Restaurant Case Study..... #29
- Adrian Dionisio - business737 owner
- Aug 15, 2021
- 12 min read
Updated: Dec 1, 2024
A restaurant owner needed help to increase dessert sales. Desserts are very profitable and a great way to increase revenues. They make a huge difference to the bottom line. According to Technomic’s 2021 Dessert Consumer Trend Report, about a quarter of consumers (24%) say they eat dessert about 4.5 times per week on average. For restaurants, this means many opportunities to capture dessert revenue. This case study will highlight effective ways to sell more desserts.
Business Strategies to Increase Dessert Sales
TEN strategies to increase dessert revenues;
Strategy #1 - The Counter
Strategy #2 - The Menu
Strategy #3 - The Servers
Strategy #4 - Dessert Tray & Display
Strategy #5 - Popularity
Strategy #6 - Price
Strategy #7 - Sizes
Strategy #8 - Offer Specials
Strategy #9 - Online
Strategy #10 - Coffee
Strategy #1 - The Counter
Sell simple dessert items at the counter, as an impulse buy. For example, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. Consider placing the cookies and other desserts in a rack next to the cash register, making it easier for customers to grab a bag and add it to their check. Often customers will double up on bags of the bites — one bag to eat at lunch and another to eat later in the afternoon;
“A great treat or snack, loaded with energy and protein to keep you going”
You can also put a dessert case at the counter. Consider displaying cakes in cases so that all of the customers can see how beautiful they are. Since it is the first food that a customer sees, it also stays firmly in their mind throughout the meal, prompting them to purchase.
To unlock more opportunities, consider storing desserts in refrigerators or freezers that can easily fit on top of ordering and checkout counters, or on top of bars and café counters. Because they’re an easy fit for impulse purchase locations they can help restaurants drive dessert sales.
Restaurants can also store single-serve, portable desserts right on top of the checkout counter, or in tight spaces that are conveniently accessible for food servers, so that they can be served quickly to diners who are on the go.
Strategy #2 - Menu
The look of the menu should be changed regularly (monthly or quarterly). This is important but often overlooked. Retail stores, for example, move their inventory regularly and so should restaurants.
Get creative when designing the menu or use a professional copywriter to name and describe meals: Fruit Salad becomes ‘Gourmet Fruit & Berries – A colourful array of fresh local berries, bananas, strawberries, pineapples and raspberries surrounding big scoops of frozen yogurt on a palate of cantaloupe with our finest Maple Syrup poured over top.
Don’t arrange your dessert menu in price order, the first 2, and the last item in any section get read most – put your highest margin items here. The top right corner of your menu is your prime sales spot – choose the one item you’d like to sell most of and place it here.
Make sure the menu is interesting with some variety for everyone; light items and heavier items, something fruity and something chocolatey, cheese and biscuits (not everyone has a sweet tooth) and how about a couple of sharing desserts? How many people ask for a dessert with 2 spoons? What if they could order something just slightly more expensive to share? ‘Your choice of 4 delicious flavours of our delicious home made ice cream.’
A separate dessert menu often proves to be very effective. List at least 5 desserts with great photos and descriptions. It's the eye that buys! Present your dessert menu (or dessert tray) to your table.
In your menus use imaginative descriptions and highlight provenance. If you use a local producer/ supplier, mention it, customers are placing increasing value on traceability, sustainability and local sourcing.
The centre of the table is prime real estate that usually goes unused. A small menu stand with exotic and appetizing desserts will whet their appetites for more food, and give them a chance to talk about it with their friends. Leave the dessert menu on the table to guarantee increased sales.
Strategy #3 - Servers
Servers are going to be the key factor driving sales. They need to be trained and they need to know their stuff. They should be able to tailor their dessert presentation to what they anticipate the customer will want. Servers should also have a good command of the details involved with each dessert: what’s in it, how it’s prepared, etc.
The best thing you can do for your servers besides train them well is to give them props. Being able to show customers the actual dessert or a 3-D likeness of what they’re about to order is one of the easiest and most effective ways to get your customer’s sweet tooth active.
Train your staff so they know your dessert offerings inside and out. They should be able to describe each item in such detail that a customer can’t help but feel their mouth water upon hearing it. While training them on how to describe each dessert can be helpful, it’s always better to hear someone describe their own experiences.
Let your staff try all your desserts. Let them share their own experiences with your desserts with customers to help make the sale.
Next, be sure that your wait staff isn’t merely asking their table if they want dessert but rather offering a specific item or items off the bat. “Should I bring you a slice of our refreshing homemade ice cream and carrot cake” will go a lot further than “Would you like dessert.”
Everyone who is the front line and serving or selling to the customers should be upselling. They have the power of persuasion on their side. Have them use phrases like, ‘don’t forget to save room for dessert’ which plants a seed. Skipping dessert is great when eating at home, but going out to eat is an experience. It’s okay to have your customers be a little bad on their diets and spend a little more cash with you isn’t it? Make it happen by using these tips
Always suggest dessert before you suggest coffee.
