{"id":25428,"date":"2022-08-25T10:08:03","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T14:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-gordon-food-service-canada.pantheonsite.io\/ideas\/think-shrink-for-menu-flexibility\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T10:04:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T14:04:59","slug":"think-shrink-for-menu-flexibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/think-shrink-for-menu-flexibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Think Shrink for Menu Flexibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Find your balance to build sales and maximize cost control.<\/h2>\n<p>In a business fixated on growth, \u201cshrink\u201d can\u2019t be good. Think again. A smaller menu can provide more flexibility and protect profits during times of rising or unstable pricing.<\/p>\n<p>The summer season is a great time for menu management. People are busy, and a menu with fewer, simpler options allows them to choose quickly. It also eases the load on your kitchen, which may be affected by labour shortages.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s time to think like a food truck\u2014present a craveable menu built around fewer items that can be cross-utilized on the menu. The longer the menu, the more costly it is to maintain. More dishes mean more products, larger storage capacity, extra kitchen skills and a bigger staff. Reducing any of those can offset food costs.<\/p>\n<h3>Don\u2019t forget about your brand<\/h3>\n<p>Menu changes shouldn\u2019t come at the expense of <a href=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/idea-centre\/culinary-ideas\/understand-the-power-of-your-brand\">your brand<\/a>. It requires an understanding of your customers. Do guests want more fresh choices, local flavours, global options? Define your menu based on expectations of your position in the marketplace.<\/p>\n<p>The pandemic had a huge impact on the availability and price of certain products. Seasonality also affects pricing and your profitability on menu items. So act deliberately. What looks like a bargain during the middle of the July growing season may be a burden in winter. Here are some decision-making tips:&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Create dishes with flexibility in mind\u2014sides of fresh greens in summer, root vegetables in winter.<\/li>\n<li>Use limited-time offers to promote items when they are available and profitable.<\/li>\n<li>Consider frozen products for price-sensitive items to stabilize costs.<\/li>\n<li>Incorporate pre-cooked, pre-sliced or other value-added products to save time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Build menu flexibility smartly<\/h3>\n<p>Everything starts with your <a href=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/labour-pains-right-size-your-menu\">core menu<\/a>\u2014the basic items that determine your brand. Your menu can always change, but every change requires serious consideration. Simply reacting to hot trends may feel like a flexible menu, but it only works if the changes enhance your brand.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you menu a regular chicken sandwich and want to add a Nashville hot chicken sandwich option, there\u2019s a lot to consider. Ask yourself:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Does it fit my brand?<\/li>\n<li>Will it satisfy customer demand?<\/li>\n<li>Will it take more labour?<\/li>\n<li>Can I also use the hot chicken in a salad or other entr\u00e9e?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By making the right choice of products it\u2019s possible to find menu solutions that fit your needs without hurting your bottom line.<\/p>\n<h3>Re-evaluate your recipes<\/h3>\n<p>A smaller, flexible menu works best when recipes are carefully managed. Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Houde, Executive Chef of Restos Plaisirs in Quebec, says menu optimization starts with the recipe book.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStandardization of each plate is the key to maximize consistency and quickness,\u201d he notes. \u201cVendors are a great solution when it comes to efficiency. While they are already equipped to produce large quantities of a specific item, they also keep high quality standards as well as our signature flavours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also favours economizing with cross-utilization. \u201cLimiting the number of items you use in your kitchen is definitely the first strategy to optimize your components because It helps manage freshness. Each product should be used in a couple of dishes, having single-use items can be risky.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Menu agility is easier than ever today. Online menus allow real-time changes to manage pricing, product availability or production challenges. Ask your Gordon Food Service Sales Representative for ideas to right-size your menu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find your balance to build sales and maximize cost control. In a business fixated on growth, \u201cshrink\u201d can\u2019t be good. Think again. A smaller menu can provide more flexibility and protect profits during times of rising or unstable pricing. The summer season is a great time for menu management. People are busy, and a menu [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":26712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,68,123,112,69,111,113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catering-small-business","category-culinary-ideas","category-hotels-hospitality","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business","category-healthcare","category-university"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Think Shrink for Menu Flexibility | Gordon Food Service<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/think-shrink-for-menu-flexibility\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Think Shrink for Menu Flexibility\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Find your balance to build sales and maximize cost control. In a business fixated on growth, \u201cshrink\u201d can\u2019t be good. Think again. A smaller menu can provide more flexibility and protect profits during times of rising or unstable pricing. The summer season is a great time for menu management. People are busy, and a menu [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/think-shrink-for-menu-flexibility\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gordon Food Service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-25T14:08:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T14:04:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Menu-Flexibility-Idea-Center_0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cody.rivers@gfs.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GFSDelivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Think Shrink for Menu Flexibility | Gordon Food Service","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/think-shrink-for-menu-flexibility\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Think Shrink for Menu Flexibility","og_description":"Find your balance to build sales and maximize cost control. In a business fixated on growth, \u201cshrink\u201d can\u2019t be good. Think again. A smaller menu can provide more flexibility and protect profits during times of rising or unstable pricing. The summer season is a great time for menu management. 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