2.9% Higher Spending through Menu Optimization
MENU OPTIMIZATION
Imagine increasing spending on a main course by 2.9% overnight. Sounds pretty good, right? At Herberg Sint Petrus, we implemented targeted menu optimizations, resulting a significantly higher revenue each month.
“We thought our menu was well put together, but we were mostly looking at what seemed practical and logical. Elles showed us that by making slightly different choices, we could not only increase spending but also improve the guest experience. A great result with little effort!”
– Wout Huijbregts, Owner @ Herberg Sint Petrus
Same Menu, More Revenue
Boosting spending with just a few adjustments to your menu. Scientific research shows it’s possible. Numerous studies on the hospitality industry and menu design have uncovered hundreds of insights on how to optimize your menu. At RocketScience, we also conduct regular research into the effects of menu design.
Wout, the owner of Herberg Sint Petrus, allowed us to transform his restaurant into an experimental playground for eight weeks, testing various menu optimization strategies. This case study will take you through the entire process
Phase 1. Kick-Off
Time for the kick-off! We sat down with Wout and Jelle, the manager of Herberg Sint Petrus. Together, we reviewed the current menu and mapped out the key needs. Which dishes bring in the highest margins? Which are kitchen bottlenecks, and which deserve more attention?
I also gave a brief introduction to science-based hospitality. Wout and Jelle were intrigued to see how even they, as professionals, can be irrationally influenced and how our decisions are shaped subconsciously. By the end of the kick-off, they were both excited about neuro-hospitality and eager to get the project off the ground! 🚀
Phase 2. Analyse + Test
With the input from Jelle and Wout, we got to work optimizing the menu. After years of studying the literature in this field, we have built up an extensive database of insights, and there are always a few that can be applied to any menu. In total, we made fifteen optimizations to the menu. The exact same dishes and prices, but presented just a little differently.
Over the course of eight weekends, we alternated the menus weekly. One week, we used the current menu, the next week the optimized version, and then we repeated the cycle. This provided us with a wealth of data: 1,572 people unknowingly participated in the experiment.
Phase 3. Results
Eight weeks later, it was time: the analysis could begin. After retrieving the data from the POS system, the data was transformed and analyzed. We also factored in the weather to ensure that external factors like weather conditions didn’t skew the data, giving us a biased result. This approach provided us with a clean dataset and ensured high reliability.
The practical outcome? A significant increase of 2.9% in spending on appetizers and main courses (p < .05). While the old menu generated an average spending of €34.27, the optimized menu produced an average spending of €35.24.
When we calculated what that would mean on a monthly basis, we got even more excited. To protect the confidentiality of Herberg Sint Petrus’s data, we will use fictional numbers in the following calculation. Let’s assume you serve 500 covers per week—that would translate to about €2,036 extra revenue per month.
And we haven’t even accounted for lunch yet. We also tested several optimizations there. The results of that study will be shared soon!
Diving into the Numbers
Guests took part in this experiment
%
Increase in spending per guest
Extra revenue per month with 550 guests per week