McDonald\u2019s made headlines recently by simplifying its 100-plus-item menu to reduce consumer confusion and boost order speed. The news sharpened the industry\u2019s focus on smaller menus.<\/p>\n
Datassential, which tracks menu trends, reports that average menu size has declined each year since 2009. Technomic Inc. reported that the total number of menu items at the nation\u2019s top 500 restaurant chains declined by 7.1 percent from 2013 to 2014, led by a 9 percent decline in entr\u00e9es.<\/p>\n
We asked several Gordon Food Service experts to share ideas about optimal-sized menus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe longer the menu, the more costly it is to maintain,\u201d says Gordon Food Service Corporate Consulting Chef Gerry Ludwig, CEC. \u201cA smaller menu allows you to streamline your inventory. Fewer dishes are less complicated for the kitchen to execute,\u201d Ludwig says. \u201cConsistency is easier to maintain. Faster inventory turnover means fresher ingredients.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA smaller, more manageable menu allows your creativity to come through,\u201d notes Gordon Food Service Consulting Chef Robert Granberg, CEC. \u201cWhen you\u2019re not responsible for prepping, forecasting, and executing 100 items on a menu, you have more time to create layers of flavor and texture in each dish. That differentiates your restaurant from the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is there an ideal number of menu items? \u201cI\u2019m seeing lots of new menus with just 18 to 24 items,\u201d Granberg says. <\/p>\n
\u201cYour menu is your brand statement,\u201d says Gordon Food Service Commercial Segment Marketing Leader Bob Koch. \u201cIt should be clear, bold, and uniquely identifiable\u2014it should tell your customers who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Menu simplification also requires an understanding of your customers. \u201cDo you have a higher baby-boomer clientele looking for a more personal connection? Or millennials who favor customized menus offering fresh ingredients?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever we do a menu analysis for a customer, we invariably find that 20 percent of the menu drives 80% of the profit,\u201d says Gordon Food Service Commercial Segment Leader Todd Gross, CEC. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat provides a great basis for paring down the menu. You need a strategy to guide you through the process.\u201d <\/p>\n
There are always items that sell really well but don\u2019t add much profit. Can you reinvent them? Can you cross-utilize ingredients more effectively? How many items should you have in each menu category? Should you even have menu categories? <\/p>\n
Bill Barker, Gordon Food Service Product Specialist for Grocery\/Bakery, suggests that categories can be useful. \u201cIf you list an item under \u2018Entr\u00e9es,\u2019 snackers may think it\u2019s too much to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of work to do this,\u201d Gross says. \u201cBut it inevitably pays off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simpler menus require simpler language, Barker says. \u201cMost of today\u2019s hot-concept establishments have adopted a one-page menu. Think about making your menu descriptions less wordy and spend more time educating your staff to provide details.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly denote menu parts and make it easy for customers to navigate through and make decisions,\u201d Barker says.<\/p>\n
Brenda Adler, Gordon Food Service Product Specialist for Grocery\/Bakery, concurs that operators should choose their menu descriptors carefully. <\/p>\n
\u201cBuzzwords are a great way to get attention,\u201d says Gordon Food Service Product Specialist for Grocery\/Bakery Brenda Adler. List natural, gluten-free, GMO-free, healthy, sustainable, local, housemade, fresh, and unique as some of the terms that are important to today\u2019s consumers. \u201cThese can help attract new customers to your door and keep them coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daily specials and limited-time offers are critical when implementing a smaller menu.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey keep things exciting for the customers and give operators an opportunity to highlight even more profitable items,\u201d Gross says. <\/p>\n
\u201cStand firm against that handful of customers who will complain when a dish goes missing from the menu,\u201d Ludwig advises. \u201cExplain that you\u2019re going through a process that involves some hard decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jim Hodiluk co-owns Stella\u2019s, a charcuterie restaurant, and Swig, a gastropub, both in Perrysburg, Ohio. He and his partner morphed the menus of both operations a few years ago. \u201cWe cut the number of items and simplified the language\u2014no more flowery adjectives, just matter-of-fact descriptions,\u201d he says. \u201cWe actually cut some items that had been in the top five, sales-wise, because they didn\u2019t fit the story we wanted to tell. And we put more emphasis on specials, doing three to four a day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The result? \u201cEasier-to-manage inventory, a more efficient kitchen and terrific customer response.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A smaller, more manageable number of items actually increases kitchen creativity. McDonald\u2019s made headlines recently by simplifying its 100-plus-item menu to reduce consumer confusion and boost order speed. The news sharpened the industry\u2019s focus on smaller menus. Datassential, which tracks menu trends, reports that average menu size has declined each year since 2009. Technomic Inc. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":26974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[112,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n