Maximise Your Profit: A How-To Guide on Sales Mix & Menu Engineering

In today’s competitive hospitality industry, getting your menu right is more than just having great food or drinks—it’s about understanding what sells, what makes you money, and how to strike the perfect balance. We’ve seen firsthand how cafes, restaurants, and bars we work with have reduced their cost of goods sold (COGS) and increased profits by applying a brilliant sales mix and menu engineering approach.

This guide explains how to fine-tune your menu for maximum profitability while keeping your customers coming back for more.

1. Get Clear on Your Sales Mix

Start by understanding your sales mix. This means knowing which items sell the most and which ones make you the most profit. It’s not just about what's popular—it’s about what’s both popular and profitable. This insight helps you make smart decisions around pricing, portioning, and what should stay or go on the menu.

2. Engineer Your Menu for Better Margins

Menu engineering is about using data to design a more profitable menu. By analysing item performance (sales + profitability), you can spot your high performers—your “stars”—and decide which items to promote, tweak, or retire. It’s a strategic process that ensures every item is doing its job for your bottom line.

3. Spot the Stars on Your Menu

Your “stars” are menu items loved by customers and are highly profitable. These are your heroes. Once you’ve identified them, you can highlight them on the menu, train your team to recommend them, or even build specials and combos around them.

4. Balance What’s Popular with What Pays

Just because something’s flying out the door doesn’t mean it’s helping your business thrive. If a dish is popular but low-margin, it could be hurting your bottom line. The key is tweaking recipes, portions, or pricing to make it profitable and appealing.

5. Price with Purpose

Pricing isn’t guesswork. It’s a strategy. You want to price items so customers see value, but that also covers your costs and delivers a strong margin. With the right pricing strategy, your most-loved dishes can also become your biggest profit drivers.

Every menu decision can move your business forward—or hold it back. Using sales mix insights and a structured menu engineering approach, you can create a menu that delivers value for your guests and strong financial results for your business.