Using Activity-Based Cost in Menu Engineering for Restaurant Menu Analysis

Lee, Bong Shik; Shin, Seo Young; Choi, Mi Kyung

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate methods of applying activity-based cost to menu engineering and to examine the feasibility. A total of 6 menu items of XYZ restaurant in Seoul were selected and the ledger of September 2005 was used for menu analysis. The menu mix percent of beef sirloin steak (61.95%) and beef tenderloin steak (17.13%) were labeled as high, whereas BBQ pork ribs (4.94%), salmon fillet (2.66%), seafood platter (5.77%), and teriyaki chicken (7.56%) showed low menu mix percent. In addition, the contribution margin for BBQ pork ribs (29,000 won), salmon fillet (25,810 won), seafood platter (22,400 won), and teriyaki chicken (22,000 won) were higher than the average contribution margin (21,957 won), and those for beef sirloin steak (21,200 won) and beef tenderloin steak (21,900 won) were lower than average. When popularity and contribution margin were applied in menu engineering, BBQ pork ribs, salmon fillet, seafood platter and teriyaki chicken were classified as puzzles and beef tenderloin steak and beef sirloin steak as plowhorses. Menu engineering using popularity and operating profit, which was calculated from activity-based cost, also gave the same results, whereas the additional label for activity cost placed BBQ pork ribs and salmon fillet in the brain teaser category. Ranking analysis on variables estimating menu profitability using Spearman's rho revealed that there were no significant correlation between variables, which means the estimation of menu item profitability could differ by methods of analysis. With these results, it was concluded that activity-based cost would help to establish more detailed marketing strategy for a restaurant.