Maximising Returns From Your Menu

Charles Manners

Turpin Smale Catering Consultancy

What are the Key Ingredients

• Positioning / Design – target market (s)

• Marketplace knowledge

• Developing the menu

• Systems - managing margins and sales

Customer

needs

I N N O V A T I O N

Positioning

Look and Feel / Design

Story • Storyboard at or near café entrance

• Supported by marketing / POS and social media/web

• Key elements to stress

– Local sourcing with specific details of ingredients

– Personality, emotion and distinctiveness

Signage • Use of symbol similar to

• Signage to be welcoming

• Unusual signage to be considered

• Best signage is external tables and chairs

• Menu board signage not required for food items out on

display

Entrance

• Customers to be quickly aware of the flow and system

• Storyboard and awards at entrance

• Cakes and member of staff to be highly visible

• Menus clear and visible – well written

Equipment

• Spend good money on the workhorses – coffee machine,

dish washer and combi oven

• For servery as much tabling as possible in natural materials

• Multideck chiller

• Automatic bean to cup coffee machine

• Water boiler for tea

• Soup kettle

• Turbochef Soto or Electrolux high speed panini grill

Display

• We buy with our eyes

• Good lighting is needed

• Use different levels, colour and items relevant to the food

Marketplace Knowledge

Product / Design / Service / Price

Developing the menu

Servery Layout

Trays Cake Cold Drinks

Childrens Meals Sandwiches

Crisps Fruit Ice Cream

Hot Food Hot Drinks Impulse

Items Till Condiments &

Cutlery

Or Waitress Service

Cakes

• Great display (and taste) is what it is all about

Traybakes • Homemade Flapjacks / Rocky road / Shortbread /

Millionaires Shortbread

• Easy to make, cost 30p to 45p each – excellent margin!

Cold Drinks

• In multi-deck chiller with no tray slide (ensuring maximum

capacity) with most profitable drinks at eye level

Childrens Meals

• Choice of items in lowest level of multi-deck chiller

Sandwiches & Salads

• Pre-prepared according to anticipated volumes and weather

• Always freshly made and given/discounted to staff if not

sold on the day

• No date on packaging required

• Sandwiches can be displayed at ambient under 4 hour rule

Crisps & Popcorn

• Display max 3 flavours as close to sandwiches as possible

for linked sale

Fruit

• You won’t sell much but healthy agenda is important

Ice Cream

• Small selection of local ice cream tubs and hand-held ices

or display the product really well

Hot Food

• Items must be ready-to-serve at peak times to minimise

queues

• Roast meat in roll at peak times

• Soup can be self-serve

• Pies

• Sausage Rolls

• Panini could be done off season or all the time if

using Electrolux High Speed Grill

Hot Drinks

• Coffees to include Flat White

• Teas in china/infuser pots and with mugs available to

include specialty teas on front counter

• Hot chocolate machine sells the product

Impulse Items by Till

• Small number of high price point (£1 plus) chocolate items

by till for those who have been able to resist the cake table

Special Interest Groups

• Cater for every known group

– WiFi

– Babies

– Gluten-free

– Lactose intolerant

– Dogs

– Cyclists

Condiments & Cutlery

• Premium brands to reflect overall image of café and site;

63% of consumers are willing to pay extra for a meal when

branded condiments are used – and taste better!

• Reasonable quality cutlery but cheap tea spoons

Managing Margins and Sales

Inflation facts Jan 2012

CPI 3.6%

RPI excl. mortgages 4.0%

Food inflation 4.0%

UK Inflation Update

Food inflation has continued to fall over the past few

periods as CPI and RPI are both showing signs of sustained

reduction. Confidence in the UK economy continues to be

weak with debate around the future outlook. Bank lending

and consumer spend continue to be areas of concern for the

economies recovery

UK Inflation & Food Inflation Trends % Change vs Year Ago: Source ONS

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CPI RPI excl mortgage Food inflation

Contribution Margin

Men

u M

ix %

Low High

Low

High

WORKHORSE – Popular but

less profitable

DOGS – Not profitable, not

popular

STARS – Profitable and

popular

PUZZLES - Potentially profitable,

if only the customer would buy it!

Menu Engineering

Menu Product Development Not Easily

Prepared at Home

Low Staff Input

Secure Supply Chain

High Margin

Excellent Presentation

and Taste

Great Cafes

at www.turpinsmale.co.uk