Emotional connections in menu descriptions can significantly influence your sales and margins. Words like 'grandma's recipe' or 'locally raised' create value that guests are willing to pay more for. But how exactly do you calculate what this brings you?
What is the margin impact of emotional descriptions?
Emotional menu descriptions increase the perceived value of a dish. This allows you to charge a higher price without extra costs, which directly improves your margin.
💡 Example:
Same steak, different descriptions:
- "Steak with fries" - €24.50
- "Juicy steak from local farmer Jan with hand-cut fries" - €28.50
Difference: €4.00 extra revenue without extra costs
The calculation: from emotion to euros
To calculate the margin impact, you compare the situation before and after adding emotional descriptions. You look at three factors:
- Price increase: How much more can you charge?
- Volume effect: Do you sell more or less?
- Food cost percentage: How does your margin change?
💡 Concrete calculation:
Pasta carbonara example:
- Before: €16.50 - sold 20x/week
- After emotional description: €18.50 - sold 25x/week
- Ingredient costs remain: €5.10
Old situation: €16.50 / 1.09 = €15.14 excl. VAT
Food cost: €5.10 / €15.14 = 33.7%
Margin per portion: €15.14 - €5.10 = €10.04
New situation: €18.50 / 1.09 = €16.97 excl. VAT
Food cost: €5.10 / €16.97 = 30.1%
Margin per portion: €16.97 - €5.10 = €11.87
Include the volume effect
Emotional descriptions can also influence your sales. Some dishes become more popular, others less so. Add both effects together:
💡 Total margin impact per week:
- Before: 20 portions × €10.04 = €200.80/week
- After: 25 portions × €11.87 = €296.75/week
Difference: +€95.95 per week = €4,989 per year
⚠️ Heads up:
Test first with a few dishes. Not every emotional description works. Some guests find it over the top and order less.
Which emotional triggers work best?
Research shows that certain words consistently generate higher sales:
- Origin: "local", "from the region", "from farmer X"
- Tradition: "grandma's recipe", "traditionally prepared"
- Craft: "handmade", "smoked in-house", "fresh daily"
- Season: "fresh spring asparagus", "autumn mushrooms"
Measure and optimize
Keep track of which descriptions work. Check your sales figures per dish weekly. If an emotional description doesn't lead to more sales or higher prices, adjust it.
💡 A/B test example:
Test 2 weeks with old description, 2 weeks with new:
- Week 1-2: "Salmon fillet with vegetables" - average 15 sold
- Week 3-4: "Fresh Norwegian salmon with seasonal vegetables from local grower" - average 22 sold
Conclusion: Emotional description increases sales by 47%
How do you calculate the margin impact? (step by step)
Note the current situation
Write down: current selling price, number sold per week, and ingredient costs per portion. This is your baseline to compare against.
Test the emotional description
Implement the new menu description for 2-4 weeks. Keep track of: new selling price (if you increase it) and number sold per week.
Calculate the margin impact
Compare the total margin per week: (new price - costs) × new volume versus (old price - costs) × old volume. The difference is your margin impact.
✨ Pro tip
Don't just measure sales, but also which emotional words work best. Words about origin (local, regional) often score better than general quality words (delicious, perfect).
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 much more can I charge for emotional descriptions?
On average you can charge 10-20% more, but this varies by dish and target audience. Test carefully with small increases of €1-3 per dish.
Do emotional descriptions work in every restaurant?
No, this depends on your target audience. It works better in fine dining than in quick, casual concepts. Test first with your most popular dishes.
How long before I see results?
Usually you'll see within 1-2 weeks whether a description resonates. Give it at least 2 weeks before drawing conclusions about sales figures.
Do I need to change all dishes at once?
No, start with 3-5 dishes that already sell well. If those are successful, then expand to other menu sections.
What if guests don't accept the higher price?
You'll see that reflected in lower sales figures. Then go back to the old price but keep the emotional description - it can still generate more volume.
📚 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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