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Menu Engineering Calculator

Sales and margin per drink. Stars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs on your drink list, with what to do about each.

Drinks with sales from the till

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DrinkShareMarginClass
Caesar (1 oz vodka)25%$9.60Star
Domestic draft, 20 oz36%$6.60Plowhorse
House red, 6 oz glass15%$7.90Plowhorse
Old Fashioned8%$11.80Puzzle
Margarita11%$10.40Puzzle
Craft IPA tall can5%$4.90Dog
How this is calculated

Margin = price − cost per drink (pour, mixer and garnish). Average margin = Σ(margin × sold) ÷ total sold.

Popular = the drink's share of sales is at least 70% of an equal share (the Kasavana–Smith rule). Profitable = margin at or above the average.

Popular + profitable = Star. Popular only = Plowhorse. Profitable only = Puzzle. Neither = Dog.

Yearly leak = plowhorses at $1 more each + half of dog sales moving to average-margin drinks, × 12, halved.

Prices are before GST/HST. Add tax on top of the price shown, never inside your margin. Estimates, not advice.

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Verdict

One or two drinks need work

Start with Craft IPA tall can (Dog): Unpopular and unprofitable. Take it off and free the shelf or tap line, unless a regular would walk.

Average margin per drink$8.30
Stars
1
Plowhorses
2
Puzzles
2
Dogs
1
Margin earned in the period
$14,157
Easy fixes, per month
$1,015
Conservative yearly leak$6,088

What leaving plowhorses and dogs alone costs over a year, halved because not every fix lands.

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