For example, if you sell 100 burgers and 50 salads in a day, the menu mix percentage of burgers is 100 / (100 + 50) = 66.67%, and the menu mix percentage of salads is 50 / (100 + 50) = 33.33%. Menu mix percentage tells you how popular each item is among your customers, and how it contributes to your sales volume.
How to Use the Sales Mix Form Video Tutorial
Here is a detailed video showing how to use this form. You can download it farther down the page.
What is the Sales Mix Definition?
As already stated, Sales Mix is an evaluation of your Theoretical Food Cost based upon total items sold for a given period. In other words, based upon what you sold this should be your food cost…assuming no waste, no comps, no mistakes, etc. Sales Mix calculations will also often then compare the theoretical food cost with the margin generated from the items sold. The goal is to measure and compare three vital pieces of information: your theoretical food cost % based upon items sold, the margin (net profit as compared against cost of goods), and your actual food cost after inventory is taken for the given period.
As chefs, we are often taught that food cost % is the end all, the most important evaluation of our business success. That is a misconception, a failed concept, because it is only half the truth, half the picture. Sometimes a high food cost is good thing, perhaps even a better thing, than a low food cost. Keep reading!
To illustrate that sometimes a high food cost is a good thing, if you sell lobster at a 50% food cost, and spaghetti at a 30% food cost, your actual food cost will vary depending upon the quantities of each sold. If you sell lots of lobster you will have a lousy food cost…but you will have lots of cash! And more importantly, you will have a lot more net cash (margin). In the examples below 1,000 orders are served in each case. In one example it is mostly lobster, and in the other it is mostly spaghetti. At the end of the day would you rather have a 49.6% food cost and $23,000 net cash; or a 37.1% food cost and only $8,800 net cash? Give me the cash! That’s $14,200 more net cash for the same amount of covers, the same amount of labor…focusing on the “lousy” food cost is a mistake. The cash pays the bills, not the percentages.
| Cost | Sales $ | Food Cost | Margin | # Sold | TT Cost | TT Sales | Food Cost | Margin | |
| Lobster | $25.00 | $50.00 | 50% | $25.00 | 900 | $22,500 | $45,000 | 49.6% | $23,000 |
| Spaghetti | $3.00 | $10.00 | 30% | $7.00 | 100 | $300 | $1,000 | ||
| Total | $22,800 | $46,000 | |||||||
| Cost | Sales $ | Food Cost | Margin | # Sold | TT Cost | TT Sales | Food Cost | Margin | |
| Lobster | $25.00 | $50.00 | 50% | $25.00 | 100 | $2,500 | $5,000 | 37.1% | $8,800 |
| Spaghetti | $3.00 | $10.00 | 30% | $7.00 | 900 | $2,700 | $9,000 | ||
| Total | $5,200 | $14,000 | |||||||
DAT2236 – Menu Engineering Sheet Example Walk Through
FAQ
What is a menu mix formula?
What is an example of a menu mix?
What is the sales mix of a menu?
What is a menu mix analysis?
How to calculate menu mix percentage?
To calculate menu mix percentage, you need to know the sales quantity of each menu item and the total sales quantity for the period. You can use this formula: Menu mix percentage = (Sales quantity of item / Total sales quantity) x 100%
What is sales mix & menu mix?
Sales Mix is an evaluation of your Theoretical Food Cost based upon total items sold for a given period and the margin generated from those items. We’ll cover more on this topic below. Menu Mix is often used interchangeably to refer to the same thing as Sales Mix.
How to analyze a menu mix?
You can obtain this data from your point-of-sale system, inventory records, recipes, and invoices. You should also choose a relevant time period for your analysis, such as a week, a month, or a season. The next step is to analyze the data and calculate the menu mix percentage and the contribution margin percentage for each item.
What types of menu items are used in a sales mix analysis?
There are four commonly referenced categories of menu items used when we start considering menu mix – stars, plow horses, puzzles,and dogs. Use your sales mix analysis chart to group menu items into one of those four key categories. You can do this by using the graph below and asking just two questions: