When done correctly, a seasonal menu can help grow a restaurant’s profits and improve guest satisfaction.
Seasonal menus are temporary menus designed to incorporate foods that are purchased and consumed while at their peak. They will change based on the season in which they are harvested.
According to research and consulting firm Technomic, seasonal menus are both popular and profitable. The study shows that:
Including seasonal produce in your menu improves the flavor profiles. The taste of seasonal menu items is just as important as the cost savings allowed. Most of the food that operators purchase is held in warehouses and transported quite a distance before it ever makes it into inventory, which affects the taste. Buying locally grown seasonal items allows us to create great dishes with higher quality, flavor, and texture using fewer ingredients.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, spring fruits apricots, kiwi, pineapples, strawberries, bananas, and more. When creating your seasonal menu, develop a list of core ingredients and cross-utilize them in a variety of different dishes in order to save money by buying in bulk. For example, strawberries could be incorporated into salads, cost-effective batch desserts such as cobblers, and even muddles into delicious cocktail specials to use up leftover fruit on hand.
Another pro tip is to purchase certain fresh ingredients in bulk when they are in peak season and then find creative ways to preserve them such as drying, freezing, or preserving them for later use.
When creating a seasonal menu, be sure to do some research on your suppliers. You can often reduce your costs and increase your product quality by eliminating as many third parties as possible within the supply chain.
Menu pricing strategy is one of the more complex areas of creating a restaurant menu. It involves understanding metrics like total costs, cost of goods sold (CoGS), price per plate, and more. In its simplest terms, your menu items should be set at price points that maximize your profit. If a menu item price is set too high, less customers will order it. If it’s too low, you’re missing potential revenue with each dish served.
Use your competitive research from earlier as a guide to set your prices within the range of your competition, but not as a steadfast rule. Your restaurant’s prices are reflective of more than just the cost of your food. They’re reflective of your value. This includes areas like service, ambiance, and presentation.
The next step of setting price points is calculating some costs. Start by calculating your CoGS, food cost percentage, and break even point (BEP). Once you know these numbers, you’ll have a clearer picture of where you should set your prices.
Since seasonal menus are temporary, consider these less expensive yet hard-to-ignore alternatives.
Evaluating data from your restaurant financial reporting software will let you know if seasonal menus are a good idea for your business. By understanding the analytics of your top-selling items, as well as your items with the highest profit margin, you make crucial decisions about which items to promote, which to discontinue, and which seasons just are not a good match for your demographic.
According to Investopedia.com, there are four types of analytics that all businesses should use. All these analytics are crucial to the restaurant industry because they use customer data to figure out if your seasonal menu is doing well and where it could use some help.
Lower food costs. Foods that are in season cost less. It is a simple rule of supply and demand. As seasonal crops become abundant, farmers can sell them at lower prices based on sheer volume, giving operators better buying power.
Efficient inventory management
From a logistical standpoint, a streamlined menu facilitates efficient inventory management and cost control for restaurant operators. This strategic approach to inventory management helps restaurants optimize their supply chain, reduce overhead costs, and improve overall profitability while maintaining quality and consistency.
Improved flavor profiles. The taste of seasonal menu items is just as important as the cost savings allowed. Most of the food that operators purchase is held in warehouses and transported quite a distance before it ever makes it into inventory, which affects the taste. Buying locally grown seasonal items allows us to create great dishes with higher quality, flavor, and texture using less ingredients.
Reduced labor. Think beyond produce when determining seasonal menu items. Consider comfort foods that include chili, stew and soup, meatloaf, or pot pie. These options are always a big hit in the cold winter months, and they are often batch-cooked items which can decrease labor needs and ticket times during peak service hours.
Increased marketing power. Adding new menu items is a great reason for operators to reach out to customers and prospects. Repeat customers may be delighted to see new items on the menu. Change, even when temporary, can pique the interest in a current customer base and put a restaurant on the radar of new prospects looking for something different to try.
For restaurant operators looking for creative ways to entice crowds into their restaurants to increase sales volume while driving profitability with popular low-cost dishes, a seasonal menu might be the answer. When done correctly, a seasonal menu can help grow a restaurant’s profits and improve guest satisfaction.
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