INVENTORY: Is Inventory Management the Most Crucial Issue for Owners?
Sadly, restaurant owners don’t have the time, money, or energy to pay full attention to all the challenges of the industry, so it’s essential that they understand how to prioritize. This naturally leads to the question of which issues warrant the most care. Where should their focus go? You might initially think about elements such as food quality, the guest experience, or even marketing, but there’s something else that can get overlooked -- inventory management. Let’s consider why restaurant inventory management matters so much.
DID YOU KNOWS…
4000-Year-Old Recipes
Thirty-five years ago, a French Assyriologist managed to translate a recipe tablet that been in the Yale Babylonian Collection for more than 50 years. The tablet dated back to around 1,7000 BC. The tablet contained 21 meat-based dishes and four vegetarian recipes, but one of the dishes was attempted by a food historian back in 1988. That all changed this summer, when a team from Yale and Harvard attempted to make three of the recipes – two lamb stews and a vegetarian recipe involving beer bread.
Comparing Nixon vs. Trump Impeachment Support
The polling about Trump's impeachment was conducted between October 14-31 and it found that a slight majority of the U.S. public, 51%, support removing of Trump from office. The Nixon survey was carried out in early August 1974 and it found that 58% of the public supported impeachment. The latest data shows that the partisan divide in the U.S. is wider than ever with both sides of the political spectrum deeply entrenched in their respective positions.
Americans Divided Over Economic Outlook
U.S. consumers are looking ahead slightly more positive than they did a month ago. That’s according to preliminary data released by the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers. Interestingly, the partisan divide that is so obvious in today’s political landscape extends to how Americans view the country’s economic outlook. While Republicans look ahead optimistically, Democrats have a significantly gloomier view of where the country is headed economically.
DON’T DISCOUNT YOURSELF
Why it matters to you: Discounting is a viable strategy when used judiciously to address slow seasonal or segment sales.
Knowing when and how to discount is an art worth learning in our industry. Of course, you don’t want to cheapen your product, but you also have times in your year that are slower than others, where a little incentive might keep your regular guests coming. The challenge is choosing the appropriate form of discounting to strike that balance between driving traffic during a slower seasonal period and simply discounting existing business. This post on Toast POS’s site is wonderful primer on the types of discounts you can consider and how to implement them to your advantage.
There are two in particular that we believe strike that balance, but, rest assured, you can implement any of these if increased traffic is your aim. Time-based discounts are an effective strategy to target a specific revenue period when you would be more willing to offer a discount. Building late-night traffic with lower priced appetizers or offering a specialized price drop on those early week dinners that never seem to get hot are both excellent uses of discounting to your advantage. Our other favored offer is the “combo meal” concept, where you define a curated set of choices. You can choose the most profitable items to discount to ensure your bottom line is the least disrupted by the program. No matter what you choose to do or even if you do nothing at all, discounting has a place in your strategy.
[Source: Toast POS]
THE REVOLUTION HAS ENDED
Why it matters to you: AB Inbev’s purchase of the Craft Brewing Alliance means the craft beer trend is over.
While we don’t want to say that Budweiser ruins everything, it’s kinda true. Over the past 20 years, the folks at Anheuser Busch have been trying to get in on the fun of craft brewers. They originally made investments in Widmer and Redhook breweries which eventually led to the formation of the Craft Brew Alliance. This new group has subsequently gone on a buying spree, acquiring breweries such as Kona, Wynwood and Cisco breweries, to name a few.
On Monday, AB InBev decided to acquire all of the Craft Brew Alliance to solidify their position in the craft brewing world in the longer term. Unfortunately, they might just have guaranteed the end of the trend. Though craft beer sales growth has cooled of late from the heady double-digit gains the sub-segment used to post years ago, smaller brewers reported a 3.9% jump in volume last year, outpacing the total category’s 0.8% drop.
By taking full control of these recognized craft brew leaders, AB InBev is fundamentally shifting the segment from disrupter to establishment. But that isn’t the only pressure on craft beer. The meteoric rise of spike seltzers like White Claw and Truly have also eaten into the segments dominance. You need not fear that AB InBev will miss the chance to glom onto that trend as they have already. AB InBev is angling to get into those markets with Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer and Kombrewcha. AB InBev also bought Babe wine earlier this year, the first wine brand it owns in the United States.
So, let’s face it AB InBev ruins everything innovative by mass marketing and squeezing the brand dry. It’s up to operators to make sure that we support local producers to ensure they can stay free of that corporate overlord, just as we try to everyday.
[Source: Fortune]
