In addition to a comprehensive restaurant insurance program that minimizes risks, owners can reduce costs by implementing an effective program to have less food waste. Businesses in the food service industry are the most significant contributors to America's food waste problem.
Keeping track of inventory is essential to lower a restaurant's food costs. Advise your clients to create a regular procedure to calculate inventory and food waste. When owners require managers and staff to track food usage and spoilage, they will gain reliable data. This information enables them to adjust their food orders accordingly.
Calculating the expense of food for a restaurant is a time-consuming job, but it helps owners stay on budget and ensures a successful operation. Your clients need to track and assess the following information for accurate and helpful profit and loss statements:
Owners can determine their food cost using this formula: (Cost of Goods Sold / Food Sales) x 100. They should aim for a food cost percentage between 25 and 35 percent.
Restaurant managers can monitor and evaluate the serving portions of their menu items. If service staff consistently throws away leftovers from certain dishes, the portion size may be too large. Owners can modify the amount of food on the plate to better control the restaurant's overall food cost.
Another effective method for minimizing waste is to create daily specials. Your restaurant insurance program clients can train their kitchen staff to develop specials each day that use excess inventory items or ingredients that spoil quickly. Managers can then train service staff to encourage customers to try the specials, maximizing inventory expenditures.
Your clients can design an effective system to control food ordering and handling procedures. The kitchen staff can prep foods themselves instead of buying prepared items. Managers can track food prices to purchase ingredients that are in season as much as the menu allows. Restaurants can offer limited menu options, reducing the number of items owners must buy.
Your clients can work with suppliers to ensure low food costs. Advise them to research competing supplier prices and see if their suppliers will match lower pricing. Sometimes, restaurants can purchase items in bulk and have them delivered in many smaller shipments. This process reduces costs and minimizes waste at the same time.
Ensuring the success of any program involves sufficient training and education of employees. Restaurant owners and managers must communicate expectations and processes to each team member.
Food waste can affect many aspects of your policyholders' businesses. By learning how to reduce food costs in restaurants, they can increase their income and decrease the risks of potentially serving spoiled food to customers. When your clients serve reasonable portions, manage inventory and handle ingredients correctly, they lessen both waste and loss.
At RMS Hospitality Group, our expertly crafted policies are written specifically for the hospitality industry. We offer custom tailored solutions to meet any venue's specific needs. For more information, contact our knowledgeable experts today at (888) 359-8390.
At RMS and associated firms, business continues as usual. Our staff is remote-capable and available to handle all partners, brokers, and insureds at the present time.
