Which menu items are the biggest profit makers? If the answer doesn’t come immediately to mind, restaurant operators may be missing an opportunity to maximize margins in these cost-conscious times. 

Of course, most operators can readily name their best sellers. But surprisingly few go beyond that topline examination and look at the selections’ contribution to profits. How much do each item’s ingredients cost? And how about the time and skill required to prepare each? In an environment of relatively stable food costs, labor could be the bigger expense. Yet to manage that soaring cost, it has to be measured first. A breakdown of how much money goes into a dish can help an astute manager decide when the higher cost of a value-added product might still make it more of a profit contributor because of the labor that’s saved. 

Consider how much labor goes into making soups from scratch, for instance. Every component has to be sourced, prepped, and cooked, meaning labor, labor, and more labor. Yet today’s frozen soups can often match the quality of something made from scratch while offering huge savings in kitchen time and manpower.

Conducting a thorough menu analysis can yield potential sales gains of 27%, according to research from Toast. Determining which items generate the most profit yields insights that can help you tweak recipes, pricing, and overall menu composition.

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Content courtesy of Campbell’s Foodservice