Glossary

Menu mix

Menu mix is the percentage of total units sold that each menu item represents, showing how guest demand spreads across the menu.

How menu mix works

Pull each item's quantity sold over a period and divide by total items sold. The result is that dish's menu mix percentage, the popularity half of menu engineering. Pairing menu mix with contribution margin sorts every item into a star, plowhorse, puzzle, or dog.

Menu mix data comes straight from the point-of-sale system and is the most honest record of what guests actually order.

Example

Over a month a kitchen sells 4,000 entrees, 600 of them the roast chicken. The chicken's menu mix is 15 percent. Paired with its strong margin, that makes it a star worth featuring near the top of the page.

See also

Contribution marginMenu engineeringPoint of sale (POS)

Related

Menu engineering guideHow many items should a menu have

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