It’s always a challenge to keep food costs under control, especially with protein items that have soared in price over the last couple of years. Increasing the Average Customer Spend can also be a challenge when people are watching their budget, but desserts and sweet treats create a whole new area opportunity.
Dessert sales to the rescue!
Desserts and sweet treats put a smile on customers’ faces and the Happy in Hospitality. They can also have an excellent profit margin, especially if you make them yourself – think sugar + air + water + flavour = profit!
They add a delicious ending to meals and an extra sales opportunity – aim to sell dessert to at least one in three customers in a restaurant, and add additional visitors who come to your cafe just for the desserts, cakes and coffee. Nice!
How to double your dessert sales.
Add more variety – make sure you have chocolate, fruit, ice cream, citrus (lemon or lime), creamy, pudding, liqueur, hot, cold and frozen options – even Asian flavours (like coconut). Also, include opportunities for conscious customers – vegan and gluten-free choices that everyone will enjoy.
Add takeaway options in transparent containers: delicious chocolate mousse, rice and sago creams or trifles. Include them as ‘additionals’ or ‘modifiers’ on your takeaway and QR code menus.
Mention desserts on the main menu – don’t wait to share the good news at the end of the meal. Some people plan dessert before they even order their main course!
Sell like a retailer – if you have a display fridge, pile it full of temptations! Chocolate mousse in a martini glass, trifles in tall tumblers, and puddings in ramekins rather than on flat plates. Add some theatre, and let customers pour chocolate sauce or caramel on the puddings – now we are talking Instagram!
Add variety with colour – use bright plates, bowls, and coulis made from frozen berries, sugar, and a blender. Resist expensive mint leaf and strawberry garnishes unless you’re charging premium prices.
Price to sell – if desserts cost more than 40-50% of the main meal, sales will suffer. If main courses are $25, desserts shouldn’t be more than $12.
Use ‘words that sell’ – improve descriptions with tempting words: golden caramel, Grand Marnier cream, dark chocolate, toffee crunch, toasted almonds, flaky pastry, juicy melon, zesty lemon, seven-layer espresso cake. Café Zest’s ‘Zesty Red Berry Trifle’ sounds more exotic than just trifle. Beware of ‘bitter’ chocolate,’ sour’ cherries, and foreign phrases. Do your consumers speak French?
Cocktails can fill the bill – Mudslides, Espresso Martinis and other creamy, sweet drinks also make great ‘desserts’.
Improve selling skills. Staff should have tried all the sweets and be able to recommend their favourite and a best-seller. Short training courses can include methods of chocolate, gelato, and ice cream making, plus tastings, of course! YouTube has endless material to help with this. Offering dessert before coffee can assist less confident salespeople, as will having options for individuals who are ‘too full’ or fear their friends won’t approve. Better than no sale: “One dessert with three spoons?”
Post at least two photos a day on social media. Every dessert can be photographed in multiple ways – being made, on a dish, being eaten, being held, being shared, and having sauce poured over it. Even the last crumbs can tell a story!
How do increased dessert sales add up to more profit?
The combination of:
more tempting and attractive desserts
better display
improved selling skills
better menu design engineering
…can lead to a solid 20% increase in Average Customer Spend.
Add that to a 2% cut in the overall Cost of Goods Sold by including more of these low-cost ‘sugar, air and water’ desserts, and the results become substantial.
How to measure your success:
Strike Rate: dessert sales per 100 customers. One in 4 customers should order dessert or a sweet treat at lunch, and one in 3 in the evening.
Average Dessert Spending: Your POS or cash register should have a Desserts section – divide the total sales by customers.
Average food cost for dessert: aim for a cost percentage below 20%. Divide the cost of a week’s dessert supplies by dessert sales for a quick estimate.
Dessert sales per employee: this shows who needs coaching. A sales bonus programme works nicely to improve this.
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It’s always a challenge to keep food costs under control, especially with protein items that have soared in price over the last couple of years. Increasing the Average Customer Spend can also be a challenge when people are watching their budget, but desserts and sweet treats create a whole new area opportunity.
Dessert sales to the rescue!
Desserts and sweet treats put a smile on customers’ faces and the Happy in Hospitality. They can also have an excellent profit margin, especially if you make them yourself – think sugar + air + water + flavour = profit!
They add a delicious ending to meals and an extra sales opportunity – aim to sell dessert to at least one in three customers in a restaurant, and add additional visitors who come to your cafe just for the desserts, cakes and coffee. Nice!
How to double your dessert sales.
How do increased dessert sales add up to more profit?
The combination of:
Add that to a 2% cut in the overall Cost of Goods Sold by including more of these low-cost ‘sugar, air and water’ desserts, and the results become substantial.
How to measure your success:
Here’s to your sweet and profitable success!
Check the other useful blog posts on the Foodie Coaches website…
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