well
           Money                                                       Good Money                                                            Money                    Sell Well                                  Good Money              Sell Well
Stars are menu items that have a high gross profit              Workhorses are menu items that sell well but do                  Challenges are items that have a high gross profit, but are               Dogs are menu items that are not very popular and
and are very popular! The more you can influence                not contribute all that well to your bottom line                 not very popular. Typically, these are the more expensive                do not contribute very much to your profits.
the consumer towards these items, the more                     profits.                                                          items on your menu.
profitable your operation will be.
What to do with Stars:                                         What to do with Workhorses:                                      What to do with Challenges:                                             What to do with Dogs:
• Do give these items the best placement on your menu.         • Don’t raise the price on these items above what the local      • Do evaluate the price on these items to be sure they are not          • Do consider removing these items completely since they do
• Do use these items in sales promotions and contests.           market can bear. For a competitive comparison of chain           priced above what the local market will bear. For a competitive         not positively contribute to the profit or popularity of your
• Don’t change the price too drastically.                        restaurant pricing, refer to our Operational Tool called Key     comparison of chain restaurant pricing, refer to our Operational        business.
• Don’t change the presentation or recipe...your customers       Components to Consider When Pricing Your Menu or compare        Tool called Key Components to Consider When Pricing Your Menu          • Do visit Sysco Hampton Roads for a Customer Menu
  like it the way it is.                                         your pricing as it relates to local competitive restaurants.     or compare your pricing as it relates to local competitive              Consultation to have our Chefs show you ideas for more
• Do encourage your staff to suggest these items to            • Do look at alternative products to decrease the food cost        restaurants.                                                            profitable and unique items to replace your Dogs. If you
  customers.                                                     without compromising the quality. Remember that                • Do get staff and customer input on the menu item...it might             decide to keep a Dog on the menu, our Chefs can also give
• Do highlight these on your menu as “house favorites” or       Workhorses sell well, so your customers like the item.            not sell well because it doesn’t taste good or fit the market.           you ideas on how to make enhancements to increase the
   “signature dishes”.                                         • Do hide these items on your menu so it is easier for the       • If you determine that the item is a good one, highlight these items     profitability and popularity of the item.
                                                                 customer to be drawn to more profitable items.                    on your menu to increase sales and use these items in sales           • Do get staff and customer feedback on the menu item to find
                                                                                                                                  promotions and contests.                                                out why it doesn’t sell well.
                                          G o        t o     w w w . S y s c o H a m p t o n R o a d s . c o m                                          f o r        m o r e            i n f o r m a t i o n .