In this installment of PMQ Live Marketing Masters, PMQ Publisher Steve Green delves into menu engineering and looks at the future of menu development with one of the restaurant industry’s great marketing gurus, Gregg Rapp of Menu Engineers.
During his 37 years of experience as a restaurant consultant, Rapp has shared his approach to profitable menu development with leading pizza chains like Pizza Schmizza and California Pizza Kitchen as well as numerous independent restaurant operators, not to mention national brands like Cracker Barrel, Krystal, Arby’s and Taco Bell. He has even presented his strategies at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Related: Menu engineer Greg Rapp lists 9 steps to a more profitable pizzeria menu
“Stars are your best items, the highest in profit and the highest in sales,” Rapp says, explaining his terminology in assessing the profitability of menu items. “Puzzles are high in profit and low in popularity. The Plowhorse is an item that is low in profit but high in popularity, and Dogs (or Cats) are low in profit and low in sales. Think about who is ordering [each] item and why are they ordering the item. Take a look at these things as you piece your menu together.”
Watch the full show below!