Are Your Customers Ordering the Dishes You Want to Sell?
When analyzing your sales, one essential question arises: Are customers ordering the dishes you actually want to sell?
1. Identify Your "Stars" and "Breakers"
Not all dishes on your menu have the same impact on your profitability. The goal is to categorize them into three main groups:
✅ Star Dishes (Winners on All Fronts)These dishes sell well and generate a strong margin.
👉 Action: Highlight them! Feature them as chef’s specials, staff recommendations, or top menu picks. These are your key assets—promote them as much as possible.
❌ Low-Margin Bestsellers (A Profitability Trap)These dishes are highly popular but not profitable enough. You sell a lot of them, but your bottom line suffers.
👉 Action:
Slightly increase the price (+€0.50 to +€1 can make a difference).
Reduce production costs (adjust portion sizes or ingredients).
Pair them with high-margin sides to compensate for the low margin.
Example: A burger that sells well but has a high ingredient cost could be slightly adjusted (better supplier, portion control) without impacting customer satisfaction.
🚨 Underperforming Dishes (Taking Up Space on Your Menu?)Some dishes barely sell and remain unnoticed on the menu.
👉 Action:
Understand why they don’t sell (unattractive name, poor presentation, mispriced).
Test a promotion or special feature (highlighting, menu recommendations).
If nothing changes, consider removing them. A dish that doesn’t sell takes up valuable space and complicates inventory management.
2. Optimize Your Pricing and Margins
The goal is simple: increase profitability without losing sales. Focus on two key indicators:
📌 Margin-to-Price Ratio:Ensure that your dishes maintain a profitable ratio.For example, a dish priced at €12 with a food cost of €8 is far less profitable than a dish at €14 with a food cost of €5.
📌 Customer Price Perception:A small, well-placed price adjustment won't impact customer perception but can directly boost your profitability.
💡 Quick Tip: Look for high-margin dishes that don’t sell well—maybe they need more visibility?
3. Use Data-Driven Tools to Manage Sales Efficiently
Why rely on data instead of intuition?
✅ Data reveals what actually sells, not just what you think is popular.
✅ It helps you identify what generates the most profit.
✅ It allows you to adjust strategies without taking unnecessary risks.
A tool like Fyre provides real-time insights into:
✅ Your most and least profitable dishes.
✅ Consumption trends (peak days, hours, high-demand periods).
✅ Price gaps to adjust for a well-balanced offer.
Take Control of Your Menu
Your menu is your biggest profitability driver. If customers aren’t ordering your most profitable dishes, adjustments are needed.
Here’s how to take action:
✅ Analyze sales to identify your "Stars" and "Breakers."
✅ Adjust pricing strategically to boost margins without affecting customer experience.
✅ Test promotions and menu highlights to increase sales of high-margin items.
Many restaurants fall into two common pitfalls:
1️⃣ Some dishes are bestsellers but have weak margins.
2️⃣ Some dishes are highly profitable but don’t sell enough.
If you don’t take control of these elements, you could be losing profitability without even realizing it.
So, how do you rebalance it all?
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