Restaurants find 'menu engineering' as a solution to price hikes

Due to high inflation in Turkey in recent years, difficulties continue in the food and beverage sector. While restaurants and cafes are trying to combat inflation, there is also a boycott by citizens against high prices. 

Restaurant and cafe operators, along with industry representatives, have begun adopting 'smart menu' practices to cope with rising costs and satisfy customers without incurring losses. These practices aim to increase customer satisfaction while keeping pricing in balance.

TO COPE WITH...

In recent years, the problem of high inflation has multiplied the costs of dining out. In this period, where food inflation has exceeded 70 percent, restaurants have turned to menu engineering to cope with rising costs.

Restaurant operators have started adding seasonal vegetables and fruits, which are more affordable, to their menus.

GOAL: TO KEEP PRICES BALANCED

Business owners have started canning and stocking products like tomatoes and eggplants when they are cheaper in the summer months to use during the winter period. This step was taken to balance rising costs and offer more affordable prices to customers.

There is even talk in the sector of updating menu prices based on the day, which is referred to as dynamic pricing.

Businesses such as restaurants, cafes, and patisseries aim to increase product sales with AI-supported, personalized smart menus and reports based on real user data.

Restaurant operators emphasize that they are trying to balance costs by changing some ingredients in their menus and turning to affordable products, noting that the root cause of the problem is inflation and rising costs, and that this situation does not stem from them.

Operators express that the constant increase in raw material prices and fluctuations in exchange rates negatively affect their businesses; they state that they have to make changes to survive in these difficult conditions and that the real culprits are these economic factors.