Menu Engineering: Boost your profitability by analyzing your menu.

Menu engineering is a method of analysis that classifies your dishes according to two axes: popularity (sales volume) and profitability (gross profit in absolute value). This results in 4 categories of dishes.

The Stars (popular and profitable): these are your bestsellers. Don’t touch the recipe, maintain the quality, and promote them everywhere. It’s your livelihood.

Milk Cows (popular but unprofitable): customers love them but they generate little profit. The goal is to increase their margin: slight price increase, reduced portion size, or substitution of expensive ingredients.

The Puzzles (profitable but unpopular): they generate a lot of revenue but sell poorly. It’s important to understand why: are they poorly placed on the map? Too expensive? Poorly explained? Try renaming them or slightly lowering the price to boost sales volumes.

Dead weight (neither popular nor profitable): they clog up your card and your stock. Remove them without hesitation, unless they are essential for a minority of loyal customers (e.g., the only vegan option).

Conduct this analysis every 3 to 6 months. Your card should be live and continuously optimized for profitability.