Menu analysis
Menu Engineering
How the menu engineering calculator works
Good to know
The four groups
- Stars: popular and profitable — keep them exactly as they are and feature them.
- Plowhorses: popular, low margin — small price rise or cheaper portion.
- Puzzles: profitable, rarely ordered — better name, menu spot, photo, staff push.
- Dogs: low on both — remove or rework.
How dishes are classified
- Popular: its share of items sold is at least 70% of an equal share (with 20 dishes: 0.7 × 5% = 3.5%).
- Profitable: its contribution margin (price − food cost) is at least the menu's weighted average.
- This is the Kasavana & Smith method used by restaurant consultants worldwide.
Importing POS sales
Export an item-wise sales report as CSV from Petpooja, Posist or any POS. The file needs an item name column and a quantity column; names are matched to your dishes automatically.
Menu Engineering Calculator — FAQs
What is menu engineering?
Menu engineering sorts every dish by popularity (how many you sell) and profitability (how much each plate earns after food cost) into four groups — Stars, Plowhorses, Puzzles and Dogs — so you know which dishes to promote, reprice, reposition or remove.
How often should I do menu engineering?
Once a month is ideal. Save each month to see dishes move between groups after price or menu changes.
Which sales period should I use?
A full month of sales gives stable results. Avoid festival weeks or one-off catering orders that distort popularity.
Is contribution margin the same as profit?
Contribution margin is selling price minus food cost per plate. It is what each dish contributes towards rent, salaries and profit.
Still have a question?
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