Always suggest a range of two different types of dessert, such as a chocolate one and a fruit one.
Suggest that your guests split a dessert if they indicate that they're “too full.” (“All of our desserts come with two forks!”)
Suggest dessert twice to increase dessert sales, always suggest them at least twice: once after taking the order and then again after clearing. Don’t ever say, “Do you want some dessert?” That doesn’t sound enticing. Make it sound irresistible. Try this format:
“Now we’re ready for the best part of the meal, one of our great desserts! Maybe the Mud Pie made with chocolate chip ice cream, Oreo cookie crust and covered with a Kahlua-chocolate fudge sauce? Our homemade pie today is fresh peach, and it’s great topped with cinnamon ice cream.”
Create incentives for staff to increase dessert sales. For example, create a weekly dessert sales challenge – everyone loves a challenge! Keep it simple, easy for team members to record their sales and for everyone to see who is in the lead. Maybe a small magnetic whiteboard on a freezer? Whoever sells the most desserts this week wins a prize.
Train your staff to be contagious, persuasive and full of energy when offering dessert. Changing your speed, tonality, and excitement works anytime you are trying to make a sale.
Be sure to call attention to your desserts at the end of the meal. This can be done with a dessert menu or a dessert tray. Always be sure to leave the menu or bring the tray to the table automatically as opposed to asking if your diners would like to see them. It becomes easier to make the sale when they information is in front of them. You don’t want to give them the chance to say no before you’ve made your pitch.
Strategy #4 - Dessert Tray & Display
Rather than ask if they want a dessert, it’s always more effective to show a dessert tray. You will increase sales by showing the dessert rather than just a menu. This is our dessert of the night recommended by our head chef, it’s a (add appetising description like; freshly made waffle with fresh summer fruits, homemade ice cream with Belgian hazelnut chocolate”. Profits over revenues… equals good MATH!
Keep Dessert on the customer’s mind. Many times, diners fill up on appetizers, bread, and their meal so that by the time dessert comes around they can’t imagine eating another bite. One way to combat this is by making sure they know what deliciousness awaits them before they have a chance to eat too much.
Having a dessert tray located near the host’s stand that everyone must walk by while being seated ensures that diners will notice your desserts from the beginning. Your servers should also be calling attention to dessert specials at the beginning of the dining experience, planting the seed for the sale later.
Most restaurants display desserts on a table in the lobby area. That’s great, but as soon as a customer is seated in the dining area, they've forgotten how great that visual display looked. Instead, place the desserts on a tray and present them to your customers.
To increase sales appeal to the senses and tap into emotions. Plant the seed for dessert from the start with pictures and dessert displays at the entrance to the restaurant. You can let enticing aromas greet customers when they walk through the door. Often restaurants are so well ventilated no smells can escape the kitchen, so operators might want to invest in a smell machine that can send off wafting scents of peppermint, cinnamon or chocolate.
Strategy #5 - Popularity
Make it more difficult for your customers to say ‘no’ to dessert. Desserts can play a crucial role in business growth. Cheesecake, cupcakes, apple crumble, crepes, carrot cake, apple pie, ice cream, brownies, chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cake are the most popular desserts in America & Western Europe.
The primary considerations while deciding the right dessert menu for your restaurant are how unique the dish is, and that it’s neither too heavy on the stomach nor too sweet. There are multiple ways in which your restaurant chef can play with the desserts. There are also ways to increase the likelihood of consumers getting dessert and boosting sales;
Premium toppings, which offer craveable familiarity, are a perfect way to entice diners to indulge. Put some unique, and maybe even a little exotic, twist on your dessert offerings to make them feel fresh but not unfamiliar. Make sure consumers will be able to find something that appeals to them by customising desserts.
Showcase popular brands. Customers are more likely to purchase desserts that are made with popular or familiar brands, Many consumers gravitate toward treats that feature brand-name ingredients such as Lindt, Ferrero, etc. The clients are attracted and familiar with the popular big name brands. Highlight these branded items to tap into consumer loyalty. Use suitable and appropriate brands on your menu, that your customers will appreciate, to increase sales
Include desserts that pair more than one sweet or with an interactive element, such as “dip your own” or “top your own”. These options can help boost sales. Consumers—particularly younger diners—enjoy these over-the-top desserts. What’s more, younger consumers are more likely to post pictures of their desserts on social media, so by offering over-the-top desserts that feature brand-name ingredients consumers love, operators may also enjoy a bit of a social media boost. Top brownies with candy bits and ice cream, or add a donut, candy bits and marshmallows to a milkshake, for instance.
Having items which are made fresh goes a lot further in pleasing your clientele. This is the last part of their dining experience, so you want to give them something good to remember.
