Managing Your Frozen Drink’s Pricing for Profit

With summer’s late sunsets and busy activities, guests are more inclined to visit a restaurant during the week than in the dead of winter. The kids are out of school, vacations are planned, and time normally allotted to chores and homework is liberated. This summer freedom means midweek traffic increases and guests are more inclined to have a cocktail than during the rest of the year.

This is precisely why reforming your summer drink menu is such an opportunity for profit.

We have long exhorted you to understand that dollar profit is the most important measure of menu mix success. You don’t deposit percentages and a fountain soda with a 10% COGS still only delivers $1.80 in profit. However a craft cocktail or frozen drink that sells for $6.00 may have a 30% COGS, but it drops $4.20 to the bottom line. The combination of profit potential and the higher likelihood a guest will order an adult beverage, means your summer drink menu is a crucial aspect of driving your business this season.

Enhancing customer experience is key

So, what works and how do you get it rolling?

For today’s conversation, let’s focus on frozen drinks. The placement of great frozen concoctions is a simple and smart method to jump start your summer menu. You can get a premium price for well-designed frozen cocktails which means more profit, but they can also be made alcohol free, so anyone in a family can order them as well. Additionally, frozen drinks are considered a specialty item and therefore provide guests with an enhanced experience at your restaurant, which will increase customer satisfaction and repeat.  Frozen drinks can also be social media worthy if dressed up well which can also drive incremental traffic.

Overcoming frozen drink obstacles

Here's how restaurants can manage their summer frozen drink prices for menu profit.

The chief impediment to adding frozen drinks invariably appears that they are difficult to implement or manage.

If that’s holding you up, then you should consider a frozen drink system from f’real. The beauty of a system like f’real’s is absolute portion control to keep those margins consistent and protected, but it also significantly reduces the labor needed to make those drinks. Given that 90% of operators claim they haven’t raised prices due to increasing labor expenses, this seems particularly relevant to your choice. This is especially in a volume place. The additional time necessary to make these cocktails can drive up their intrinsic cost. So, a frozen drink system from f’real eliminates all the labor and reduces the clean-up, while letting you cash in on the popularity of frozen drinks.

However you manage your summer drink offerings, you have to execute well on it. Getting the drink menu in place, staff trained and POP materials to support it takes time. Don’t wait to get your own menu rolling. You can always reach out to us for ideas on menu mix and potential specialty frozen drinks. Good luck and stay frozen this summer.