Menu Planning and Product Development: A Report for Prezzo (HND)

This report delves into the critical aspects of menu planning and product development, using Prezzo, an Italian restaurant chain, as a case study. The report begins by discussing the principles of recipe development, highlighting the importance of cookery style and maintaining taste and quality. It then explores factors influencing menu planning decisions, such as quality, price, service, decor, climatic conditions, and seasonal factors. Furthermore, the report examines factors influencing service methods, including silver service, tray service, and buffet service, along with their advantages and disadvantages. The report also outlines the stages of menu product development planning, from idea generation to test marketing, and evaluates various influences on the development process, including economic, political/domestic, and social factors. This report provides a comprehensive overview of menu planning and product development strategies within the hospitality industry, offering valuable insights for restaurant management and operations.

MENU PLANNING
AND PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK1.............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Discussion of the principles of recipe development.............................................................3
1.2 Factors which influences menu planning decisions..............................................................4
1.3 Factors that influence service methods.................................................................................5
2.1 Stages of menu product development planning. ..................................................................6
2.2 Evaluation of the influences on the development process....................................................8
TASK2 ............................................................................................................................................9
Covered in PPT...........................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................9
REFRENCE ..................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Menu is the list of items and products that are sold by business operations so planning for
menu is the process of identifying what all food ingredients will be needed and how food has to
look. Product development is the process of products with new characteristics which offers new
and additional benefits to the customers (Agostini and et. al., 2016). Organisation undertaken in
this report is Prezzo which was founded in 2000 and deals in restaurant industry which
specifically serves Italian cuisine to its customers in London. This report will explain the
principles of recipe development. It will assess the factors which will influence menu planning
decisions and service methods. There are various stages in menu product development planning
which will be discussed. Further, the evaluation of influence on development process will be
elaborated. Then, justification of menu design and development of the food service environment
is explained in detail. And then, research and justification of new food product concept will be
done with recommendations and performance review.
TASK1
To,
The board of directors,
Prezzo
Subject : Menu planning and product development
1.1 Discussion of the principles of recipe development.
In present business scenario, people have become more foodie and want different
varieties. Food industry is rapidly increasing and there is a huge competition between the various
restaurants. For this purpose, it becomes important that Prezzo must develop their menus. It will
help people in knowing what all options are available to the restaurant and enables them to
choose from various alternatives. It is useful because this imply how many meals are to be
planned and when they are to be served (Ahmed and Han, 2015). This is useful in eliminating the
problem of confusion related to the everyday thinking that what are to be cooked. There are
various principles of recipe development and they are discussed below :
 Cookery style : It is very important that Prezzo adopts new methods and techniques in
their cooking style. They can follow simmering, boiling and grilling the recipe as it will
provide consistency in work for the advantage of recipe quality.

 Taste and quality : Unchanged taste and quality is another important factor in recipe
development. People are hygienic and prefers the same taste and quality which Prezzo
gives so it becomes important to always maintain (Ashton, 2014). Development of new
product must not hamper the quality and taste of existing products as this can affect the
organisation.
Factor/ principle Advantages Disadvantages
Cookery style Adopting new ways of cooking
will provide uniqueness in
presenting and cooking the
food.
If chef are not well trained
than this may be negatively
impact the organisation by not
preparing the food as per the
customers expectations.
Taste and quality This will improve the customer
base and develops loyalty in
them by ensuring hygienic
food.
If company fails to maintain
the taste and quality than it
will become difficult for them
to sustain in business world.
1.2 Factors which influences menu planning decisions.
Menu planning is not immediate or easy task, it requires lot of planning and investigation.
Every organisation invest sufficient amount of time and resources while planning for menu
decisions (Hsia and Shih, 2015). Prezzo will consider various factors for effectively
implementing the planning decisions and they are discussed below :
 Quality : It is most prominent factor in menu planning decisions. People are very
cautious about their health and hygiene and so Prezzo must not compromise in their
quality. Every customers is concerned with high class quality and freshness in their
food which eliminates the chances of food contamination leading to eradication of any
illness or diseases.
 Price : It is again the most important factor in menu planning decisions. While
devising the menu, prices are also determined which must be such that people can
afford it. Customers are price conscious and does want to spend large proportion of

their disposable income on food so restaurant must set price which economical in
nature.
 Service : Every customer wants extraordinary services in the restaurants right from
entering in the restaurant till paying bill. Prezzo must offer services like serving food,
taking customers feedback regarding the food and surroundings, they must also be able
to provide customisation in food preparations as people are allergic or does not like
some ingredient, they can also provide services of Wi-Fi which is very important now
a days, etc. They are important so that customers remain satisfied and loyal to the
company (Martin, Simmons and Williams, 2014).
 Decor : It is the ambience and surroundings which plays a very important role.
Customer wants neat, healthy, hygienic, pleasant environment that will help in
attracting the customers.
 Climatic conditions : While planning for menu, climatic conditions must always be
considered because Prezzo is in UK where climate is cold so it must offer hot
beverages in their menu more and cold beverages less.
 Seasonal factors : They are very important because Prezzo can offer various seasonal
items in their menu for short duration. For instance, during the time of Christmas they
can offer various types of bakery items to the customers which will increase the sale
and profitability.
1.3 Factors that influence service methods.
Service is very important key in success of the organisation because lack of customer
service will make customer feel unwelcome and disengaged from the restaurant. Therefore, there
are various factors in Prezzo which influences the service methods and they are discussed
below :
 Silver method : In this kind of service, food is presented on silver platters and casseroles.
The table is fixed with superior silver products. Food is placed in silver platter in the
kitchen itself and at the time of serving, service provider seeks the permission of the
customers and servces food with knife and fork.
 Tray service : It is a method of serving food to the customer whole or part of it in a tray
like in case of aircraft food services (Mourtzis and Doukas, 2014).

