Menu engineering with photos can significantly impact your margin. Photos of popular and profitable dishes (Stars) boost sales, but they also cost money. Here you'll learn exactly how to calculate whether that investment pays for itself.
What are Stars in menu engineering?
Stars are your golden combination: popular dishes that are also profitable. You sell a lot of these dishes and they deliver good returns. Photos of Stars can boost sales even further.
💡 Example Stars:
Restaurant with 100 covers per day:
- Steak: 25% of guests order this, food cost 28%
- Salmon fillet: 20% of guests order this, food cost 30%
- Risotto: 15% of guests order this, food cost 25%
These 3 dishes are your Stars - popular and profitable
Calculate photo costs
Professional menu photos cost between €75-200 per dish. Also factor in new menus or displays.
💡 Example costs:
- Photo shoot 3 Stars: €450 (€150 per dish)
- New menus printed: €200
- Digital displays update: €100
Total investment: €750
Measure expected sales boost
Photos can increase a dish's sales by 15-35%. First measure your current sales per Star, then you can calculate the impact.
⚠️ Note:
Photos work especially well for dishes guests don't yet know. For a classic steak, the effect is smaller than for a special risotto.
Calculate margin impact
The formula: (Extra sales × Margin per dish) - Photo costs = Net margin impact
💡 Example calculation:
Risotto (€24 incl. VAT = €22.02 excl. VAT):
- Current sales: 15 per day × 25 days = 375/month
- Food cost: 25% = €5.51 per portion
- Margin per portion: €22.02 - €5.51 = €16.51
- Expected boost: +25% = 94 extra portions/month
Extra margin per month: 94 × €16.51 = €1,552
Payback period for photos: €750 / €1,552 = 0.5 months
ROI over longer term
Good menu photos last 1-2 years. Calculate total revenue over that period.
- First year: €1,552 × 12 = €18,624 extra margin
- Minus investment: €750
- Net profit year 1: €17,874
- ROI: 2,383% on annual basis
Which Stars get priority?
Not all Stars deserve a photo. Focus on dishes with the highest absolute margin and room for growth.
💡 Priority ranking:
- High margin + unique dish = first priority
- High margin + familiar dish = second priority
- Lower margin + very popular = third priority
How do you calculate the margin impact of photos on Stars?
Identify your Stars
Make a list of dishes that are both popular and profitable. Measure how many you sell per day and what the margin per portion is (selling price excl. VAT minus ingredient costs).
Calculate photo costs
Add up what you spend on photography, menu reprint and any display updates. Budget €75-200 per professional photo plus additional costs.
Estimate sales boost
Expect 15-35% more sales for photographed Stars. Multiply your current sales by this percentage to calculate extra portions per month.
Calculate payback period
Multiply extra portions by margin per portion for your monthly extra profit. Divide your total investment by this monthly profit to see how many months until you break even.
✨ Pro tip
First measure your current sales per Star for 2 weeks before you have photos taken. That way you can later calculate exactly what the photos delivered and which dishes respond best to visual presentation.
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
Do I need to take photos of all my popular dishes?
No, focus first on your Stars with the highest absolute margin. A dish that delivers €15 margin per portion deserves a photo sooner than a dish with €8 margin, even if both are popular.
How long does it take for photos to pay for themselves?
For a good Star, usually 1-3 months. Dishes with high margin and room for growth pay back the investment faster than dishes already at their maximum.
What if the sales boost falls short?
Calculate conservatively with 15-20% boost instead of 35%. Even with a smaller increase, photos of profitable Stars usually pay for themselves within half a year.
Can I measure the impact of photos?
Yes, compare your sales figures 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after adding photos. Watch out for seasonal influences and other changes that could affect sales.
Are smartphone photos good enough?
For social media yes, for menus often not. Professional photos cost more but usually generate more sales through better presentation and quality.
📚 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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