Most breakfast spots obsess over their bestsellers while ignoring their money-makers. The real winners understand that popularity without profit kills your bottom line. Menu engineering fixes this by balancing both factors for maximum revenue.
What is menu engineering for breakfast?
Menu engineering sorts each dish into four categories based on how popular and profitable they are. Breakfast service works perfectly for this since you're pushing high volume with straightforward dishes.
💡 The four categories:
- Stars: Popular + profitable (push these!)
- Plowhorses: Popular + not profitable (raise the price)
- Puzzles: Not popular + profitable (promote more)
- Dogs: Not popular + not profitable (remove from menu)
Calculate the margin per breakfast dish
You need three numbers for each dish: ingredient costs, selling price, and quantity sold. Here's how you calculate margin:
💡 Example: Eggs Benedict
Menu price: €12.50 incl. 9% VAT
- Selling price excl. VAT: €12.50 / 1.09 = €11.47
- Ingredient costs: €3.80
- Margin per portion: €11.47 - €3.80 = €7.67
- Margin percentage: (€7.67 / €11.47) × 100 = 66.9%
For menu engineering, use the absolute margin in euros, not percentages. A dish earning €8 margin beats one earning €4 margin, regardless of percentage differences.
Determine the popularity of each dish
Popularity means counting orders over a specific timeframe. Take the last 4 weeks and track how often each breakfast dish sold. A pattern we see repeatedly in restaurant financials is that 3-4 dishes drive 70% of breakfast revenue.
💡 Example popularity (4 weeks):
- Eggs Benedict: 89 times sold
- Pancakes: 156 times sold
- Avocado toast: 67 times sold
- Granola bowl: 34 times sold
Total breakfast sold: 346 items
Calculate popularity percentage: (Number sold / Total sold) × 100. Dishes above 25% count as popular, below 25% are less popular.
Place each dish in the right category
Now combine margin and popularity data. For breakfast items, dishes with margins above €6 and popularity above 25% typically become your Stars.
💡 Example categorization:
- Pancakes: €5.20 margin, 45% popularity = Plowhorse
- Eggs Benedict: €7.67 margin, 26% popularity = Star
- Avocado toast: €4.80 margin, 19% popularity = Dog
- Granola bowl: €6.40 margin, 10% popularity = Puzzle
⚠️ Note:
Always calculate using selling price excluding VAT. For breakfast in the Netherlands that's 9% VAT, so divide menu price by 1.09.
Action plan per category
Each category needs a different strategy:
- Stars: Promote aggressively. Feature them prominently on menus, train staff to recommend them
- Plowhorses: Raise prices by €1-2 or reduce ingredient costs
- Puzzles: Boost popularity through better descriptions or special promotions
- Dogs: Remove from menu or replace with better options
💡 Impact example:
If you raise pancake prices from €8.50 to €9.50:
- Extra margin: €0.92 per portion (after VAT)
- At 156 portions per month: €143 extra profit
- Per year: €1,716 extra
Tools that help with menu engineering
Manual calculations eat up tons of time. Systems like KitchenNmbrs automatically calculate margins per dish and track popularity trends. You'll instantly see which dishes are Stars and which need adjustments.
How do you apply menu engineering to breakfast? (step by step)
Calculate the margin per breakfast dish
Add up all ingredient costs and subtract them from your selling price excluding VAT. For breakfast you calculate with 9% VAT, so divide the menu price by 1.09. Note the margin in euros per portion.
Measure popularity over 4 weeks
Count how many times each breakfast dish was sold in the past month. Calculate the percentage: (number sold / total breakfast sold) × 100. Above 25% is popular.
Categorize and create an action plan
Place each dish in a category based on margin and popularity. Promote Stars (high-high), make Plowhorses (popular but low margin) more expensive, remove Dogs (low-low) from the menu.
✨ Pro tip
Analyze your breakfast menu every 8 weeks during peak season changes. Spring and fall menu shifts can turn yesterday's Stars into today's Dogs faster than you think.
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
What is a good margin for breakfast dishes?
Breakfast margins typically run €5-8 per dish. Simple items like toast might hit €3-4 margin, while elaborate dishes like Eggs Benedict can reach €6-9. Focus on absolute euros rather than just percentages.
How often should I update my menu engineering?
Review your numbers every 6-8 weeks since popularity shifts with seasons and trends. Ingredient price changes also affect your margins. Do complete analyses at least 4 times yearly.
Can I raise prices on popular dishes without losing customers?
Popular dishes (Plowhorses) can usually handle €0.50-1.50 increases without major customer loss. Test gradually - if orders drop less than 10%, you've succeeded.
📚 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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