Menu engineering calculator

The classic profitability-vs-popularity matrix, without the spreadsheet. Enter last month’s numbers per item and see which dishes to feature, fix, reprice, or retire.

How it works

From sales mix to action list

Enter your items
For each dish in a category: units sold in the period, menu price, and plate cost. Compare like with like — entrées against entrées.
Get the matrix
Each item is classified using the classic method: popularity vs a 70% equal-share threshold, profitability vs the weighted average margin.
Act on each class
Feature Stars, fix Plowhorse margins, promote Puzzles, and rework or retire Dogs.

FAQ

Questions restaurant owners ask

What is menu engineering?

A method (popularized by Kasavana and Smith) that plots each dish’s popularity against its contribution margin, producing four classes — Stars, Plowhorses, Puzzles, Dogs — each with a standard playbook.

What do the four categories mean?

Stars are popular and profitable: protect and feature them. Plowhorses sell well on thin margins: reprice or re-cost. Puzzles are profitable but overlooked: promote them. Dogs are neither: rework or retire.

What data do I need?

Units sold per item over one period (your POS product-mix report has this), menu price, and plate cost. If you haven’t costed dishes yet, run them through our food cost calculator first.

How often should I run the matrix?

Quarterly, and after any menu or price change. Item classes shift with seasons and costs — last spring’s Star can quietly become this fall’s Plowhorse.

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