Making the most of your menu

A well-designed menu is a driver of efficient tuckshop operations, will increase popularity with students, and can be a big factor in whether you make a profit after expenses.

Start With Goals

Knowing what you want to achieve is a perfect place to start and two or three goals is enough

You might want an increase in sales, to cater better to the special dietary needs of students, increase appeal to staff, or improve health profile.

Length And Structure

A long, complex menu can be off-putting, and will also increase workload in the tuckshop

Two pages is long enough, with four or five sections, including:

Cold meals

Hot meals

Snacks

Drinks

Breakfast (if relevant)

Increasing Interest And Spend Per Student

Including one or two daily specials can introduce variety without increasing workload Theme days are a popular way to offer daily specials and if they are tuckshop-made, they will have a better profit margin, and provide flexibility, particularly if supply is an issue.

You can increase spend per student by bundling up menu items into meal deals, which most often contain a main meal, snack and drink Ordering a meal deal is more efficient and increases perceived value for customers

Catering To The School Community

Before you finalise your menu, cast your eye over it to make sure it has appropriate options for all members of the school community, including those with special diets, and from a different cultural background. Using good signposting for these options may attract new families that have never used the tuckshop previously.

Once you're done, don’t forget to send your menu to QAST for a free member Menu Health Check and check out our Sample Menus for more inspiration