Digital Menus and Calorie Labelling — Driving Customer Experience and Growth
When it comes to adapting your business to new calorie labelling legislation, our advice is to take a phased approach. We recommend focusing on the 4 S’s of suppliers, stock, software and staff. Amongst other tasks, this means making a list of suppliers, auditing all ingredients and products, assessing your existing software and menu management systems, and making sure staff members are up to speed on the new legislation. (You can see this strategy laid out in more detail here.)
A key component within the 4 S approach is deciding whether or not you need to invest in digital menus, and there are many benefits of integrating with such systems. In a previous post, we discussed how digital menus can help food businesses save on costs. Digital menus can also drive efficiency, ensure compliance, enhance customer experience and increase revenue.
4 ways in which digital menus and recipe management solutions can drive customer experience and increase revenue
In this post we will focus on how digital menus, used in combination with recipe management solutions, can be used to enhance customer experience and boost sales. To demonstrate this, we will look at real-world use cases compiled by the team at Nutritics.
Below are just some of the ways in which digital menus can help businesses to better serve their customers and drive growth.
1. Using insights gathered in menu analytics to improve your menu
Analytics gathered within a dynamic digital menu can help food businesses to gain a better understanding of their customers’ preferences. This data can then be used to improve the menu and drive further sales. For example, if you find that vegetarian options are being filtered by 25% of customers, then it might be worth considering increasing the number of vegetarian options. Here, all changes to the menu are based on data and observing how the customer interacts with the platform.
Through using menu analytics to optimise its menu, our sample food business increased orders by 250 per location per month, at an average increased spend of £2 per customer. For a large multi-site business with over 100 locations, this represents a monthly sales increase of approximately £600,000.
2. Enhancing the aesthetic appeal of a menu to increase sales
Through integrating with digital publishing systems, food operators can enhance the aesthetic appeal of their menu and increase the likelihood of a restaurant visit and/or a dish being ordered. On the digital menu display, customers can see images of all menu options and may decide to add choices based on visual appeal.
A food operator might also capitalise on societal trends and add popular food items to their dish in order to boost its visual appeal. For example, a food business might add the latest superfood to an existing dish to entice millennial customers who are motivated by following positive food trends.
Through enhancing the aesthetic appeal of their menu, our sample food business increased monthly orders by 100 customers per location, at an average profit of £2 per customer. For a large multi-site business with over 100 locations, this represents a monthly sales increase of approximately £240,000.
3. Boost the purchase of add-ons and sides
With digital menus, the process of selecting meal options becomes an incredibly engaging and interactive experience. Food businesses can offer customers the choice of a side dish once a main course has been selected. They can also create inclusive ‘build your own’ selection experiences where guests can make more informed food choices based on calories.
Average spend is shown to increase with customers who can visually engage with menu options. For example, after a customer chooses their main course, the menu could display a choice of sides, all with high gross profit margins. Not only does the interactive experience entice the customer but it also creates a more profitable dish.
By upselling dishes and sides using digitised images and rotating selection options, our sample food business increased orders by 500 customers per location each month, at an average profit of £2 per customer. For a large multi-site business with over 100 locations, this represents a monthly sales increase of approximately £1,200,000.
4. Reformulate recipes based on customer tastes and preferences
With digital menus, there is much greater transparency in terms of nutritional content. This creates a huge opportunity for food businesses to reformulate dishes based on the latest market trends.
For example, if the latest industry trends are based around low-salt, low-fat or gluten-free foods, dishes can be redeveloped to capitalise on this. Here, a digital menu is more than just a way to display nutritional content to customers; it becomes a marketing tool.
Talk to one of our digital menu and calorie labelling experts
Driving customer experience is just one of the ways in which digital menus and recipe management solutions can positively impact your business. If you would like to know more about the other benefits and use cases, you can reach out to one of our calorie labelling experts at Nutritics. During a free consultation, we can also provide advice on how best to prepare for the new calorie labelling legislation.
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