Airport Experience® News - Food & Beverage Issue 2023

Experts Weigh In On How To Maximize F&B Profitabiliity

BY C AROL WARD

TOM COOK Principal at King-Casey

Inf lation, supply chain issues and skyrocketing labor costs are among the many challenges plaguing airport food and beverage operators these days. Margins, which have always been thin, are now even more minuscule. Pricing restrictions at many airports preclude aggressive action to boost margins on the part of operators, leaving many vulnerable in the current climate. Menu manipulation certainly won’t solve all the problems, but proactive changes might help operators eke out a sliver more margin. Airport Experience News’ Carol Ward spoke with three menu experts on tips for maximizing profitability.

A cluttered menu can impact both profitability and the customer experience, according to TomCook, a principal at restaurant and food service consulting firm King-Casey . “Many menus are over-designed - they have too much content, too much copy, too many visuals, all of which creates clutter,” he says. “It creates a twofold problem. It’s a customer experience problembecause it’s more difficult to navigate the menu. And on the operator side, it slows down the navigation, which slows down the speed of service and the throughput. And, of course, the more throughput you have, the more money you make.” Despite the issue of potential clutter, Cook notes that some restaurants lend themselves to a bit of “food porn” on the menu. Fast food is fairly straightforward, but other dining types can benefit from descriptors and imagery. “If you’re using higher-quality items, you want to romance these products a bit,” he says. “You can create appetite appeal

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