n an industry where profit margins can be slim, restaurants must find ways to reduce food costs without compromising on quality. By implementing strategic measures, restaurants can effectively manage their expenses and improve their bottom line.
Tune Your Menu to Perfection
One effective approach is to reengineer the menu. By analyzing sales data and customer preferences, restaurants can identify low-profit or underutilized menu items. This allows restaurant operators to make informed decisions about removing or modifying these items to reduce waste and maximize profitability.
Menus should be designed knowing that humans read from left to right, up and down. You want to put more profitable, more desirable and more craveable items in the right location.
Also, is your menu chef-inspired or profit-inspired? You can do some testing with limited-time offers to determine a price point that works for customers.
Other considerations:
- Think seasonality when purchasing fruits and vegetables for the best value
- Pivot when prices get too high (i.e., Chicken Wing Gate when prices soared)
Deploy Restaurant Inventory Management Tactics
Optimizing inventory control is another key aspect of reducing food costs. By closely monitoring stock levels, tracking expiration dates and implementing efficient ordering systems, restaurants can minimize waste and avoid overstocking items that may go unused.
No matter if you are a single-unit or multi-unit owner, the best practice is inventorying once a week. Employees then understand that things are being watched and accounted for.
And, of course, there’s actual cost vs. theoretical cost. Are your recipes accurate? Moreover, are your servers taking the orders accurately? Food costs are directly tied to this first transaction so your servers must be trained well.
Other considerations:
- Some restaurant concepts may require a modified nightly inventory for high-cost items like steak or lobster
- Don’t forget to train servers and cashiers on upselling techniques
Implement Waste Reduction Strategies
Gaining control over waste also is essential in minimizing food costs. This includes proper portion control, utilizing leftovers creatively in new dishes or specials and composting or recycling food scraps whenever possible. Experts suggest implementing waste sheets to calculate daily and weekly food that ends up in the trash.
Waste buckets also can be used for the team to visualize what waste is being produced. It’s not a punitive tactic; it is about awareness and accountability.
Implementing waste reduction strategies also is essential in minimizing food costs. It’s important to consider that portion control is tied to waste. By using standardized measuring cups rather than people’s hands (since a big person’s hand will be far different than a small person’s), restaurants can better control wasted food products.
Nurture Relationships with Suppliers
Building strong relationships with suppliers reduces food costs. By establishing long-term partnerships based on trust and loyalty, restaurants can negotiate better prices and receive timely deliveries of fresh ingredients.
Communication with suppliers is important as they have their fingers on the pulse of what’s coming down the pipeline. This data can help you create future menus and forecast product orders.
Your point of contact may not always be the sales representative. Sometimes it’s the person who can make things happen quickly.
Empower Your Team with Education
Investing in staff training plays, perhaps, the most vital role in reducing food costs. Educating employees about proper portion sizes, inventory management techniques and cost-saving practices helps create a culture of team members who care about minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency.
To engage employees and create this environment, the entire team should know what overall guest satisfaction scores are, what the cost of goods is as well as the top-five waste items. Take time to explain the “why” and “what’s in it for them.” Getting people involved and incentivizing people with freebies can make a difference in reducing food costs. Another consideration is to set up a singular spot for a communication station to keep everyone in the loop.
Finally, bringing in an expert consultant or trainer who specializes in restaurant operations can provide valuable insights and guidance on how to effectively trim costs. Their expertise can help identify areas of improvement and implement customized strategies tailored to the specific needs of the restaurant.
By implementing these strategies, restaurants can proactively tackle food costs and achieve greater financial stability while maintaining high-quality dining experiences for their customers.