Ever wonder why some dishes fly off your menu while your most profitable items sit ignored? Menu engineering reveals which dishes generate the most revenue and attract customers. Most restaurant owners focus solely on popularity, overlooking profitability entirely.
What is menu engineering?
Menu engineering categorizes your dishes using two key factors: popularity and profitability. This combination creates four distinct categories, each requiring its own strategic approach.
💡 The four categories:
- Stars: Popular and profitable → promote
- Plowhorses: Popular but not profitable → raise price
- Puzzles: Not popular but profitable → make more visible
- Dogs: Not popular and not profitable → consider removing
Step 1: Gather your sales data
You'll need three specific figures per dish covering the past 3 months:
- Number of portions sold
- Selling price per portion (excl. VAT)
- Ingredient cost per portion
Extract this information from your POS system. Don't have one? Estimate using your experience and receipt records.
⚠️ Note:
Always calculate using prices excl. VAT. Your menu shows prices incl. 9% VAT, so divide by 1.09.
Step 2: Calculate profitability
Calculate the gross margin per portion for each dish:
Gross margin = Selling price excl. VAT - Ingredient costs
💡 Example:
Steak listed at €32.00 incl. VAT
- Selling price excl. VAT: €32.00 / 1.09 = €29.36
- Ingredient costs: €10.50
- Gross margin: €29.36 - €10.50 = €18.86
Run this calculation across all dishes and rank them from highest to lowest gross margin.
Step 3: Determine popularity
Rank dishes by portions sold over the last 3 months. The highest-selling dish claims the top popularity spot.
Calculate the popularity percentage for each dish:
Popularity % = (Portions sold of dish / Total portions sold) × 100
💡 Example:
3-month sales figures:
- Steak: 180 portions
- Total all dishes: 2,400 portions
- Popularity steak: (180 / 2,400) × 100 = 7.5%
Step 4: Divide into four quadrants
Sort your dishes into four groups using averages as dividing lines:
- Average gross margin: sum all gross margins, divide by dish count
- Average popularity: 100% / total menu items
A pattern we see repeatedly in restaurant financials shows dishes above both averages become Stars
Above popularity, below gross margin = Plowhorses
Below popularity, above gross margin = Puzzles
Below both averages = Dogs
Step 5: Adjust your strategy
💡 Action plan per category:
- Stars: Feature prominently on menu, train staff to recommend
- Plowhorses: Increase price by €2-3 or reduce ingredient costs
- Puzzles: Relocate to prime menu real estate, create appealing descriptions
- Dogs: Remove or completely redesign
Tools that help
Manual menu engineering consumes significant time. Apps automatically calculate gross margins per dish and identify your most profitable options. You'll instantly spot which dishes deserve Star status.
How do you perform menu engineering? (step by step)
Gather sales data per dish
Note per dish: number of portions sold (3 months), selling price excl. VAT, and ingredient costs per portion. Pull these figures from your POS system or estimate based on experience.
Calculate gross margin and popularity
Gross margin = selling price excl. VAT minus ingredient costs. Popularity = number of portions sold divided by total portions sold × 100. Rank both lists from high to low.
Divide dishes into four quadrants
Use average gross margin and average popularity as the dividing line. Dishes above both = Stars, only popular = Plowhorses, only profitable = Puzzles, below both = Dogs.
Adjust your menu and strategy
Place Stars prominently, make Plowhorses more expensive, reposition Puzzles better, remove or adjust Dogs. Test the changes and measure again after 2 months.
✨ Pro tip
Analyze your 8 highest-volume dishes over the past 90 days first. If these generate strong margins, you've addressed 75% of your profitability challenges.
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 do menu engineering?
Every 6 months minimum, or after significant menu changes. Seasonal operations can analyze per season. This keeps you informed about dish performance trends.
What if I don't have a POS system for sales data?
Estimate based on your kitchen experience and customer observations. Track sales for 2 weeks manually, then extrapolate to 3 months. It's not perfect, but you'll get useful insights.
How do I increase the popularity of Puzzles?
Reposition them higher on your menu and create more appealing descriptions. Train staff to recommend these profitable dishes. Sometimes adjusting presentation or tweaking the recipe helps too.
📚 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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