canihave…
The Menu Strategy for canihaveabite
About
The menu at canihaveabite changed weekly. This is unusual for the food industry - there are many reasons most restaurant menus do not change often. It was a unique selling point for canihaveabite and one of our central marketing strategies. Every Sunday, potential customers could view the new menu: (a) in their email inbox, (b) on Instagram stories, (c) on the canihaveabite website, and (d) at the canihaveabite brick-and-mortar storefront. All items could be ordered immediately; click here for more information on our ordering system.
First, view the menus like a potential customer. Then go behind the scenes with me to learn how I designed our weekly menus.
Scroll: Menu Design • Behind the Process
Every Sunday,
potential customers could view this week’s dishes & drink menu in 4 locations:
Instagram Stories & Highlights
People could view it: on canihaveabite’s Instagram Story for 24 hours and as a Highlight for 1 week.
Featured: Instagram menu for January 29-February 4, 2023
Email Marketing
People could view it: in their email inbox every Sunday morning.
Featured design: email menu for March 12-18, 2023
Storefront Menu
People could view it: at the brick-and-mortar storefront and on the business website.
Featured design: PDF print menu for February 19-25, 2023
Through online ordering
But there is a more to say about that. Stop scrolling and learn more about that project here. It will open in a new tab, so you can continue reading this page here.
And this is what you didn’t see.
(The process prior to the graphic design.)
1 - Menu Planning
Oh, spreadsheets.
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Oh, spreadsheets. •
There were a few favorite items, but customers loved the overall variety of dishes offered at canihaveabite. Maintaining this variety was highly strategic in its design. I kept detailed records on the sales rate of every menu item, ensuring that no dishes were repeated too frequently (even if popular).
We cooked with seasonal, local ingredients. A good or bad text from a farmer could also change the menu overnight:
“I’ve got a lot of beautiful [produce, i.e. kale] this week - want it?”
“The weather has been [bad for a particular crop] and I don’t have what I expected of it”.
To manage these factors, the menu planning occurred in stages.
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I used whiteboards to quickly track inventory counts during the day. Counts were cross-checked with digital software.
2 - Synchronization
There was a limited inventory of items available for purchase each week. Once an entree or soup sold out, it would be marked as such, then removed from the menu for several weeks. We did this to (a) ensure menu variety overall, and to (b) encourage purchasing urgency. If an item did not sell out before Sunday, it would be added to the following week until it sold out.
Sometimes production changes, like ingredient shortages, forced us to adjust our planned menu. Before announcing the full menu to customers, I had to synchronize the pre-planned menu with the dishes that were still available that week.
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3 - Execution
Once we finalized the menu, I needed to translate it in a manner that would be routinely appetizing to customers. Canihaveabite consumers could view the weekly menu in four locations: Instagram Stories, in their email inbox, canihaveabite’s online storefront, and in the window of the physical storefront. We selected these platforms based on sales traffic and customer demand.
After contemplating my multi-platform workload, I had one goal: create a visually attractive design that is quick and easy to edit weekly.
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2023 Menu Design
2018 Menu Design
2022 Thanksgiving Menu
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1 - Menu Planning
Consult with chef, check spreadsheet data, plan.
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2 - Menu Synchronization
At the end of closing on Friday - checking inventory, removing or adding dishes accordingly
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3 - Graphic Design & Execute
Design menus for specific platforms, as requested by customers
