Do you know what Menu Engineering is?
Is your menu actually driving profit, or is it just there "because"?
Menu engineering is a key restaurant strategy for increasing profitability, boosting sales, and making smarter business decisions.
If you own a restaurant, dark kitchen, or food business, understanding this can completely transform your results.
Restaurant menu engineering involves analyzing each dish based on two factors:
- Popularity (how well it sells)
- Profitability (how much money it makes you)
With this information, you can optimize your menu and focus on what truly works.
By applying menu engineering, all dishes are divided into 4 categories:
⭐ Stars (high profitability + high popularity)
- They sell well and generate good profit
👉 Highlight them on your menu and make them stand out
🐴 Plowhorses (high popularity + low profitability)
- They sell well, but profit margins are low
👉 Adjust prices, portions, or ingredients
🧩 Puzzles (high profitability + low popularity)
- They generate good profit, but rarely sell
👉 Improve their description, image, or placement on the menu
🗑️ Dogs (low profitability + low popularity)
- They don't sell well and aren't profitable
👉 Remove them or redesign the recipe
Applying this strategy allows you to:
- Increase profits without aggressive price hikes
- Optimize costs and reduce waste
- Design a more attractive and readable menu
- Improve the customer experience
- Make decisions based on data (not intuition)
- Alfredo pasta → high sales, but low profit margin → 🐴
- Premium cut → high profit margin, but low sales → 🧩
Solution:
👉 Adjust the costs or price of the pasta
👉 Make the cut more appealing on the menu
This is how you can improve profitability without needing to sell more.
Restaurant menu optimization also includes:
- Strategic visual design
- Appealing dish descriptions
- Smart placement on the menu
- Reducing unnecessary options
- Pricing strategies
If you want to dive deeper into how to calculate prices correctly and maximize your profits, this course is for you:
📊 Menu re-engineering
Instructor: Rodrigo Riquelme
📅 May 25, 27, and June 1, 3
🕕 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm (Pacific Time)
💻 Format: Online
⏳ Duration: 4 sessions
💰 Cost: $2,350 MXN
📌 Registration deadline: May 25
Learn to make strategic decisions and stop guessing your prices.
Menu engineering isn't just a trend; it's an essential tool for any food business looking to grow.
Your menu can be your best salesperson… if you know how to design it.
