What’s the easiest way to boost soup profitability? Adding appeal to your selection. But how do you add appeal, exactly? Start with demonstrating your culinary expertise by adding unique garnishes to your soup selection. Garnishes add perceived value, can be used to highlight key soup ingredients and can add an exciting new flavor or textural dimension to soups.
Garnishes are a low-cost, simple way to appeal to a wide range of customers. At a small cost, you can increase the selling price of your soup and see higher margins. Adding a garnish lets guests easily customize their soup. Consider using leftover bacon from breakfast, vegetables from the previous day or extra appetizers to show off your skills and increase sales. Rotate your garnish selection frequently, get started with the following suggestions:
Fruits and Vegetables:
- Carrots
- Apples
- Peppers
Breads:
- Garlic bread
- Pita chips
- Tortilla strips
Prepared Meats:
- Bacon bits
- Diced ham
- Tiny meatballs
Condiments:
- Salsa
- Aioli
- Hot sauce
Since consumers are looking for customizable meals, operators can consider offering up a soup bar where guests can choose their own garnishes for their soups. Tortilla strips, cheese, sour cream, green onions, red pepper flakes and anything else you have on hand in your kitchen can add an enticing element to your soups. Giving guests a place for them to customize their soup increases the perceived value of the soup and also encourages a smooth line from the register to their table.
Garnishes can also lend a hand in upgrading a classic, traditional soup to a more exotic flavor profile. If you’re looking for a way to boost the popularity of one of the soups you already have on your menu, try incorporating some of these twists on classic soup offerings.
- Split Pea Soup can be served with mustard and fresh marjoram and thyme for a Swedish take on the soup.
- Crab soup can become the regional favorite, Maryland crab soup, by adding vegetables, blue crab meat and Old Bay Seasoning.
- Put a Latin American twist on classic chicken soup by adding vegetables like red peppers, jalapeños and chiles. Then you have a popular regional soup called Sancocho.
- Turn your potato soup into a French Vichyssoise. It’s a cold purée of potatoes, leeks and cream.
Menu descriptions, beautiful photography and staff recommendations can greatly enhance the appeal of a menu item. Add a little romance to your menu to encourage guests to order something they otherwise might not. To excite the senses, use descriptors like colorful, fragrant and hints of. To inspire a healthy perception, use words like artisan, seasonally inspired and local. And to evoke a great sense of flavor, try words like smoky, hearty and balanced. The goal is to make the description of a soup irresistible so guests will be more likely to try it.
You can show customers your culinary skill by making simple changes to your soup offerings and how you speak to them on your menu. Adding a unique garnish to your soups will help add appeal to expected varieties. Garnishes can help increase the perceived value of your soups, and they can also add exciting new elements to it. Other small changes like incorporating beautiful photography and descriptive words in your menu can also help add appeal to your soup offerings. Tempt your customers with appetizing descriptions and unique garnishes to help see your soup sales grow.
