Few restaurateurs and even fewer consumers know about the behind-the-scenes battles that affect food labeling. From the calorie count of your morning coffee shop fix to the shrink-wrapped meat at the grocery store, interest groups are fighting to define what information consumers should have and why. Two movements have held the food labeling spotlight in recent years – those in favor of adding calorie counts to menus, and those who want labels on genetically modified food (GMOs). One movement has been successful, the other less so, and the reasons why might surprise you. Food Labeling Legislation Calorie Counts Calorie count laws compel chain restaurants and other places that serve food to display the estimated caloric total for each menu item. These requirements, which are designed to ‘nudge’ consumersContinue Reading …
How much time have you spent staring at your restaurant’s menu, trying to perfect the item placement, prices, images and countless other details? If the answer is “more than I can count,” there’s a better way. Menu engineering provides the tips and tactics you need to improve and upgrade your menu – increasing both profits and customer experience along the way. What Is Menu Engineering? Menu engineering is the way that restaurateurs place items on a menu to maximize profitability per guest. You probably do a version of this already. Placing appetizers at the beginning of the menu and desserts at the end, grouping similar courses together, and recommending popular items are all common-sense forms of menu engineering. Many menu engineering supporters rely onContinue Reading …