Menu Management, Optimization & Publishing

Prep Your Menu for Off-Premises Dining

As restaurants respond to rapidly-evolving guest demand, supply chain, and staffing situations, menu content will be in constant flux. Restaurants must plan for greater menu variation as well as differences by location, and manage them quickly and efficiently. Menu design and presentation will likely evolve as brands respond to long-term changes in health and safety perceptions. Brands can take this opportunity to prune menu offerings to improve profitability, operational execution and refocus their strategic positioning.

Solutions will vary in terms of how in-restaurant menus are accessed, used and/or cleaned. Beyond the menu itself, changes will extend to ordering solutions and contactless payments, so think about the entire transaction as you explore new menu options.

Menu Options

PAPER MENUS

Will still be a part of daily operations, but we expect they’ll be single-use and printed in-house.

ANTIMICROBIAL COATINGS

Will be used on edge-sealed laminated menus.

VOICE-ENABLED

Menus and ordering platforms are emerging. Ask your current technology vendor when they expect to deliver this functionality. The more requests they get, the more likely they are to prioritize these features.

QR MENUS

Can push information to the guest’s own device both inside the restaurant and curbside.

DIGITAL MENUS

Can let guests place an order pre-visit and be seated upon arrival. Consider using menu boards, both digital and physical, and/or kiosks and tablets with antimicrobial screens.

How to Evaluate Your Menu For Consolidation

Shrinking the menu helps drive higher margins, and can avoid line abandonment in online channels. Using menu satisfaction data balanced with sales and margin, aim to reduce your menu size to a minimum over the near term — aim for 25% of its original size — with an eye to add more as necessary and as markets rebound. Here are some tips:

Eliminate unique SKUs and menu items which have been on the chopping block but faced consumer resistance. The consumer will be more forgiving as the industry rebounds so use that good will to your benefit.

Reduce items with long prep and cook times, so that you can reallocate that time to cleaning tables and chairs between guests.

Include best sellers and high-margin items only. Focus on family/bulk meals that feed 4-6 people, and eliminate small sizes.

“Comfort food” side dishes are often highmargin, travel well, and stay well for days in the refrigerator.

Practice ingredient synergies to simplify food production and reduce cost.

Enable flexible ordering — modifiers, etc. — to the extent your kitchen can support them. Don’t forget dietary guidelines (calories, gluten/dairy/nuts/etc.)

Model all changes to ensure margin, FC and PPA.

Menu innovation will continue to drive new product categories, including family meals, alcohol kits, pantry items, and at-home meal kits.

Expect a slow return to catering with individual meals instead of buffetstyle catering.

Consolidation Longer Term

Consolidation will be key both now, and looking ahead. Fewer items mean fewer SKUs to bring back, and we expect some suppliers to exit the business. Weakened manufacturing infrastructure, product availability and distribution stability could cause product outages that will require more frequent menu updates now and moving ahead. Fewer sales results in pack-life and shelf-life issues, which will exacerbate waste and increase cost. However, fewer items also mean fewer recipes to train when rebuilding the workforce. Use this as an opportunity to consolidate stations.

REOPENING TIP When you’re ready to reopen, use your table management and reservation systems to decrease availability to allow for longer table turns with deeper cleaning.