Eating Green: Exploring the Triple Bottom Line
The recent Stanford Study called to attention the reason so many folks choose organic foods over conventionally grown, and it’s not necessarily nutritional value. The study asserted that…
9 Tips for Incorporating Local, Sustainable Foods Into Your Menu
“Local” and “Sustainable” have been buzz words of the restaurant industry for the last few years and this trend is here to stay. Buying locally and sustainably is not just good for the environment…
Cross Promotion
Last month, I guest-cheffed at EVOO Restaurant in Cambridge to promote my new cookbook. From a simple financial perspective, this may have seemed foolish. EVOO didn’t pay me, and though I earned…
Marketing Your Menu
Aside from word of mouth, a restaurant’s menu is perhaps their best marketing tool. When diners consider where to eat on any given night, they might peruse menus on the web, or in your window. It…
Allocating Expenses
Business owners need to know a few basic terms for evaluating the health of their business: Revenue (how much money you earn), Cost of Sales (cost of the product you are selling) and Net Income…
Getting Started: Writing a Marketing Plan
Last month, we offered an overview of marketing plans and their value in increasing sales. This month, we offer tips to get you started.
Creating a Marketing Plan to Increase Sales
“You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” - Yogi Berra You’ve got to know where you’re going if you are going to get there. Streamlined operations…
Social Media for Food Businesses
A few times a month, I will post articles from my monthly “Food Consulting” Newsletter. Click here to receive the newsletter by email. The prevalence of social media has created new, low-cost…
Sales and Promotion
Every March and August, restaurants in the Boston-area offer discounted prix-fixe menus as a way to lure customers into the restaurant as part of the well-promoted restaurant week. While it doesn’t…
Local Food Systems
The books proliferate. The newspapers cover it, and the movies mainstream it: people want to know where their food comes from, and think more about creating a sustainable food environment. Meanwhile,…