Stars in the Kasavana-Smith matrix represent your most profitable opportunities - dishes that customers love and deliver solid margins. Calculating price room reveals exactly how much you can raise prices before these winners lose their balance.
What is price room for Stars?
Price room represents the gap between what you're charging now and the maximum your customers will pay before they start looking elsewhere. You're working within two boundaries:
- Lower limit: Minimum price for desired margin
- Upper limit: Maximum price the market accepts
- Price room: The difference between these two
💡 Example:
Your popular ribeye steak:
- Current price: €28.00 incl. VAT
- Ingredient costs: €8.50
- Market accepts up to: €32.00
Price room: €4.00 (from €28 to €32)
The Kasavana-Smith matrix explained
This framework sorts your menu into 4 categories based on how popular and profitable each dish performs:
- Stars: Popular + profitable (retain and promote)
- Plowhorses: Popular + not profitable (raise price)
- Puzzles: Not popular + profitable (promote more)
- Dogs: Not popular + not profitable (remove)
Stars earn the most price flexibility because customers actively seek them out.
Calculate your current margin per Star
Start by analyzing where each Star dish stands right now:
💡 Example calculation:
Popular pasta carbonara:
- Selling price: €18.50 incl. 9% VAT = €16.97 excl. VAT
- Ingredient costs: €4.80
- Food cost: (€4.80 / €16.97) × 100 = 28.3%
- Margin per portion: €16.97 - €4.80 = €12.17
Strong Star: under 30% food cost, healthy margin
Determine the market limit
Finding your upper price boundary requires checking what your market actually tolerates. Research this through:
- Competition: What do similar establishments charge for comparable dishes?
- Customer feedback: Comments about prices in reviews
- Elasticity: How did sales react to previous price increases?
⚠️ Note:
Stars can handle steeper price increases than other dishes because guests order them intentionally. But push too hard and a Star becomes a Puzzle.
Calculate the maximum price room
From analyzing actual purchasing data across different restaurant types, the formula stays straightforward:
Price room = Market price - Current price
💡 Example calculation:
Your ribeye analysis:
- Current price: €28.00 incl. VAT
- Competition charges: €30-34 for comparable
- Market limit estimate: €32.00
- Price room: €32.00 - €28.00 = €4.00
At 50 portions/week = €200 extra revenue per week
Calculate impact on annual basis
The real value of price room becomes clear when you project it annually:
Extra annual revenue = Price increase × Portions per week × 52 weeks
💡 Impact example:
3 Stars with price room:
- Ribeye: €2 × 50 portions × 52 = €5,200
- Pasta: €1.50 × 80 portions × 52 = €6,240
- Salmon: €3 × 30 portions × 52 = €4,680
Total extra per year: €16,120
Increase carefully in steps
Don't leap straight to maximum price room. Work gradually:
- Step 1: Increase by 50% of the price room
- Monitor: Does sales stay stable after 4-6 weeks?
- Step 2: Increase to 80% of maximum price room
- Evaluate: Check if it's still a Star
⚠️ Note:
Watch your sales figures closely. If a Star loses popularity due to price increases, it shifts into Puzzle territory and you lose volume.
How do you calculate price room on Stars? (step by step)
Identify your Stars in the matrix
Make a list of your popular dishes with food cost under 32%. These are your Stars. Check sales numbers per week and current margin per portion.
Research the market price
Check what 3-5 similar restaurants charge for comparable dishes. Determine the upper limit your market accepts for each Star dish.
Calculate the price room
Subtract your current price from the market limit. This is your maximum price room. Calculate the annual impact: price room × portions per week × 52.
✨ Pro tip
Track Stars generating over 12% of total weekly sales - they typically carry €2-4 price room that compounds to €8,000-15,000 annually per dish.
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 price room do Stars usually have?
Stars typically have €1-4 price room, depending on your market positioning. Popular dishes can handle more aggressive price increases because guests order them specifically.
How often should I recalculate price room?
Review price room every quarter since ingredient costs and competition shift constantly. Your market limit changes with seasons, inflation, and new competitors entering your area.
What if my Star has no price room?
You're already at market ceiling, so focus on cost reduction instead. Better purchasing agreements, waste reduction, or more efficient prep methods can improve margins without touching prices.
Should I increase all Stars at once?
Never increase simultaneously - start with your most popular Star and monitor for 4-6 weeks. If sales remain stable, move to the next one while tracking overall customer reaction.
📚 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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