Menu engineering matrix

Margin against popularity, computed from your own numbers. Four classes, and what each one usually asks for.

star
star
puzzle
plowhorse

Read on your numbers

  • Margherita — $10.10 margin, 180 sold: star, high margin, sells well — protect it
  • Carbonara — $11.10 margin, 95 sold: star, high margin, sells well — protect it
  • Sea bass — $15.90 margin, 40 sold: puzzle, good margin, few takers — reposition or promote
  • Lasagne — $7.70 margin, 150 sold: plowhorse, sells well, thin margin — recost it or nudge the price

Classes compare each dish against this menu’s own averages (Kasavana-Smith: margin vs the sales-weighted mean, popularity vs 70% of an equal share). A lens on your numbers, not an instruction.

The matrix is only as good as the plate costs

Sales counts come from your till and are usually right. Plate costs are where matrices quietly rot — computed once, never updated, drifting further from supplier reality every month. Build them honestly with the food cost calculator, and in LineCost Pro the matrix reads from a live price book, so it stays true as prices move.

Common questions

What is a menu engineering matrix?
A two-axis sort of your menu: margin per sale against popularity. Dishes classify as stars (high margin, popular), plowhorses (popular, thin margin), puzzles (good margin, few takers) and dogs (neither). It was formalised by Kasavana and Smith in 1982 and remains the standard first look at which dishes earn their place.
Where do the thresholds come from?
From your own menu, not from industry tables: the margin line is your sales-weighted average margin, and the popularity line is 70% of an equal share of your sales. That makes every classification relative — add or drop a dish and the lines move.
What do I do with a plowhorse?
It sells, so treat it carefully: recost it first (its cost may have crept), consider a modest price move, or re-spec the plate to lift margin without losing the volume. Killing a plowhorse outright removes sales that were carrying overheads.
How often should I run this?
Whenever menu prices, supplier costs, or the season changes — quarterly is a common rhythm. The tedious part is keeping plate costs current, which is exactly what the Pro price book automates: change one supplier price and every dish recosts.