Author: FoodPEEPS

Most cafes price by gut feel. A simple margin-and-popularity exercise can lift profit without raising a single headline price.

Menu engineering sounds corporate, but at heart it's two questions asked of every item: how much money does it make, and how often does it sell? Plot your menu against those two axes and it sorts itself into four groups, each with a clear action. You don't need software; a spreadsheet and an honest look at your recipes will do.

Caption: A cafe menu board

Step one: cost your plates properly

For each item, add up the true cost of every ingredient in the actual portion, including the oil, the garnish, the takeaway cup. That figure divided by the sell price gives your cost-of-goods percentage. Cafes generally aim to keep food COGS around 28–35% and drinks lower, though your targets depend on rent and labour. The point isn't a magic number; it's knowing which items are quietly unprofitable.

Step two: sort into four groups

Stars: high margin, high popularity. Protect these: keep quality consistent, feature them prominently, never quietly shrink them. Plowhorses: popular but low margin. Try to lift margin without killing appeal: tweak the recipe, renegotiate an ingredient, or nudge the price. Puzzles: high margin, low sales. Reposition or describe them better before giving up; a menu redesign or a staff recommendation can wake them up. Dogs: low margin, low sales. Cut them; they clutter the menu and complicate your ordering.

Step three: use the menu layout

Where an item sits on the page changes how often it sells. Top-right and the first two items in a list get the most eyes, put your stars there. Avoid dollar-sign columns that invite price-shopping; embed prices at the end of the description instead. Small design choices quietly steer customers toward the items that make you money.

Run this exercise on your own menu and want a second read? FoodPEEPS can share a simple costing template get in touch. (General guidance only, not financial advice.)