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Menu pricing isnt just about covering costsits about finding that sweet spot where profitability, customer perception, and operational reality meet. Set prices too low, and youre leaving money on the table. Too high, and youll drive customers away.
Running a restaurant isn’t just about crafting the perfect plate or creating an unforgettable experience for your guests, it’s about making money. Sysco, US Foods, and similar distributors have multiple revenue streams, but in this article, we’ll focus on one of their biggest sources of income: margins.
Many restaurant operators have misconceptions about average order volume (AOV) and how it works, making statements like: I need more customers to make more money. In fact, boosting AOV is one of the easiest and most effective ways to increase revenue while improving the customerexperience for your guests.
Coffee roasters around the world are struggling to navigate the rising tide of costs without losing loyal customers. Prices for green coffee have surged, operational expenses continue to climb, and economic pressures show no sign of easing. At the same time, coffee consumers are growing more price-sensitive.
From my experience, it is difficult to experience a dinner for two in a moderate full-service, independent restaurant for less than $120 without gratuity. Look at the cost of raw materials required to produce those items and ask a simple question: “Can we afford to sell these items and will people pay the price we need to charge?”
While customers might initially be delighted by the array of choices they have, the prices will leave them shocked and disappointed. In fact, for nine out of every ten of these newly added restaurants, customers are paying higher prices and having lower quality experiences. The customer ends up paying $16 in fees.
Wine lists that resemble an encyclopedia of the wine making craft are just the price of admission. The price they pay is a lack of balance in their lives, relentless stress, and always concerns about when their star will lose its shine. Make the tomato an experience. Make the sandwich your lifes work. Choose your oven wisely.
We deal with highly perishable goods, unpredictable customer behavior, swinging door staffing, and constantly escalating cost of goods. Restaurants get hit from all angles so when there is a chance to push the envelope on pricing – many do. How do we continue to market wines at $20 a glass or cocktails in the same price category?
High coffee prices are becoming a lasting reality for the industry. While many assert that this signifies a long overdue change, as coffee has historically been an undervalued commodity, price volatility affects all levels of the supply chain in various ways. For coffee shops, in particular, margins are tighter than ever.
Photo: Shutterstock Delivery and a take-home meal deal drove a lot more customers to Olive Garden this spring. The offer allowed customers to buy an in-store meal starting at $14.99 It plans to keep prices down while also adding more lower-priced items to the menu. “If By Joe Guszkowski on Jun.
Around the world, headlines are warning consumers that a sharp increase in coffee shop prices is a real possibility. However, this narrative oversimplifies the complex web of operational costs that shape retail prices in the coffee sector. You may also like our article on how much coffee shops should raise their prices.
This leads to the intent of this article. Some may view dining out as a luxury that can easily be put aside, but time and experience has demonstrated otherwise. Whether for a price or as a gift from the heart like World Central Kitchen, cooking is essential and core to our existence as a society.
Understanding your target market is the foundation of making smart decisions for your menu, pricing, and overall guest experience. In this article, you will learn: How to define your restaurants target market to guide your business decisions. Key customer factors that influence dining preferences, from demographics to behavior.
These are candidates for portion adjustments or pricing tweaks. In some cases, a slight menu price adjustment or repositioning might help, but often, its better to retire them early before they cost you more money or swap them out for new dishes with better potential. Plowhorses: Low profitability, high popularity.
These metrics give you a clear picture of your delivery performancefrom order volume and customer retention to delivery speed and profitability. This might seem like a small detail, but it plays a big role in the overall delivery experience and significantly impacts customerexperience. What Impacts Order Volume?
Where our eyes land first, how we interpret prices, and what descriptions stick in our minds—all of it is shaped by subtle design choices and cues we may not even notice. It’s rooted in behavioral science and backed by decades of research into decision-making, pricing, and visual perception.
Knowing the true cost per serving means you’re not guessing where to set menu prices. When done correctly, dish costing helps you control food costs, reduce food waste, and price items in a way that supports your restaurant’s financial health without alienating guests. Every smart pricing move starts here.
This is not the normal amount of angst that has been present for decades fickle customer tastes, rising cost of goods, changing demographics, or escalating rents; there are far deeper concerns that make everyone scratch their heads in wonder. Is the experience in jeopardy? There are problems, right now, without answers.
The real wins come from small, smart shifts; things like improving your online ordering system, highlighting your most profitable dishes, and giving existing customers more reasons to come back. Create Limited-Time Offers That Drive Action Limited-time offers (LTOs) give potential customers a reason to order now, not later.
Customers expect to browse menus, place orders, and pay for their meals with just a few taps of their phones. For restaurant operators, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge: how to implement an online ordering system that maximizes revenue while maintaining control over their customer relationships. billion in revenue.
You can't scroll news sites without seeing more articles about inflation, but was does it mean for restaurants? Those who don’t are effectively lowering their prices. Understand if your prices are keeping pace with inflation and maintain a markup that matches the costs associated with paying suppliers and staff.
In this article, you will learn: How a centralized delivery system eliminates the chaos of managing multiple platforms. What should be a reassuring sightscreens full of customer ordersis actually a logistical nightmare. These small errors add up, leading to unhappy customers, negative reviews, and wasted food costs.
