Menu Planning and Product Development: A Comprehensive Analysis

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MENU PLANNING AND PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TASK A............................................................................................................................................ 3
A) ASSESSMENT OF THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE MENU PLANNING DECISIONS............3
B) DISCUSSION ON THE STAGES OF THE PLANNING OF MENU PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT.....6
C) EVALUATION OF FACTORS OF THE INFLUENCES ON THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS...........8
REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................9
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TASK A
A) ASSESSMENT OF THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE MENU PLANNING
DECISIONS
The menu of a restaurant or a food service is considered an imperative selling tool for food
products offered by the restaurant. It shows the capability of diversity in food items along with
quality, presentation and excellent service which can be sustained by the food service
operations in regularity (Cousins et al., 2002). A menu is a medium of communication between
the restaurant and the customer regarding the choices available with elements of interests and
various factors which have played their roll in its development. Here some of the major factors
which influence a menu development process will be discussed.
TIMING: Timing in menu development is a very important factor since the food habits or
preferences of people is developed based on time of the day, month and year (Drysdale and
Galipeau, 2002). There are significant distinctions between what people opt as their food choice
in the morning and in the evening and an ideal menu should recognize that distinction. Timing
is not limited to the certain time of food at a certain time of day and year, but it also covers the
factor such as time taken in a recipe preparation and processing etc.
REGION-BASED CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS: Customers of this century are highly specific about
their choice and expectation since there are thousands of options are available for them in a
city. The most common and influential expectations they have which are often derived from the
social structure and trends of the region are quality of the food and prices. Nonetheless, if a
food item served on their choice is exceptional in taste and quality, prices don’t really matter.
These price and preferences are completely based on the region where the restaurant is
located and the society lived nearby (Cousins et al., 2002). For example, if the restaurant is
located near some intense business location where lots of offices and companies are an
operation, the menu should include food items which are readily available, don't take time in
their preparation and are healthy and tasty at the same time.
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RELIGIOUS/ CULTURAL INFLUENCE: This is another import6ant factor of influence which is vital
in a menu product development process. The influence of culture and religion has always been
there on food choices and preferences in human evolution and it still is as relevant as always.
For example, a country with the largest population who don't eat any kind of meat in India
called vegetarians. They have some quite unique dishes which are preferred worldwide by
every culture and religion (Din et al., 2013). So if a restaurant is near someplace where cultural
dominance is distinct like Indian or Chinese, the menu needs to be according to that. There are
several cultural dishes in ever religions which are preferred occasionally and some of them
regularly which directly influence menu planning (Durmaz et al., 2011).
ETHNIC AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE: Ethnic and social influence is quite different from religious and
cultural influence since it represents the geographical and national social framework of people.
This kind of influence mainly derives the sustainability of food item consumed, food packaging
and waste reduction, food ingredients and food contamination sources, transportation and
other similar issues which also influence the cost-effectiveness of a food item. The cleanliness
of food and use of some specific ingredients is also among some of the ethnic requirements
which can be noticed in different food services (Din et al., 2013).
SEASONAL AVAILABILITY: The seasonal availability of ingredients puts a significant impact on
menu planning and pricing strategy of food items involved in the menu. The off-season
ingredients which may be costly and not available in close proximity derive the change in menu
items since according to the season, the food choices and preferences of people also change.
This mainly effects dishes which uses seasonal vegetable, fruits and other grains.
TRENDS AND FASHION: Another influential factor in the market and social trend in food items
and dishes. This factor encourages innovation and creativity in menu planning and dishes which
begin a trend in the first place and starts a series of development of food item changing the
entire theme of the consumption trend in the region (Durand, 2012). The categories which
cause this type of disruption are exotic dishes and drinks, alcoholic and fruit beverages, frappes'
and mocktails etc.
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SPECIAL OCCASIONS AND EVENTS: Special occasions and events have their own food demands
and preferences which are needed to be acknowledged by a menu planning strategy to get
effective gain and leveraging the event. Special events are addressed by these dishes in many
different cultures and the food items are the main thing which gives them recognition and
identity.
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B) DISCUSSION ON THE STAGES OF THE PLANNING OF MENU PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
Menu development and planning is a complex process and involves lots of considerations and
analysis since it is the prime selling proposition of the business or the first impression that
customer has of restaurant business (Penner et al., 2013). There are some steps which have
been developed and customized for the need. These steps can be used with a bit more
specifications and detailing to develop a successful and effective menu plan. They are:
THEME/ IDEA GENERATION
In this step, a specific and location/geography suited theme is generated for which ideas are
invited from the staff and planners. The questions which need to be asked and answered are
what would be the theme of the restaurant, type of serving method, type of cooking method,
the dominance of food category and cultural influence, order process and platforms, service
timing etc. According to all of these factors and many others like them, a theme is decided
which dominates the entire feel of the menu planning. The dishes are according to that theme
and suited the timing and occasions (Gregoire and Spears, 2010).
