Menu Engineering Calculator
Menu engineering calculator. Enter cost, price and sales volume for each dish to see contribution, popularity and Boston-matrix quadrant classification.
| Dish | Price | Cost | Sold | GP% | Class | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70.0% | Ploughhorse | |||||
| 65.4% | Puzzle | |||||
| 77.3% | Dog | |||||
| 65.6% | Ploughhorse | |||||
| 78.7% | Puzzle |
Protect quality and visibility — these carry the menu.
Popular but low margin. Trim portion or nudge price.
Good margin, poor sales. Reposition or push with staff recs.
Low popularity and low margin. Rework, replace or remove.
Save these numbers before you close the tab
Email yourself a copy, save it for later, or print a branded summary to share with your team or accountant.
Branded A4 PDF · saved costings sync across all your devices.
What to work out next
All calculators →About this calculator
Menu engineering classifies every dish by two axes: popularity (how many you sell) and contribution (£ profit per dish). Stars are high on both. Dogs are low on both.
Use the results to redesign the menu — promote stars, engineer ploughhorses, reposition puzzles and remove dogs.
Frequently asked questions
Why use contribution instead of GP %?+
A dish with 80% GP that sells 5 times a week is worse than a 60% GP dish that sells 100 times. Contribution captures both.
What popularity threshold defines 'high'?+
Common practice is 70% of the average share. This calculator uses that rule automatically.
How often should I run this?+
Every menu change, and at least once a quarter to catch drifting favourites.