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Reduced Sales Volume? Try These 3 Tips
CSSI Staff Post – June 10, 2020
As the foodservice industry slowly begins to re-open under various new service restrictions, it will be crucial for operators to get creative. With reduced labor, limited seating capacity and a still-prevalent demand for delivery, menu analysis will be a key to success.
Here are three actionable ways for operators to make up for reduced sales volume.
1. Reduce and Optimize SKUs
Operators will need to take a judicious look at the size of their menu and find ways to reduce total food cost via SKU reduction and optimization. Removing low-performing menu items and running on a condensed menu will help with total food cost, labor output and product quality.
2. Boost Check Averages With Booze
Incorporating cocktail kits, batched cocktails or beer flights is a great way to boost check averages. It also creates potential to incorporate an experiential dining element for guests at home. Consider including recipe cards or an explainer video on social media to enhance the at-home experience.
3. Embrace New Dayparts
Expanding into new dayparts may give operators the opportunity to provide value to their current consumer base while driving new consumer incidence. Additionally, recent Datassential surveys show that there’s “an opportunity to flatten the daypart curve” as more than one-third of consumers plan to avoid peak busy times at restaurants even after shelter-in-place orders are lifted.* Operators can entice guests with promotions that encourage them to visit during off-peak hours.**
*Datassential, “One Table: Consumer Insights and the Path Forward,” May 2020.
**QSR, “A Coronavirus Opportunity for Restaurants: Off-Peak Hours,” June 2020.
Charles Dottore
Associate Director, Culinary R&D
March 1st, 2023 We’re thrilled to introduce the newest addition to our culinary family: Chef Steve Madonna. Formally trained in both Italy and the United States, as well as having worked for Wolfgang Puck, Chef Steve brings an extensive set of connections and culinary knowledge to our already stacked chef roster. Featured in this month’s issue is one of Chef Steve’s favorite recipes for making memories at home with your loved ones.
October 19, 2022 Pumpkin pie is a nostalgic menu item and my personal favorite when it comes to fall and winter menus, as it goes hand in hand with a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas feast. We elevate the nostalgia by turning this must-have holiday dish into a clarified cocktail that leaves your taste buds as curious as your eyes. We get adventurous as we replace expected visual elements with an ice-cold glass of clarified liquors infused with pumpkin pie. This cocktail defies all visual expectations, while leaving your sense of smell and taste immersed in a seasonally nostalgic experience.
October 19, 2022 Canada is well known for many things. Hockey, snow, maple syrup, and a few other stereotypical but somewhat accurate concepts may immediately come to mind. What you may not know, though, is how invested we are in the snacks that we consume. Compared to the U.S., sure, we are no match for the quantity and variety offered in the land of the free, home of the snacks. However, what we know in our hearts is that Canada has a long-standing, tried-and-true, flawed, yet beloved top-notch snack game. I’m talking about comfort foods that have become so integrated and so established that they are classified as cult-favourites—and no, I did not spell favourites incorrectly. You are about to see a lot more of the letter “U” in this article. Sorry! The great Canadian snack game is easy enough to understand. You think of a flavour and either slap it on a potato or pair it with chocolate. Snacking has always been a huge part of Canadian food culture, but it is only going up from here. To put it lightly, the past few years have been tough on everyone around the world, and Canadians have chosen to increase their spending on snacks by 67% as an indulgence or, personally, as a coping mechanism. In no way, shape, or form am I claiming to be a culinary expert somehow employed in the field of Finance, but I have eaten a lot in my life and right now, I’m the best and/or only Canadian guide you’ve got. Let’s get into the details:
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