{"id":4408,"date":"2016-09-23T18:25:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-23T23:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-gordon-food-service.pantheonsite.io\/using-your-data-drive-menu-changes\/"},"modified":"2023-02-01T14:17:59","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T20:17:59","slug":"using-your-data-drive-menu-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfs.com\/en-us\/ideas\/using-your-data-drive-menu-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Your Data to Drive Menu Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Making menu changes can seem like a gargantuan undertaking. Rest assured, it doesn\u2019t have to be. The key to shrinking this sizeable task down is ensuring the right plate costing solution is in place. Pair that data with what you can get from your point-of-sale (POS) system and you\u2019ll have everything you need to optimize your menu.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s crucial to make menu decisions based on the data,\u201d emphasizes Matt Dyksterhouse, Gordon Food Service Customer Technology Supervisor. \u201cIt takes the subjectivity out of the equation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Step 1: Plate costing solution\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"76292a30-3b1d-4df0-bfaa-6df585552d7c\" height=\"152\" src=\"https:\/\/gfs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/MenuStrat_Banner_Step1_0.jpg\" width=\"907\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Start with your plate costing solution<\/h3>\n<p>But what should you look for in a plate costing solution? Dyksterhouse outlines these five key components and why they\u2019re important:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Accounts for real-time pricing so you can more accurately assess profit margin.<\/li>\n<li>Executes batch recipes first and plated recipes second. \u201cWhat good is the price of a pasta dish if it doesn\u2019t include the marinara sauce?\u201d he offers by way of explanation.<\/li>\n<li>Segments your menu by daypart and\/or season so you can get plate costs for the full menu, cost out multiple menus at once, look at what\u2019s most profitable and uncover additional opportunities to drive sales.<\/li>\n<li>Includes bulk recipes for catering menus and events, offering you scalability to manage your inventory and price according to size.<\/li>\n<li>Adjusts for seasonality to guide price changes in line with relevant events, customs and holidays.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cHaving all of these features will make your life, and your decisions, much easier,\u201d Dyksterhouse surmises. \u201cThey\u2019re included in <a href=\"\/en-us\/solutions\/online-tools\/recipe-manager\" title=\"Recipe Manager | Gordon Food Service\">Recipe Manager<\/a>, a tool available to Gordon Food Service customers, so they can generate their plate costs down to the penny and identify opportunities to streamline.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Having the solution isn\u2019t enough, though. Take it one step further and make sure everything added to it is accurate. \u201cThe most common mistakes I see are duplicate items and miscategorization,\u201d adds Scott Thompson, Gordon Food Service Business Solutions Specialist. \u201cYou can\u2019t get reliable data if the data isn\u2019t right to begin with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Step 2: POS data review\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"4ad4093f-a535-4b8a-84fa-e4ba0ab4a4ff\" height=\"153\" src=\"https:\/\/gfs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/MenuStrat_Banner_Step2_0.jpg\" width=\"913\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Dive into your POS data<\/h3>\n<p>Once you have accurate plate costs, you can review your POS data. Very basically, POS data will tell you what\u2019s selling, what isn\u2019t selling and report on other various aspects of sales like check averages per server and per guest. Your job, as an operator or manager, is to peel the curtain back and look past what\u2019s in front of you to determine if you\u2019re making money.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally all a POS system is doing is collecting activity information. From there, you need to put your thinking cap on and sift through it,\u201d says Jim Milliman, Gordon Food Service Business Solutions Specialist. \u201cThat means looking at dayparts, menu parts, modifiers and sides.\u201d Doing this type of cross-examination with your plate costs allow you to pick apart your menu to reveal what\u2019s profitable and where you may just be trading dollars.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Step 3: Full menu analysis\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"d4635f3f-a010-46ca-8715-29d2777ffbd4\" height=\"153\" src=\"https:\/\/gfs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/MenuStrat_Banner_Step3_1.jpg\" width=\"913\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Analyze your full menu<\/h3>\n<p>A full-blown roll your sleeves up, lock yourself in your office assessment of your menu should be conducted at least once a year, ideally twice a year. But, there are three exceptions to this recommendation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Major economic shifts.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Significant competition moving into the area. \u201cIf you know three restaurants are going to open around you, you\u2019d want to analyze your menu to make sure that it\u2019s positioned strongly,\u201d suggests Milliman.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Volatile labor market. If you have to bid up wages to retain or hire staff, you need to look at the other half of the equation to figure if and how these changes will impact your plate costs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Step 4: Individual item analysis\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"6c0ed640-2602-4de8-adfa-a77dd10466bd\" height=\"153\" src=\"https:\/\/gfs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/MenuStrat_Banner_Step4_1.jpg\" width=\"913\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3>Scrutinize the two Ps of each menu item: performance and profitability<\/h3>\n<p>Everything on your menu should be categorized one of four ways. Take action based on where each item falls.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Menu item categorization: plow horses, dogs, stars and puzzles\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"cdc9fc16-c6a7-475a-9b15-6777063c68a1\" height=\"455\" src=\"https:\/\/gfs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/MenuStrat_SuccessChart_1.jpg\" width=\"455\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Time consuming? Yes. Complicated? No. Milliman explains, \u201cIf an operator looks at their data and determines that they can get an extra $1.89 out of their menu 125 times a day, 365 days a year, that adds up to over $85,000. The power of this analysis lies in simple math like that. If they have the data and take the time to analyze it, they can uncover those types of opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pair your plate costs and POS data with a full menu analysis and you\u2019ll uncover opportunities to make your menu more profitable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":14764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Using Your Data to Drive Menu Changes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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