You've run your menu engineering analysis and now you're staring at a spreadsheet full of Stars, Plowhorses, and Dogs. The hard part isn't categorizing your dishes—it's figuring out how to shift your entire purchasing strategy around these results. Your food costs won't optimize themselves.
Turn menu engineering categories into purchasing decisions
Menu engineering sorts your dishes into four groups based on popularity and profit margins. Each group needs its own purchasing game plan:
- Stars: Popular + profitable → Buy more, promote harder
- Plowhorses: Popular + not profitable → Slash cost price through smarter purchasing
- Puzzles: Not popular + profitable → Buy less, promote strategically
- Dogs: Not popular + not profitable → Minimal purchasing, consider axing
💡 Example restaurant with 4 main dishes:
Menu engineering analysis shows:
- Steak: Star (30% sales, 32% margin)
- Pasta carbonara: Plowhorse (25% sales, 38% margin)
- Salmon fillet: Puzzle (10% sales, 28% margin)
- Risotto: Dog (8% sales, 41% margin)
Step 1: Double down on your Stars with volume purchasing
Stars print money. Popular and profitable? You need to sell way more of these dishes.
Purchasing strategy for Stars:
- Buy larger volumes for better unit prices
- Lock in quality suppliers for consistency
- Negotiate fixed prices for seasonal ingredients
- Always maintain buffer inventory
💡 Example calculation for Star dish:
Steak (Star): 30% of total sales
- Current purchasing: €24/kg at 20kg per week
- Volume purchasing: €21/kg at 40kg per week
- Savings per portion (200g): €0.60
- At 150 portions/week: €90 extra margin
Annually: €4,680 extra profit
Step 2: Fix your Plowhorses by attacking food costs
Plowhorses sell like crazy but barely turn a profit. Your job: slash costs without destroying quality. And this is the kind of thing you only learn after closing your first month at a loss—customers won't notice smart ingredient swaps if you keep the dish's soul intact.
Tactics for Plowhorses:
- Find cheaper alternatives for pricey ingredients
- Negotiate aggressively (high volume gives you power)
- Test slightly smaller portions
- Swap expensive garnishes for cost-effective ones
⚠️ Watch out:
Never compromise quality on popular dishes. Guests notice immediately and you'll lose customers fast.
Step 3: Calculate your new margin after purchasing changes
After adjusting your purchasing strategy, you need to measure the impact on your total margin.
Formula for weighted average margin:
Total margin = Σ (Sales percentage × Margin per dish)
💡 Example calculation of new margin:
Before optimization:
- Steak: 30% × 32% = 9.6%
- Pasta: 25% × 28% = 7.0%
- Salmon: 10% × 32% = 3.2%
- Risotto: 8% × 25% = 2.0%
Total margin before: 21.8%
After optimization:
- Steak: 30% × 35% = 10.5% (+2.9%)
- Pasta: 25% × 31% = 7.8% (+3.0%)
- Salmon: 10% × 32% = 3.2% (same)
- Risotto: 8% × 25% = 2.0% (same)
Total margin after: 23.5% (+1.7 percentage points)
Step 4: Set up different purchasing schedules per category
Each dish category needs its own ordering rhythm:
- Stars: Weekly purchasing, locked-in suppliers
- Plowhorses: Bi-weekly, shop around for alternatives
- Puzzles: Order-based, minimal inventory
- Dogs: Only buy what you're certain to sell
Track your results weekly
Monitor these numbers to see if your changes are actually working:
- Food cost percentage per dish
- Total menu margin
- Waste per dish category
- Customer satisfaction (quality still solid?)
⚠️ Watch out:
Menu engineering isn't a one-time fix. Repeat the analysis every 3 months since popularity and costs shift constantly.
How do you calculate margin after menu engineering optimization?
Gather your menu engineering data
Determine the sales percentage and current margin for each dish. Divide your dishes into: Stars, Plowhorses, Puzzles, and Dogs.
Optimize purchasing per category
Stars: increase volume for better prices. Plowhorses: lower cost price through smarter purchasing. Puzzles and Dogs: minimize inventory.
Calculate your new total margin
Use the formula: Total margin = Σ (Sales percentage × New margin per dish). Compare with your old margin to see the impact.
✨ Pro tip
Target your optimization efforts on the 3 dishes that generated 50% or more of your revenue in the past 6 weeks. You'll capture most of your potential margin gains without overwhelming yourself.
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
How often should I update my menu engineering analysis?
Every 3 months, since dish popularity and purchasing prices fluctuate. Also run it immediately after seasonal changes or new dish additions.
What if a Star dish suddenly becomes less popular?
First diagnose why: quality drop, price increase, or new competition? Then adjust your purchasing strategy before you're stuck with excess inventory.
Should I completely remove Dogs dishes from my menu?
Not always. Some Dogs provide menu balance or serve specific customer segments. Minimize purchasing and consider gradual replacement instead.
How much can my margin increase through menu engineering optimization?
Typically 1-3 percentage points with solid optimization. At €500,000 revenue, that translates to €5,000-€15,000 extra annual profit.
What's the minimum sales volume needed to negotiate better prices with suppliers?
Most suppliers offer volume discounts starting at 20-30% above your current order size. Document your projected increases and use competing quotes for negotiation power.
How do I handle seasonal ingredients in my purchasing strategy?
Lock in fixed prices during peak season for your Stars. For other categories, switch to seasonal alternatives or adjust portions based on market prices.
Should I change my menu layout after completing menu engineering?
Absolutely. Feature Stars prominently, consider price adjustments for Plowhorses, and replace underperforming Dogs with tested alternatives.
📚 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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