Operators 'mitigating rising costs' through menu management

The research shows that chain and pub and bar restaurants are focusing menu inflation on new dishes, with new dish inflation higher than same-line dish inflation across both channels. Additionally, the research has also registered coffee and sandwich and restaurant inflation as the highest at +3.3% and +2.4%, respectively.

Menu sizes have increased by 1.8% overall during the period, with a total number of 137 items on average with prices of new sides, starters and desserts added in September 2022 up 23%, 14% and 8%, respectively, compared to the average dish cost. 

Elsewhere, operators are introducing more sharing dishes across discretionary courses including starter and dessert dishes, to encourage spend as consumers cut back on non-core dishes. Sharing items have increased in share of starter, main and dessert from June to September 2022, accounting for 7% of total restaurant menus, increasing to 14% of desserts.

“So far, operators have been able to avoid increasing food and drink price points in-line with CPI and food inflation,” says Katherine Prowse, senior insight manager at Lumina.

“Instead managing menus through changes in proteins used, the types of dishes offered, and clever NPD has enabled operators to avoid alarming price rises.”