Menu engineering explained

Menu engineering or Menu psychology, is the design of a menu to maximize restaurant profits.^{[1] [2] [3]} This also applies to cafes, bars, hotels, food trucks, event catering and online food delivery platforms.

History

The concept of menu engineering was first introduced in 1982 by Michael L. Kasavana and Donald I. Smith.^[4]

Visual perception

Visual perception and attention are linked to how customers read a menu.^{[5] [6]} Most menus are presented visually (though many restaurants verbally list daily specials). The majority of menu engineering recommendations focus on how to increase attention by strategically arranging menu categories within the pages of the menu, and item placement within a menu category. This strategic placement of categories and items is referred to as the theory of sweet spots.^[7]

The reasoning being sweet spots stem from the classical effect in psychology known as the serial position effect (also known as the rules of recency and primacy). The thought is, customers are most likely to remember the first and last things they see on a menu—hence, sweet spots on a menu should be where the customers look first and last. To date, there is no empirical evidence on the efficacy of the sweet spots on menus.^[8]

Customer perception of items offered on a menu can also be affected by subtle textual manipulations. For example, descriptive labeling of menu items may produce positive effects, leading to higher customer satisfaction, and higher perceived product value.^[9] Similarly, the presence of dollar signs or other potential monetary cues may cause guests to spend less.^{[10] [11]}

Managerial accounting

Low food cost and high gross profit are not mutually exclusive attributes of a menu item. A second approach called cost-margin analysis identifies items that are both low in food cost and return a higher than average gross profit. These items referred to as primes.^[12]

Further reading

• Book: Ariely . Dan . Predictably irrational : the hidden forces that shape our decisions . 2009 . Harper . New York, NY . 9780061854545 . Rev. and expanded.
• News: Gray . Richard . The secret tricks hidden inside restaurant menus . . en.
• LeBruto . Stephen M. . Ashley . Robert A. . Quain . William . Using the contribution margin aspect of menu engineering to enhance financial results . International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management . 1 July 1997 . 9 . 4 . 161–167 . 10.1108/09596119710185846.
• News: Kershaw . Sarah . 23 December 2009 . . . D1 . 2010-08-21 --> .
• Book: Poundstone . William . William Poundstone . Priceless : the myth of fair value (and how to take advantage of it) . 2010 . . New York . 9780809094691 . First.
• News: Author William Poundstone Dissects the Marketing Tricks Built Into Balthazar's Menu . December 3, 2009 . New York Magazine . en-us.
  • Balthazar menu^[13]
• News: Decoding Fast-Food Menus . . en.
• Book: Wansink . Brian . Brian Wansink . Mindless eating : why we eat more than we think . 2006 . Bantam Books . New York . 9780553904031.
• Book: Wansink . Brian . Brian Wansink . Slim by Design . 2014 . HarperCollins . 9780062136541.
• Wansink . Brian . Brian Wansink . Love . Katie . Slim by design: Menu strategies for promoting high-margin, healthy foods . International Journal of Hospitality Management . September 2014 . 42 . 137–143 . 10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.06.006 . free .

Notes and References

1. Web site: What is Menu Engineering? Boost Your Menu Items' Profit and Popularity Using Restaurant Menu Design - On the Line . Toast POS . en.
2. Web site: 10 menu design hacks restaurants use to make you order more . Canva: online design and publishing . 7 April 2022.
3. Web site: Menu design and Pricing. Menu: online design and Pricing . 7 March 2024.
4. Book: Menu Engineering: A Practical Guide to Menu Analysis . Hospitality Publications . 1982 . 0932235018 . 1st . U.S . 1-5 . English.
5. Web site: Menu Engineering: How to Make a Profitable Restaurant Menu . Lightspeed . 7 April 2022.
6. Web site: Menu Engineering: How to Create a Profitable Menu . WebstaurantStore . 7 April 2022 . en.
7. Though the original reference of 'sweet spot' has not been found, it has been traced to repeated references in academic work and trade press. See Kelson, A. H. (1994) "The ten commandments for menu success". Restaurant Hospitality, 78(7), 103.
   Kotschevar, L. H. (208). In Withrow D. (ed.), Management by Menu (4th ed.), Hoboken, N..: John Wiley.
   Miller, J. E., 1930–. (1992). Menu Pricing & Strategy. (3rd Ed.). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
8. Gallup Report (1987). Through the Eyes of the Customer. The Gallup Monthly Report on Eating Out, 7(3), 1–9.
   Reynolds, D., Merritt, E. A., and Pinckney, S. (2005). "Understanding Menu Psychology: An Empirical Investigation of Menu Design and Consumer Response." International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 6(1), 1–10.
   Kincaid, Clark S., Corsun, David L. (2003). "Are Consultants blowing Smoke? An Empirical Test of the Impact of Menu Layout on Item Sales". International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12 (4/5), 226–231.
9. Wansink, B., Painter, J., and Van Ittersum, K. (2001). "Descriptive menu labels' effect on sales". Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 42(6), 68.
10. Yang, S., Kimes, S. E., and Sessarego, M. M. (2009), "$ or Dollars?: Effects of Menu Price Formats on Customer Price Purchases", Cornell Hospitality Report. 9 (8)
11. Paradowski. Michał B.. What's cooking in English culinary texts? Insights from genre corpora for cookbook and menu writers and translators. The Translator. 24. 50–69. 2017. 10.1080/13556509.2016.1271735. 151593837 .
12. The Fundamental Principles of Restaurant Cost Controls, David Pavesic and Paul Magnant, 2nd Ed, Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2005,
13. Web site: The secrets behind menu design . Signal v. Noise by Basecamp . 7 April 2022.