Menu engineering is the systematic analysis of a product catalog (originally restaurant menus, but applicable to any business with multiple products) to optimize overall profitability. Each item is categorized along two axes — gross margin and sales volume — producing four quadrants:
- Stars (high margin, high popularity): The best items. Promote them.
- Workhorses (low margin, high popularity): Customers love them but they don’t earn much. Raise the price incrementally, reduce cost, or pair with high-margin add-ons.
- Puzzles (high margin, low popularity): Profitable but not selling. Reposition on the menu, rename, or have staff recommend them.
- Dogs (low margin, low popularity): Neither profitable nor popular. Remove or redesign.
Menu engineering also encompasses the physical design of the menu as a sales tool — item placement, descriptions, pricing display, and visual hierarchy to steer customers toward high-margin items. See Pricing Strategy and Menu Engineering.