Running a kitchen without tracking product velocity is like driving blindfolded. A quick daily check prevents you from tying up cash in slow-moving items or disappointing guests when popular dishes run out. You'll spot problems before they hit your bottom line.
Why this check matters
Most kitchens order on autopilot. Monday rolls around, and you're placing Tuesday's order based on last month's habits. That's expensive guesswork. The result? Premium ingredients rotting in your walk-in, or embarrassed servers telling customers their favorite dish isn't available.
⚠️ Watch out:
Slow-moving products hit you twice: purchase cost plus waste disposal. Fast-moving items cost you revenue when you turn away paying customers.
The foundation: sales versus purchases
Start simple. Track what you've sold against what you've bought. Large gaps signal trouble ahead.
💡 Example:
Last week's sales:
- Salmon: 45 portions
- Beef: 28 portions
- Chicken: 67 portions
This week's orders:
- Salmon: 50 portions (slight overage)
- Beef: 50 portions (major overage!)
- Chicken: 60 portions (shortage risk)
Red flag: beef's crawling, chicken's flying
Essential data points
You need three numbers:
- Weekly sales by item: Portions sold for each dish
- Current orders: Portions you're buying this week
- Existing stock: What's left from previous orders
Don't track everything. Focus on your top 8-10 ingredients: proteins, expensive produce, high-volume items. Skip the garnishes and herbs—they're not breaking your budget.
Reading the warning signs
From analyzing actual purchasing data across different restaurant types, certain ratios consistently predict problems:
💡 Warning thresholds:
- Moving too slow: Buying 50%+ more than you're selling
- Moving too fast: Selling 20%+ more than current stock
- Sweet spot: Orders 10-20% above sales (safety buffer)
Taking action on the signals
Slow movers need immediate attention:
- Cut next week's order by 30-40%
- Feature the ingredient in daily specials
- Check your pricing—maybe the dish costs too much
Fast movers create different opportunities:
- Emergency reorder from your supplier
- Assess kitchen capacity—can you handle more volume?
- Consider price increases for high-demand items
💡 Real-world example:
Restaurant De Buren saw their vegetarian pasta sales drop 40% below projections. Quick pivot: they moved the goat cheese to salads and risotto instead. Zero waste, plus they discovered two new popular dishes.
Optimal timing for checks
Build this into your routine:
- Monday 9 AM: Before placing Tuesday deliveries
- Thursday afternoon: Prep for weekend volume
- Post-event analysis: After holidays or special events
Fifteen minutes twice weekly saves hundreds monthly in waste and missed sales. That's a 10x return on time invested.
Paper versus digital tracking
Spreadsheets work, but they're slow and error-prone. Tools like KitchenNmbrs automatically flag unusual patterns, so you spend time deciding rather than calculating.
How do you create an overview of fast and slow-moving products?
Gather sales figures from last week
Note how many portions you sold for each main ingredient. Focus on your 8-10 most important products: meat, fish, main vegetables. Add up all the dishes that contain that ingredient.
Check your purchases for this week
Calculate how many portions you've bought. A whole salmon of 2 kg gives you, for example, 8 portions of 200 grams (after trimming loss). Compare this to your sales from last week.
Calculate the deviations and take action
Products where you buy 50% more than you sell are moving too slowly. Products where you buy 20% less than you sell are moving too fast. Adjust your order for next week accordingly.
✨ Pro tip
Track your velocity ratios for 30 days to establish baselines. Items moving 40% faster or slower than their 30-day average need immediate attention—that's usually your first signal before waste or stockouts hit.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
Which products deserve the closest monitoring?
Focus on your 8-10 highest-cost ingredients: proteins, expensive vegetables, and items with short shelf lives. These create the biggest financial swings. Skip low-cost garnishes and shelf-stable items that won't make or break your margins.
What if a previously popular item suddenly slows down?
Check portion sizes first—did kitchen staff change the recipe? Then examine external factors: seasonal preferences, competitor pricing, or supply quality issues. Sometimes a simple menu repositioning fixes the problem.
How much safety stock should I maintain?
Keep 10-20% buffer above expected sales for perishables, more for weekend rushes. Non-perishables can handle larger buffers, but watch your cash flow—tied-up inventory costs money even when it doesn't spoil.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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