Pizza Today - July 2022 - 12

MIKE'S MONTHLY TIP
MIKE BAUSCH
pino chicken skewers and rice, and it was
incredible. Just " out of this world " incredible.
His failure was that he sold one
skewer of chicken with one side of rice for
under $5. Th at was never enough to feed
me, and I would order three skewers and
two rice sides, basically the size of something
you would get at Chipotle
today. My ticket would be around $13,
but I was the anomaly, the outlier; most
people bought one skewer and one rice
because that's what was on the menu.
When I said this to my friend, the owner,
he said: " Well, that's how they sell it in
the Philippines. So that's how I'm selling
it here. " His restaurant eventually closed.
If he had sold four skewers or a skewer
combo pack, a place like that could have
gotten to a better price point with a
higher likelihood of success.
Th e lesson here is that it's time to focus
The Quantity Game
for Yield Gains
T
here's a fi ve-alarm fi re going on
right now with commodities.
Every recipe item is crazy-expensive.
Customers are spending money right
now, but it doesn't matter when the actual
yield or profi t margin has never been
tighter. We are gearing up for a recession;
you need to get ready and price smart.
Getting food cost right is only one aspect
of the game. A solid pricing strategy that's
extraordinarily robust and thought out is
the only way to maximize ticket value and
profi t from the transaction.
So, the basics of pricing out your menu
are: Food Cost, Comparable menus and
pricing sizzle. Th at means fi nding the
food cost and then price it accordingly.
If you want a 25-percent food cost and
it costs $2.50 to make your pie, you need
to charge at least $10. But if the average
comparable price is more like $12, you
could go up to match that price a little
below or above. If you add the sizzle of
marketing correctly, you can even sell it
above that. Th ese are the costing basics I
have covered before.
But in this insane commodities world
we're in now, you have to look at other
things to get actual yield. I had a friend
who owned a restaurant that sold Filion
combinations and packages to get
people to a higher price point and couple
it with side items. Give the customer
the feeling of a deal while getting them
to purchase more. Th is isn't an option
anymore; at this point, it's a mandate. Th e
pricing strategy on your sides needs to
be tight. Wings are a great example. Th e
debate with insane wing prices is to go to
a smaller wing that's more aff ordable, or if
you love the size wing that you're at, how
do you get more profi t for it? Maybe less
quantity before choosing to raise the price.
It will take an excel spreadsheet to
know for sure; if you aren't trying diff erent
variations of quantity and sales cost, you
are messing up. Find the size you can
make the most profi t at, decide the
appropriate quantity for the price, and
then combo it out to make maximum
yield gains. If you sell by the slice, turning
a six-cut slice into an eight-cut slice
immediately gives you 33 percent more
product to sell for no new cost. Th at's the
QTY game, and it's for sure worth your
time to do a two-hour refresh evaluation
to see where you are missing opportunities
for revenue yield gain.
MIKE BAUSCH is the owner of Andolini's Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch
12 / PIZZATODAY.COM / JULY 2022

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Pizza Today - July 2022

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