FACTOR ANALYSIS AND PRODUCT RESEARCH
In this step, all the factors which have been discussed in the previous part are considered and
analysed. The location-based specification, cultural and social needs of the people within the
close proximity, seasonal availability of food ingredients and waste and environmental
considerations. A list of dos and don’ts’ is made which involves all the preferences and strict no
for the food items. A survey analysis can be conducted to identify the preference of the nearby
locations and people who regularly visit restaurants (Cousins et al., 2002).
PRESENTATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The presentation is a crucial step which needs the full attention of the planning team. The food
presentation is about making the served food attractive in the sense, smell and vision. There
are lots of rules and methods have been developed to provide a pleasant look and feel to a
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dish. Earlier it can be only done with some specific dishes but nowadays every single dish can
be designed and presented according to the need. So, in this step, a presentation methodology
is developed which suits and correlates with the theme of the restaurant.
TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
In this step the prepared plan is tested and assessed on the criteria of some basic requirement
such as the timing of the preparation, the presentation needs according to the time and theme,
service delivery, service conduct and review and many others. These things are analysed and
assessed based on some standards available from hotel and restaurants rating associations. The
most important measure, however, is that the quality of the item service can be matched the
standards and beyond within the prepared menu plan or not (Thompson, 2010).
DEPLOYMENT
The menu plan is deployed with minor and major changes which were noted in the last step. In
this process all the dishes available in the menu are served with extreme quality, service and
presentation standards and regulations to gain the initial attention of the customer.
ROLLOUT / MONITORING
The menu planning is monitored on its performance and effectiveness. The monitoring criteria
may be customer reviews of a restaurant developed measurement criteria and upon successful
acknowledgement of an issue it is sent for rollback and amended within the recommendations.
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C) EVALUATION OF FACTORS OF THE INFLUENCES ON THE DEVELOPMENT
PROCESS
As mentioned above menu planning has significant complexity in its preparation phase and the
factors which influence the menu planning are also not stable. The demographics and
preferences of customer changes with time and trends and with that there is a need for regular
updation in the menu also, in order to maintain the effectiveness of it. Apart from the factors
which guide the menu planning process, there are many other issues which are also needed to
be addressed like the cleanliness of the place and food preparation process and equipment,
food contamination, food safety and hygiene etc. (Gregoire and Spears, 2010). The
development process is severely influenced by the location, geography and demographics of
the place where a restaurant or the food service is placed. Every other factor is somehow
related to and derived by these location base factors. So an ideal menu planning strategy would
provide amp0le attention to these factors at the beginning of the processor development.
Other factors which may have been missed are such as the menu plan must reflect the theme
of the place or restaurant since every restaurant or food services nowadays have some theme
or elements of speciality as their recognisable identity. Also the menu planning team needs to
work on the design style of the food, what would be highlighted in it, the price or the quality
and soberness etc., colour 0of the menu plan, picture of the dishes, size, attractive elements,
visually compelling graphics etc. are also able of influence the development process of menu
product (Drysdale and Galipeau, 2002).
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REFERENCES
 Penner, R.H., Adams, L. and Rules, W., 2013. Hotel design, planning and development.
Routledge.
 Gregoire, M.B. and Spears, M.C., 2010. Foodservice organizations: A managerial and
systems approach.
 Durand, F., 2012. 15 Tips for Better Weekly Meal Planning. Online available at
https://www.thekitchn.com/10-tips-for-better-weekly-meal-planning-reader-
intelligence-report-177252, Last accessed on 1st February 2019.
 Drysdale, J.A. and Galipeau, J.A., 2002. Profitable menu planning. Prentice Hall.
 Din, N., Zahari, M.S.M. and Shariff, S.M., 2012. Customer perception of nutritional
information on the restaurant menu. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 42,
pp.413-421.
 Din, N., Zahari, M.S.M., Othman, C.N. and Abas, R., 2012. Restaurant operator's
receptiveness towards providing nutritional information on the menu. Procedia-Social
and Behavioral Sciences, 50, pp.699-709.
 Ferraro, G.P. and Briody, E.K., 2013. The cultural dimension of global business. Upper
Saddle River: Pearson.
 Durmaz, Y., Celik, M. and Oruc, R., 2011. The impact of cultural factors on the consumer
buying behaviors examined through an empirical study. International Journal of
Business and Social Science, 2(5), pp.109-114.
 Thompson, G.M., 2010. Restaurant profitability management: The evolution of
restaurant revenue management. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 51(3), pp.308-322.
 Cousins, J., Foskett, D. and Gillespie, C., 2002. Food and beverage management. Pearson
Education.
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