Running a business isn't always easy - here are our tips for how to increase a new restaurant's profit, including restaurant marketing advice and more.How to increase profit as a new restaurant
Working to increase your new restaurant's profit margin can be challenging, especially if you're running the show on your own. Thankfully, there are plenty of small methods you can incorporate to make sure that you are making as much profit as you can - from tracking your waste methodically, to optimising your menu, to dipping your toe in digital restaurant marketing.
We reached out to the team at Cornucopia on Wicklow Street in Dublin and Platform 61 on South William Street who have provided expert tips on how to increase your restaurant's profit.
Optimise your menu based on consumer trends
Your restaurant menu is how you showcase what you can do, the ingredients you are using and what you’re about and making your menu can be an intricate process.
However, by optimising your menu with your consumer in mind and making use of ingredients in multiple dishes, you can ensure your restaurant profits on your food.
Post-pandemic, consumers are opting for healthier choices and are looking for food that aligns with their priorities of wellness and sustainability, as noted by McKinsey.
A great menu for the current climate may have a vegan option, a delicious salad or veg-packed meal and would advertise use of local suppliers.
"There are dietary trends, the likes of the FODMAP diet, and you have food trends in the background. Korean food and South-East Asian cuisine is really big. Fake meats are massive at the moment, vegan junk food is a trend at the moment as well and you see a lot of vegan junk food restaurants popping up. People are loving their burgers and their chips. Veganising dishes that wouldn't normally be vegan: chefs are taking a lot of pleasure in doing that. Vegan cheeses are having their moment as are plant milks.
We optimise our menu loosely according to those trends - we try and incorporate some of those elements. In terms of the food elements, we love the fake meats, vegan comfort food and we’re capitalising on the consumer’s want for vegan desserts.”
- Tony Keogh, Head Chef at Cornucopia Restaurant
"Have a menu that changes seasonally or every couple of months."
- Matija Krajina, Head of Operations at Platform 61
Understand inventory TO INCREASE NEW RESTAURANT PROFIT
Tracking your inventory is key to increasing your new restaurant’s profit. When you accurately know what you have, you will order and cook more efficiently, making the most of the resource you have rather than overspending.
"You have to keep track of everything: your standing orders, your purchases, your sales and your inventory. I know how hard this can be as a small business. It can be time-consuming but it means that if you see some items on your menu aren't selling well, you can change them. Keep an eye on what your team is purchasing and train them on reducing waste... Can you order less of the same item, as in, does it come in packs of 10 versus 20? What's the expiry date on the items in the kitchen? If you see leftover goods or goods near expiry, make a special. Stay on top of what you have in terms of ingredients."
- Matija Krajina, Head of Operations at Platform 61
You can track inventory however you like but there are plenty of intuitive digital solutions such as Marketman, Nory or Toast. Although these solutions cost a monthly or annual fee, you still may save money by having precise inventory tracking.
"Platforms like Nory could save you quite a lot of money, even when they could be costing you €4,000 or €5,000 euro per year. You need to look at these things in the long-term to sustain a business. If you don't have the money for a restaurant management platform, you can purchase custom Excel spreadsheets for inventory tracking online for maybe €50. It's a once-off charge and you need to invest more time in the beginning but the more often you track your inventory, the less time you'll need to do it going forward."
- Matija Krajina, Head of Operations at Platform 61
You can learn more about tracking your inventory here.
Recover food waste costs
When raw ingredients, offcuts and prepared meals go to waste, you are losing potential restaurant profit.
One way of recovering your food waste costs is repurposing ingredients and offcuts into other meals.
“We try to cut back on food waste by making sure we get use out of everything we have. The only food waste we have is a little bit of breakfast waste and a little bit of waste at the end of the evening. Everything else we try to repurpose - we try to find a way of using everything. I always know what’s downstairs - how many peppers we have, how much oil we have. I make soups out of really random ingredients and we bring it together so that it’s quite nice.”
- Tony Keogh, Head Chef at Cornucopia Restaurant
Another way of increasing your restaurant’s profit is to use the Too Good To Go app to sell your unsold food to customers near you. With over 150,000 users across Ireland, you can use Too Good To Go to increase your restaurant profit, find new customers and help the planet.
BUILD AN ONLINE COMMUNITY
Restaurant marketing may seem daunting but you’d be surprised at how much you can do with minimal budget and minimal resource.
Social media channels such as Instagram and TikTok can allow you to easily reach hundreds to thousands of people and gather a loyal following of return customers. Your best bet in being successful is keeping an eye on what other restaurants are doing on these channels and finding a way to showcase your unique value points. If your location is cosy and date-friendly, displaying this could be to your best advantage. Got a dish nobody else has? Bingo, that should be how you introduce yourself.
You don’t need a professional camera. Many big brands use smartphones to capture their content - just aim for well-lit, non-blurry visuals and let the likes, follows and customers roll in.
"Building an online community has been imperative to Cornucopia to reach people in Dublin, across Ireland and across the globe. We use Instagram mainly and we've recently started using TikTok, which I completely love. I think it's a great space to be creative and the algorithm brings you to people who like your food. It can be a fun place and I think it’s the next generation of social media marketing."
- Dairíne McCafferty, General Manager and Director of Cornucopia Restaurant
When it comes to any form of digital engagement - whether its social media, a newsletter or your blog, the key to success is posting consistently. Restaurant marketing, like any marketing, works best when your readers, viewers and consumers know what to expect and when. This doesn’t mean you need to post a blog a week.
Figure out a schedule that works for the resource you have and stick to it as closely as you can. For social media channels, it’s recommended that you post 2 or 3 times a week on your feed and more on stories. Using interesting content from your suppliers and customers can allow you to upload engaging posts regularly without much resource on your end.
PROVIDE ONLINE FOOD-TO-GO
According to Sensortower, between 2019 and 2021, food app installs jumped by 44%.
"We use multiple delivery platforms and although they take a big percentage off the top of your sales, it's a great way of getting your food out there so that the next time your customer is in town, they'll come and eat in your restaurant. It gets your name out there and it can be great marketing for you.”
- Dairíne McCafferty, General Manager and Director of Cornucopia Restaurant
Cornucopia additionally use Too Good To Go to allow consumers to save their food from going to waste.
If you are unsure about working with a third-party, you can always set up food collection in-house. All you need are to-go containers and an online ordering system and you’re ready to go. Down2Earth Materials provide sustainable to-go pots, carry bags, cutlery, cups and more for all of your to-go packaging needs!
To summarise, when it comes to increasing your new restaurant's profit, there are plenty of methods. Some are more time-consuming and expensive than others, but in general, thinking long-term - if you can - will be the most beneficial.
Find yourself with surplus prepared food or raw ingredients? Join Too Good To Go to sell your unsold food to over 100,000 app users in Ireland.
SOURCES:
- McKinsey, Reimagining European Restaurants for the New Normal, 2020 <https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/reimagining-european-restaurants-for-the-next-normal>
- Sensortower: The State of Food Delivery and Restaurant Apps in Europe 2021, 2021 <https://go.sensortower.com/rs/351-RWH-315/images/state-of-food-delivery-and-restaurant-apps-europe-2021.pdf>
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