Menu Engineering
A method that classifies each menu item by popularity and contribution margin into stars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs.
Menu engineering compares two measures for each item in a category: how often it sells, and how many dollars it contributes after its food cost. Items that are popular and above the average contribution are stars, popular and below average are plowhorses, unpopular and above average are puzzles, and unpopular and below average are dogs.
A common rule treats an item as popular if it sells at least 70% of an even share of the plates in its category. The analysis is meant for one category at a time, and it guides decisions on price, placement, recipe cost and whether to keep an item.
Calculate your own menu engineering instantly, free.
Open the calculator →Related terms