Monthly Tip to Maximise Your Profit

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April 8th, 2004

Menu design designed to maximise your profit!

Do you design your menus with profit in mind? Our research shows
that you could be leaving as much as 15% gross profit on the
table if you are not!

The menu design principles of size, alignment, contrast and
proximity play a major role in influencing customer decisions.
By using these to your advantage and understanding the way they
work, you should be able to realise an increase of 15% gross
profit in your menu.

When designing a menu the first thing we work out is your highest
profit items in each category. This process is called menu engineering
and requires precise costs of each recipe detailing gross profit
contribution. We put this together with your point of sale information
to find how popular each item is. Only once this information
is known can you decide how each item should be promoted or
demoted through the design.

Item placement depends greatly on a menus physical size and
layout. Certain spots on a menu should be used for items you
are trying to promote and at the same time, certain spots can
be used for items you don’t want to sell too often (for instance
an unprofitable item which needs to be on the menu).

Menu Du Jour are currently offering a free menu design appraisal.
To learn where your profitable and unprofitable items should
be displayed send a copy of your current menu to us and we’ll
send them back with a detailed report, free of charge!

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