Desserts ready to serve are very popular. A 2020 report found that 48% of consumers want their desserts prepared and served quickly, and 33% would prefer desserts that are portable. Restaurants should offer pre-packaged, single-serve desserts that can be stored and served easily and quickly.
Strategy #6 - Price
Customers often opt out of ordering a dessert because of their high price point. Instead of bringing in more ingredients, or creating more dessert recipes, you can include smaller versions of your dessert recipes. The good part about them is the attractive price point, and that they are light on the stomach.
Strategy #7 - Sizes
Downsizing dessert options encourages customers to indulge a little at the end of their meal. Less can be more. Quick, tasty desserts are the best way to get your guests buying. Not only are more and more people health conscious these days, but also price conscious, and a trim but attractive little dessert addresses both of those issues.
The mini-dessert — bite-size cupcakes and brownies that are lower in calories but big in flavour are increasing in popularity. You can also offer samplers of mini treats to customers at a table.
An example would be to offer dessert bites that are about 50 grams each and sold in packages of four. The size and calorie count overrides any customer concerns about indulging in too much fat and sugar. It’s a quick bite, a quick treat, and it's low fat. Test with your customers, it may prove to be a hit.
More and more restaurants are offering tasting sizes of their desserts so that guests can try a little something if they aren’t up for a full sized dessert.
Strategy #8 - Offer Specials
People like limited time offers, so why not create desserts available for short periods of time? In October and November, create a pumpkin flavoured dessert. Perhaps an apple pie in the summer months. Have fun with your desserts. Give them special names that are appropriate to your concept. Whatever your plan for these specials, be sure to draw attention to the “limited time only” nature of the dessert.
Another good wat to sell is to bundle a deal;
‘Not sure you can manage a whole dessert? How about a freshly brewed coffee with your choice of bite sized home made dessert, only £x!
Alternatively you can offer Special Mini Slices: A lot of guests are turning away from pricey desserts like a slice of Carrot Cake. Rather than lose a sale, offer "mini slices" for less.
Make sure you offer take home desserts. They might not be ready for dessert now, but may well fancy one with a coffee when they get home. Offer the option of desserts to go, packaged in practical, responsibly sourced packaging.
9. Online
Experimenting with different ways to showcase desserts as customers place online orders for delivery. When a customer reaches the checkout page, a photo of brownies fresh from the oven can pop up as an option to add to the order. Depending on where the dessert photo appears on the site, it can ultimately affect the percentage of people who would select the dessert.
Small changes in calls to action can make a significant difference in cross-sell conversion during check out. This is especially true for desserts since customers need to be enticed.
Another idea is to design desserts that photograph well; Make them Instagram worthy. Take good pictures of them and post them on social media. Make them dynamic — pile on the garnishment.
The visual appeal can get a guest to take a picture of it and post it on Facebook. You want to encourage that. You want the word going out that you have an exciting dessert. You can posts menu items including desserts on the restaurant’s Instagram account, including a recent picture of a dessert named after the recent even like the Euro’s or Olympics for example.
You want your customers to be taking pictures of your dishes and desserts and sharing it on social media so that they are doing your marketing and advertising for you.
Put pictures of delicious food are everywhere online. Make sure your are using social media channels. Be sure that you are sharing your desserts to your pages using hashtags such as #dessert, #chocolate, #icecream etc.
10. COFFEE
Finally, don’t forget to have a good cup of coffee ready to go with all desserts. The two go hand in hand for most people. Making sure your coffee is up to par with your great dessert menu is more involved than you might think. Desserts and coffee are mutually supportive, so if you take the time to fine tune both, you’ll end up driving after-dinner sales, and that will make both your servers and your bottom line happy. Free cup of coffee with dessert is another sure winner to driver dessert sales.
You can even make coffee a dessert. Coffee is the easiest to sell. Thanks to Starbucks, we've all become coffee connoisseurs which makes it easier to offer premium coffees, lattes and cappuccinos. Consider offering Starbucks or Seattle's Best Coffee – mentioning those brands makes it easier to get that additional sale. Include the various liqueur flavourings and wow your coffees with peppermint or cinnamon sticks along with whipped cream.
General Tips for Breakfast & Dessert Corner
Remember, the aim of any business is to best serve the needs of the customer. This means finding out what the really want. Continually analyse what are the most popular items on the menu and stop with dishes that are not proving successful. Replace items with new ones and test how popular they are.
As business owners we make assumptions what will work and be profitable. We have to TEST the assumptions to see whether they are true or not. The same applies to the dessert menu. Test what works. If something has been tested thoroughly and is not working, it is time to pivot, change and try something else. Remember, it is all about what the customers wants and like. This is the most important. Find this out and it’s like discovering a goldmine. If waffles have been tried and tested, and are not popular, move on. Try crepes. Research for popular and tempting recipes.
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