You work yourself to the bone, every single day. You deliver quality, your customers are happy. And yet… at the end of the month, there’s too little left over. Sound familiar? Then it might be time to do the one thing every catering owner hates: take a critical look at your own menu.
Every dish or item on your menu once had a reason to exist. A classic, a favourite of regular customers, something that “just belongs” on a restaurant menu.
But if you look at the numbers? You often see a very different story. There are dishes on your menu that are barely ordered, or that cost more than they bring in.
With tools like our Unipage system, you can see exactly how many units you sell per week. And that insight is worth gold. Because it shows you what truly works and what’s just taking up space for nothing.
A large menu looks friendly, but it rarely is. Every extra dish means extra ingredients, more stock, more waste and more work in the kitchen. Especially in smaller kitchens or with limited staff, an oversized menu slows everything down and increases stress.
You feel it in the service, you taste it on the plate, and you see it in your numbers at the end of the month.
In restaurants, the pitfall is often ambition. You want to serve everyone, so your menu grows. Another fish dish, a vegetarian option “just in case”, a suggestion that never got replaced…
Before you know it, your menu is filled with dishes that are rarely ordered but still require time, space and ingredients. It feels like you’re giving guests more choice, but in reality, you’re making life harder for yourself.
A large menu slows your kitchen down. Every extra dish requires extra mise-en-place, separate ingredients, more room for mistakes and longer waiting times. And in many cases: more waste. Vegetables that don’t get used in time, fish that doesn’t rotate fast enough, sauces you have to keep in tiny batches. All small leaks that add up and become painfully visible on your financials.
Removing a few items creates space. Space for calm. For focus. For new dishes that might fit your concept much better. And for a team that knows exactly what’s expected of them, without every shift feeling like an obstacle course.
Better twenty dishes you can serve with conviction than thirty that are all just fine.
In frituren, the pain point isn’t spoilage, but stagnation. Your freezer is full, the selection is impressive, but if you’re honest: a big part of those snacks barely gets ordered. And that’s exactly the problem.
Every snack that barely sells takes up space in your fridge, slows down your workflow and forces your staff to explain things repeatedly or start separate cooking processes.
Many frituren overestimate the value of a large selection. What customers actually want are their fixed favourites. Fast, hot and perfectly fried. The top 10 most popular snacks, that’s where your margin sits.
By quietly removing a few weak items, you create space: in your stock, in your head, in your routine. You’ll work faster, need less explanation, and your staff will know perfectly where everything is and how long it takes. That increases your profitability without buying anything new or making extra investments.
Again, in Unipage’s system you can see exactly how much you sell of each item. Precisely what you need to make those decisions.
In cafés, coffee bars and lunch spots, you often see the same issue: a menu that started simple but gradually turned into a mixed bag. Four types of toast, five coffee specials, smoothies, soup and a long list of desserts.
All with good intentions , but in the end, no one knows what actually sells.
In these types of businesses, profit often doesn’t come from volume but from speed and margin per order. The more you have to explain, weigh or refill, the slower you work. You feel that at the counter, in the queue and at the end of your shift.
So take a critical look at your offering. What sells most? What is quick to prepare, low in waste and easy to combine?
And then: what only sells during rain or hunger, but still sits on your menu all year long?
The simpler your offering, the smoother your workflow, and that’s where your margin is.
The episode of Andermans Zaken about bakery Laurens illustrated this perfectly: dozens of breads and pastries, some of them actually losing money. The same applies to hospitality businesses.
Sometimes you have to dare to cut. Not because a dish is bad, but because it no longer belongs on today’s menu. A menu is not a monument. It should live. And evolve.
And everything starts with measuring and knowing. Often you don’t really know what sells and what doesn’t. Or how much margin you make per item. And it’s not easy to keep track of all of this manually. Our Unipage digital POS systems do this entirely for you. Check in the system, for any selected date range, exactly how many units of each item you sold. Only then do you gain the insight you need to make your business more profitable.
You don’t need a stripped-down menu to be profitable. But you do need to look honestly at what’s performing, and what isn’t. More choice may seem welcoming, but often it’s exactly what’s holding you back.
If you want less stress, more control in your kitchen and healthier numbers at the end of the month, it all starts with one simple step: dare to trim.
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