Most restaurants leave thousands in profit on the table by not properly calculating digestif margins. An extra drink of €8-12 often has a pour cost of just 18-22%, meaning you add €6-10 pure profit to every table. Calculate exactly how these recommendations impact your bottom line.
Why digestifs and aperitifs are so profitable
Drinks have a much lower cost of goods sold than food. While you often have a food cost of 28-35% on dishes, the pour cost on digestifs is usually between 18-22%. This makes them perfect for increasing your average check.
💡 Example:
A glass of Grappa at €9.50 (incl. 21% VAT):
- Selling price excl. VAT: €9.50 / 1.21 = €7.85
- Cost per glass (4cl): €1.60
- Pour cost: (€1.60 / €7.85) × 100 = 20.4%
Profit per glass: €6.25
Calculate the margin impact per table
To see the real impact, you need to look at how many tables you can sell an extra drink to. Even a small increase in your recommendation percentage has major consequences for your monthly profit.
💡 Example calculation:
Restaurant with 100 tables per week:
- Current digestif sales: 15% of tables = 15 glasses/week
- After staff training: 25% of tables = 25 glasses/week
- Extra sales: 10 glasses/week
- Profit per glass: €6.25
Extra profit per month: 10 × €6.25 × 4.3 weeks = €269
Extra profit per year: €3,225
Formula for margin impact calculation
You can calculate the impact of any improvement in your recommendation percentage in advance using this formula:
Extra profit per year = (New % - Current %) × Number of tables/week × Profit per drink × 52
- New %: what percentage of your tables you want to reach
- Current %: what percentage currently orders a digestif
- Number of tables/week: your average number of covers divided by average table size
- Profit per drink: selling price excl. VAT minus cost price
⚠️ Note:
Always calculate with the price excluding VAT. Alcoholic drinks have 21% VAT, so a digestif of €10 incl. VAT is €8.26 excl. VAT.
Calculate pour cost for different drinks
Not all digestifs and aperitifs have the same margin. Here's how you calculate the pour cost for different categories:
- Digestifs (Grappa, Cognac, Whisky): Usually 18-22% pour cost
- Liqueurs (Baileys, Amaretto): Often 20-25% pour cost
- Aperitifs (Aperol Spritz, Negroni): 22-28% pour cost due to more ingredients
- House-made digestifs: Can have as low as 15% pour cost
💡 Aperol Spritz example:
Selling price €8.50 (incl. 21% VAT) = €7.02 excl. VAT
- Aperol (6cl): €1.20
- Prosecco (9cl): €0.80
- Soda, ice, orange: €0.20
- Total cost: €2.20
Pour cost: (€2.20 / €7.02) × 100 = 31.3%
Profit per glass: €4.82
Strategies to sell more digestifs
The margin impact depends on how well your team recommends digestifs. These strategies increase your sales:
- Timing: Ask when clearing the main course, not when presenting the dessert menu
- Suggestive selling: "May I recommend a digestif with your coffee?" instead of "Anything else to drink?"
- Pairing: Link digestifs to desserts ("This Grappa pairs perfectly with the tiramisu")
- Seasonal: Warm digestifs in winter, fresh aperitifs in summer
ROI of digestif training for your team
Investing in training your team to sell digestifs often has an ROI of 500-1000%. A one-time training of €500 can increase your annual profit by thousands of euros. Most kitchen managers discover too late that their staff's hesitation to suggest digestifs costs them more than their entire marketing budget.
💡 ROI example:
Restaurant with 150 tables/week:
- Before training: 10% digestif sales = 15 glasses/week
- After training: 20% digestif sales = 30 glasses/week
- Extra: 15 glasses/week × €6 profit = €90/week
- Per year: €90 × 52 = €4,680
ROI: €4,680 / €500 = 936%
Track your digestif sales digitally
To measure the margin impact, you need to track how many digestifs you sell per period. With a food cost calculator, you can automatically calculate the pour cost of each drink and see the profitability per category.
How do you calculate the margin impact of digestifs? (step by step)
Calculate the profit per digestif
Take your selling price excl. VAT (price incl. VAT / 1.21) and subtract the cost per glass. For a digestif of €10 incl. VAT (€8.26 excl.) with €1.80 cost, your profit is €6.46 per glass.
Count your current and desired sales
Determine what percentage of your tables currently order a digestif and what your target percentage is. If you're currently at 15% and want to reach 25%, your improvement is 10 percentage points.
Calculate the annual margin impact
Multiply: (desired % - current %) × number of tables per week × profit per glass × 52 weeks. With 10% improvement on 100 tables/week with €6.46 profit per glass = €3,359 extra profit per year.
✨ Pro tip
Track your digestif sales by day of the week for 3 months to identify patterns. Friday and Saturday typically see 40% higher digestif sales, so focus your staff training on maximizing weekday recommendations first.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
Was this article helpful?
Frequently asked questions
What is a good pour cost for digestifs?
A pour cost of 18-22% is standard for digestifs. This is lower than cocktails because there are no mixers and garnishes, just the pure spirit.
Should I include VAT in my pour cost calculation?
No, always calculate with prices excluding VAT. Alcoholic drinks have 21% VAT, so a digestif of €10 incl. VAT is €8.26 excl. VAT for your calculation.
Which digestifs have the highest margin?
House-made digestifs and infusions often have the highest margin (15-18% pour cost). Premium brands you buy by the bottle also usually have better margins than products bought by the glass.
Can I estimate the margin impact in advance?
Yes, using the formula: (new % - current %) × tables/week × profit per glass × 52. This way you can see in advance what an improvement of, say, 5 percentage points will bring you.
📚 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.
Engineer your menu for maximum margin
Menu engineering combines popularity with profitability. KitchenNmbrs gives you the data to strategically design your menu. Test it free for 14 days.
Start free trial →