Menu & Product
Food Cost Analysis
Finding the gap between the food cost you should have and the one you actually have.
The business problem
Theoretical food cost is what the recipes say you should have spent. Actual food cost is what you did. The gap between them is where portioning, waste, theft and purchasing errors live.
What we analyze
- POS sales by item and daypart
- Recipe yield, portion and current purchase price
- Popularity and contribution margin
- Kitchen capacity and menu complexity
01What We Do
Theoretical versus actual food cost analysis, variance investigation, and a practical list of where the margin is leaking.
02Our Approach
Compare theoretical to actual, then trace the variance to portioning, waste, purchasing or theft.
What You Get
- 01Theoretical and actual cost calculated side by side
- 02The variance broken down by likely cause
- 03Category-level reading so effort goes where it pays
- 04A control routine the team runs without us
Our Approach
- 01
Baseline
Purchases, stock movement and sales for the period.
- 02
Theoretical
What the sales mix should have consumed.
- 03
Variance
The gap isolated and attributed by category.
- 04
Controls
Portioning, receiving and stock routines that close it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good food cost percentage?
It is concept-dependent and not a target in itself. A ratio that looks healthy on a menu nobody orders is worth less than a higher one on items that contribute.
Do we need a stock count for this?
Yes — without opening and closing stock the actual figure is an estimate, and the variance cannot be read.
Related
- SolutionMenu Strategy, Engineering & PricingA structured study of what your menu sells, what each item earns, and what to change — item performance, food cost, pricing, product mix and menu structure.
- ResourceMenu Engineering TemplateAn editable restaurant workbook for menu engineering, with structured inputs, working calculations and an action-ready summary.
- ResourceRecipe CostingAn editable restaurant workbook for recipe costing, with structured inputs, working calculations and an action-ready summary.
- ToolFood Cost CalculatorFood cost percentage and gross margin for a single item, from its cost and selling price.
- ToolMenu Pricing CalculatorThe price an item needs to hit a target food cost percentage, before and after VAT.
ArticleReading a menu as a commercial documentA menu is the only document every guest reads and the only one that sets revenue and cost at the same time. Here is how to read yours as a commercial instrument rather than a list.
More NORIVA services
All Services →- Menu PricingPricing reviewed against cost, contribution, positioning and what the market will carry.
- Delivery Menu & PricingThe delivery menu treated as its own commercial problem: commission, packaging and price.
- Menu Strategy, Engineering & PricingA structured study of what your menu sells, what each item earns, and what to change — item performance, food cost, pricing, product mix and menu structure.
- Brand Strategy & IdentityWe define the strategy, positioning and identity that make an F&B brand distinctive, coherent and ready to grow.
- Social Media ManagementAlways-on channel management that keeps your restaurant in the feed and in the conversation.
- Content StrategyA content plan built around what the restaurant needs to sell, not around what is trending.
Food Cost Analysis request
Tell us about the business and what you need, and we will come back to you.
Start a Project
Recipe and item costing, and what the food cost percentage is actually telling you.