Using this simple mix, menu items can be grouped depending upon the popularity among guests, gross profit contribution etc. The four squares of the matrix commonly plotted depending upon the performance of items in a particular square.
On a graph comparing popularity to profit, using data from a recent time period such as the previous 30 days, plot menu items. It should look something like this:
You can then draw a trending line through these items to see whether you’re trending towards stars, dogs, plowhorses, or puzzles. But what does all this even mean? Let’s take a look at these four categories and how they can impact your next menu design.
Stars: High Profitability and High Popularity
Your stars are… well, the stars on your menu! As such, your menu design should highlight them. Rather than experiment with these menu items, keep them consistent, and promote them in any way you can.
Plowhorses: Low Profitability and High Popularity
Plowhorses are popular staples that you’re actually losing money on. The goal is to create more profitable versions of these items without decreasing volume. For example, you may have a signature sandwich special in this category. You might try experimenting with less expensive meats in the sandwich to create a more profitable version. If there’s a larger menu item in this category, see if portion size is killing profit; are customers leaving these menu items on their plates? You may want to decrease the portion size slightly while improving the appearance of the product. Here are some more ideas to combat rising food costs without raising menu prices.
Puzzles: High Profitability and Low Popularity
Puzzles are the items on your menu that are highly profitable, but difficult to sell. Investigate whether customers like the taste of these items. You may need to reinvent these items, but sometimes simply lowering prices will increase popularity enough to produce higher overall profits. You may also want to feature these items on your menu, make them specials, or position them in a different way.
Dogs: Low profitability and low popularity
Dogs are your menu items that just aren’t contributing to profit enough. Consider omitting your dogs. However, be careful. You may have a menu item that is a staple among some customers but not others (your kid’s mac and cheese, for instance). Instead of deleting these dogs, you can de-emphasize them by hiding them on your menu.