37 Consider the sizes...carefully
We call this portion analysis, and it is a major opportunity for profit
that is very often ignored by coffee operators. As with any cuisine,
recipe is the key but many businesses make the mistake of ignoring
the basic recipe when creating different sizes of coffee, particularly
when they are selling sit-in and to-go coffee.
First things first though. You need to offer two sizes these days
- it’s important to increase that spend and many people want a
larger drink, especially if they are taking it away. On average when
testing, we have found that approximately 25% more customers
will take the larger size. The profitability levels will vary from site to
site but for one client this has produced an extra £50 of profit every
week. That’s £2,600 extra profit a year – for almost no effort.
Secondly, you must make sure the large drink (or in many cases the
smaller one) tastes as good as it can be. Consider carefully coffee to
water and milk ratios and how they will impact on that hook-and-
addict strategy that will ensure a good regular customer. There is
no point in gaining short term profits at the expense of your
integrity towards selling delicious coffee.
Now for a bit of controversy... Refuse to serve extra large drinks and
tell everybody you just can’t get them to taste good enough. It will
keep you one step ahead of the chains and that awful bucket of milk
that is just so crude and generally tastes awful. We love this one with
our quality coffee customers too because we can sell the Italian
small cup culture which always tastes better... need we say more?
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