Restaurants collect a ton of customer data. Think about it: What if you could automatically send a special offer to a customer who hasnt ordered in a while? When used strategically, customer data can help you personalize marketing, streamline operations, and create a better dining experience for your guests.
Youre not just managing food and staff, youre battling slim profit margins, high operating expenses, and constantly changing customer preferences. And while the odds improve with experience, restaurant ownership is still tough. The Alternative: Validate your idea, clarify your customer base, and align pricing with your market.
For a long time, third-party delivery apps seemed like the easiest way to get your restaurant online and in front of new customers. This means customers place orders through your own website or appnot a third-party platform. This means customers place orders through your own website or appnot a third-party platform.
Restaurant KPIs are numbers that go beyond basic accounting to help you see how every part of your business is performingfrom your profit margins to your guest experience. Not all restaurant KPIs measure the same thingsome help you protect your bottom line, while others can improve your operations efficiency or improve guest experience.
This doesnt mean cutting corners and sacrificing the customerexperience; its about knowing where your money is going, spotting leaks early, and fine-tuning whats already working. Create specials that use the raw materials you already have in-house or seasonal ingredients you can buy at the best market price.
Youre delivering a great dining experience, yet foot traffic remains inconsistent, online engagement is low, and new customers arent coming in as often as youd like. The problem isnt your food or serviceits visibility and customer engagementand were going to help you fix that. Optimize your Google Business Profile.
At the same time, Kahn was working on revamping the simple syrups, developing them in house and creating flavors like habanero, ginger and lavender to add complexity and more customization to the margarita lineup. Condado Tacos also carries about 80 tequilas so customers can spike a drink with their favorite brand.
You may also like our article on whether Nepal will produce more specialty coffee in the future. Consumers are increasingly sophisticated, seeking unique flavour experiences and authentic stories behind their coffee purchases. We also host farm visits and tastings to help roasters experience the origin firsthand.”
It just goes to show how important drink pricing and cost management are to maximizing profits. In this article: How to calculate your profit margin for your bar What is the average profit margin for bars? Factors such as over-pouring, theft, or inaccurate pricing can increase your pour cost and hurt your profits.
What was once a gradual process turned into a rapid transformation, permanently reshaping how restaurants operate and interact with customers. Customers have now fully embraced the benefits of using restaurant technology, and to keep up with guests evolving expectations, the tech industry is growing at an incredible rate.
Understanding what customers order, when they order, and how often is an untapped goldmine of information for restaurant operators. Using that data can help you answer questions like: Are we pricing our bestsellers too low or overpricing items customers arent buying? What do repeat orders say about our customer preferences?
When you decided to open a restaurant, you probably didnt picture yourself glued to spreadsheets or tracking the price of eggs, but keeping an eye on the numbers is how you stay open year after year. This gives you a sense of how effective your menu pricing is.
AI is no longer just a buzzword, its a reality that is reshaping how restaurants operate, interact with customers, and make decisions. From automating routine tasks to enhancing customerexperiences, AI is revolutionizing the restaurant industry in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago.
Restaurant review sites aren’t just for diners—they’re also savvy tools for restaurant operators to gather customer feedback and help control the narrative around their dining experience. Google also pulls in data like price range, categories ( like “brunch” or “outdoor patio”), your star rating, busy times, and snippets from reviews.
In this article, well explain how both types of integration work, weigh the pros and cons, and help you decide which approach makes the most sense for your restaurant. Both options help eliminate manual entry and streamline how delivery orders are processed, but the experience and the flexibility can be very different.
And fast-food customers Convenience-store foodservice grew 5% last year and is expected to jump another 5.7% And the tactics are quickly stealing customers from restaurants. this year, according to the 2025 Convenience Store Trends Report released Tuesday by customerexperience solutions and mystery shopping firm Intouch Insight.
They play a big role in overseeing your inventory and attending to customer complaints. In this article: How do you handle inventory management to keep the bar always adequately stocked? What would you do if a customer claims they were overcharged? How would you handle a conflict between a bar staff and a customer?
Coffee prices have soared over the past few years, pushing roasters, independent cafés, and specialty coffee retailers into challenging territory. For roasters and coffee shop owners alike, raising prices is no longer a choice but a necessity. Why are coffee prices staying so high?
Dining habits change, food costs fluctuate, and customer preferences can shift depending on what’s trending. The reason why this happens can vary, but it’s usually one of these three scenarios: Regular customers are tired of ordering the same menu items and want to try something new. But together they add up. A shift in dining trends.
Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, make it easy to connect with potential customers. The article below covers some of the factors you should consider in your social media strategy – including what to look for when choosing the right social media platform for your restaurant’s marketing strategy.
By the time you finish this article, youll know how to approach restaurant marketing the right way and not waste time doing guesswork, crossing your fingers, and then hoping you see new customers walking through the door. Customers have more choices, higher expectations, and countless ways to discover (or overlook) your restaurant.
One of operators most difficult challenges is balancing restaurant operating costs without compromising the food, service, and customerexperience that makes your restaurant unique. Most restaurants food cost percentage should fall somewhere between 28%-35% , depending on your concept and pricing strategy.
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