With price increases driving up the cost of restaurant staples, profits can be harder to find than ever before. With hospitality and food service under more pressure, we’re working with restaurants across the country to help them make the most of every opportunity.
Here are our top tips for driving profits by upgrading your range of side dishes.
Sides are a golden opportunity
What does a successful and profitable menu look like? When considering this, it’s important to think about all aspects of what makes a dish a great deal.
How long does it take to prep?
How popular is it?
Will there be food wastage?
How much does it cost you to make?
A successful restaurant menu balances all of these factors, and sides can help you tick all these boxes, driving sales while freeing up your prep time and slashing wastage.
Seasonality and shareability
Ordering a bunch of side dishes to share has become commonplace, especially among younger diners who favour the opportunity to taste a bit of everything and share the costs of eating out with friends. We’re still seeing a rise in the trend towards sharing dishes, as having a wide variety of sides and an adaptable menu is cost-effective for diners and chefs.
As diners become more conscious of seasonality, your offering of side dishes is the perfect place to create something delicious and available for a limited time only, helping to create a buzz.
Your Dunns rep can help you highlight upcoming trends and secure a selection of side dishes that will work well on any menu. Give us a call today.
Finding the right range
Just as you would agonise over every element of your main menu, finding side dishes that compliment your mains perfectly can involve a lot of thought. However, the market has increased far beyond just skinny and chunky cut chips - and there are many options to suit any kind of fare on offer.
We love working with The FoodFellas, who have been supplying bespoke, private label and branded products from around the world since 1997.
Two of our favourites are their Beer Battered Jalapeno Mozzarella Sticks and Beer Batted Onion rings (not forgetting some Comida Latina Churros Sticks for after!) Not only do they taste great, but they are also perceived as valuable add-ons, which can result in serious sales over the week. Get in touch to find out more about The FoodFellas and add some of their premium sides to your next order.
What about pubs and bars?
Side dishes aren’t just for restaurants, with many bars increasing their profits with modern bar fare, snacks and ‘pub grub’. If you’re looking for something a little more relaxed or perhaps don’t have access to a kitchen, why not try some popular Graze snacks, now available in pub sizes?
We have a range of their top-selling flavours Smoky Barbecue, Salt & Vinegar and Marmite. Much of the time, it comes down to punters having sight of your offering. They are far more likely to order with you if they can see or be told what’s on offer. Speak to your Dunns rep about POS when ordering Graze snacks.
Hero ingredients
Much like fashion, food goes through trend cycles where certain hero ingredients can demand higher prices, helping your margins out along the way. For example, research has shown that diners are willing to pay up to 40% more for an improved version of a basic side, such as Lamb Weston’s Truffle Oil and Parmesan Chips.*
*Source: Truffle Fries vs Regular Fries sales price, Lumina MenuTracker 2021-22
Find out more about food trends and premium sides in our range by following us on social media.
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