 Buffet service : In this type of service, the customer gets the plates from the shelf or
counters and goes to the buffet counter where food is placed in casseroles and platter with
various burners. In this, customers takes food on their own according to their needs or
asks the food service provider who stands behind the counter to serve. Then, they take the
plate and move to the dinning area (Types Of Service, 2019).
Factors Advantages Disadvantages
Silver method It provides unique experience
of dining with extraordinary
and special crockeries.
This requires huge training to
handle the equipments and if
serving person lacks than this
can create negative impact of
company in mind of
customers.
Tray This is suitable when person
prefers light food or less
amount of food.
Sometime the tray contains so
limited items that it cannot
satisfy the hunger of people
and leaves customer with
negative remark.
Buffet This is beneficial as it provides
large variety of food to the
customers from which they
can either choose or have all.
Sometime it creates rush on
the buffet counter when more
people come at the same time
and also there are chances of
shortage of food and can also
lead to lot of wastage of food
as well because it is difficult to
determine what quantity will
be required.

2.1 Stages of menu product development planning.
Menu planning is not a short or brief task, it requires various stages for effectively
implementing the product development planning which will be considered by Prezzo and they
are discussed below :
 Idea generation : The first and foremost step in new product planning is idea
generation. New ideas needs lot of efforts and they can be generated by conducting
market research to find out the customers needs (Nagura and Takahashi, 2018). For this
purpose, SWOT is also a useful tool as it will help in analysing the strength and
opportunities of the company and helps in minimising the weaknesses and threats.
Organisation can also generate ideas by analysing competitors new products.
 Idea screening : In this stage, before selecting a product, organisation will analyse in
detail that whether is it necessary to introduce new product, can the existing marketing
network is able to sell the product, etc.
 Concept testing : In this stage, organisation will select small group of people, explain
them about the new product, ask them to try and take their feedback. If they response in
favourable way then the product will be accepted else it will be rejected.
 Business analysis : It is a very crucial step because every organisation operates for the
primary purpose of earning profitability. This analysis is done in detail, and useful in
estimating the selling price, analyses about how much profit will be earned.
 Product development : In this, the company has decided to introduce new product in the
market by using various tools and techniques which includes promotions on internet, in
store promotions through posters and verbally by the staff to the customers, etc. It also
plans about the financing required to implement and execute new product in the market.
 Test marketing : Prezzo will implement new product to the market only for smaller
duration to analyse the response of the people and if the response if positive than it will
introduced permanently.

Source : New Product Development. 2019
2.2 Evaluation of the influences on the development process.
Development process is not simple but its a very complex process and there are various
factors which influences the process in Prezzo and they are discussed below :
 Economic factor : It is concerned with sustainable results and outcomes of the people
which results in improvement in the economic condition of the country (Nikolaus, 2016).
There are variety of factors which will have influence on the company like inflation,
deflation, recession, etc. for instance, if prices of good increases during the period of
inflation then restaurant will have to raise its prices which will affect the profitability and
reduces the sales.
 Political or domestic factor : This is concerned with the intervention of government
polices. It includes taxation, subsidies, duties, etc. It has a major impact on organisations
business. If political system of the country is stable than it will be beneficial for the
restaurant but if the system is not stable say for instance, if taxation increases than
restaurant will increases the prices and this will minimise the sales and profitability, than
it will affect the organisation.
 Social : They are the most important factors which influences on demographics, age,
gender, religion, etc. In this case, organisation will have to regularly keep check on taste
and preferences of the customers, so that product will be developed accordance with it
and leads to customer satisfaction.
Media has a strong influence in development of new product. Its is the mode of creating
awareness among the people about the new products, its features, benefits, etc. For this,
organisation will focus on various promotional tools and techniques which will be useful in
Illustration 1: New Product Development. 2019

targetting more and more customers. It can be done through advertisements on television, radio,
newspaper, internet, social media, in store promotions through posters and digital promotion on
hoardings, etc. Apart from this, skills and knowledge of staff will be of prominent in
implementing and executing the plan of new product (Nsengiyumva and et. al., 2016). They will
have effective communication skills which will enable them to communicate with their
customers about the new product and convince them to try new product. They will also poses the
presentation skills which will be useful in presenting the food such that it will look tempting and
customer will not be able to resist to try the product.
TASK2
Covered in PPT
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been summarised that food menu planing and product
development are not an easy task and requires variety of activities. The report has demonstrated
the clear understanding of numerous factors which influences menu planning decisions like
quality, price, etc. and their importance from business context focuses that organisation must use
those factors effectively. There are various service methods on which organisation will focus like
tray, buffet, silver, etc. that will help them in deciding that which method will be appropriate in
the restaurant. This will also explain the menu product development stages which helps in
effective implementation of menu. Then a presentation is created which explains the
requirements of designing menu like colours, language, etc. It also stresses on importance of
food service environment because customers prefers pleasing and soothing surroundings. Then
benefit of new food concept is explained with various recommendations and performance review
is done to explain the challenges faced in implementing new product.
REFRENCE
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Types Of Service. 2019. [Online] Available Through :
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es_of_service.htm>