Free tool for US restaurants
Menu Engineering Calculator
See which menu items are popular, which are profitable, and which ones may need a closer look.
Enter your menu data
Add at least 2 menu items from the same sales period. Use recipe cost for each item and the number of units sold during that period.
Contribution margin = menu price minus item cost. Popularity and profitability are compared against your menu's average.
| Menu item | Menu price | Item cost | Units sold | Contribution margin | Food cost % | Category |
|---|
Enter at least 2 complete menu items. Menu price must be greater than item cost.
Menu items analyzed
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Average contribution margin
$0
Average units sold
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Average food cost %
0%
Menu Engineering Matrix
Items are placed by popularity and contribution margin compared with your menu averages.
Profitability
PUZZLES
STARS
DOGS
PLOWHORSES
Popularity
Each dot is a menu item
Left = lower popularity
Right = higher popularity
What the categories mean
StarsHigh popularity + high contribution margin
PuzzlesLow popularity + high contribution margin
PlowhorsesHigh popularity + low contribution margin
DogsLow popularity + low contribution margin
Item-by-item analysis
Use the categories as a starting point for pricing, promotion, placement and menu changes.
| Menu item | Contribution margin | Food cost % | Units sold | Category |
|---|
YOUR MENU SHOULD DO MORE THAN LIST YOUR FOOD
The right menu can help guide customers toward the items that make the most sense for your restaurant
We help restaurants turn their menu, website and marketing into a system that brings in more customers and makes every marketing dollar work harder.
Menu engineering is a decision-making framework based on popularity and contribution margin. Results depend on the quality and time period of the sales and cost data you enter.