Successfully engineered menus have a significant impact on sales and profitability- Akhil Madan, Bunny Burger

Akhil Madan had always been surrounded by food since the beginning. His father used to run a dhaba in Panipat, and from there, his love for food kept increasing. The family then shifted to stock market business, but his love and passion for the restaurant space did not die. After completing his MBA, his ardent desire for cooking did not end, and so to train himself, he worked as a manager in McDonald’s. After gathering all the knowledge he could, he started with what is today called Bunny Burger.

Making way for a hearty meal, Bunny Burger is located in Panipat. Established in the year 2013, this place is synonymous with delicious food that can satiate all food cravings and is one of the most renowned restaurants in Panipat.

In Conversation With Akhil Madan Of Bunny Burger

Bunny Burger at Sukhdev Nagar makes sure one has a great food experience by offering highly palatable food. In an exclusive interview with The Restaurant Times, Akhil Madan talks about the importance of location, menu designing and a lot more.

Importance of Location

There is a rapid growth of the quick-service restaurant space that has not only kindled high competition in the industry but has also created a new aggressive state within the real estate market. According to Madan, the first and foremost thing to zero down on while deciding a location is market research. It is imperative to understand who the target audience is. Once a brand is aware of who populates the desired position, including things like age range, food preferences, and income level, determining an ideal location becomes easy.

‘For Bunny Burger, we conducted an extensive survey in the desired areas. We prepared a proper questionnaire that comprised of several questions ranging from asking about the age groups, how many times they eat out, what they prefer to eat, what location they feel is the best for eating, the kind of burgers people want, the parking and accessibility concerns associated with it.

And we got a great response! Out of 1200 forms we distributed, 300 of them responded that if they get a burger with the quality of Mcdonald’s in a particular locality, they indeed will order from that place. This gave us a push and helped us zero down our three most ideal location around Panipat,’ says Madan. 

Service Is Key

Everyone who is a part of the restaurant industry, knows well that the employee turnover is one of the most significant problems plaguing the day-to-day operations. With the industry on the upswing, not only is losing an employee an operational pain, but it’s costly, too. It is critical to creating a working environment that encourages ongoing learning and growth.

According to Madan, a training curriculum can serve as a foundation for continually gaining new knowledge, skills, and abilities. Running a successful restaurant depends on the team hired. As more restaurants open every day, the competition to keep customers coming continues to grow. It takes more than posting a “help wanted” sign on the door and hoping for the best candidate to walk in. Achieving long-term success depends on your strategy for hiring restaurant staff.

Menu Engineering

Many restaurateurs argue that the term “menu engineering” has more to do with menu design layout and customer psychology than anything else. Others will say that menu engineering is less about layout and colors and more about pricing and profitability. Both would be right because menu engineering is indeed an art. The most successfully engineered menus have a significant impact on sales and profitability.

According to Madan, the most critical factor behind designing a menu is categorization. Categories like entrees, appetizers, and desserts or subcategories such as breakfast, lunch or dinner will allow you to compare like-items. Just like food ingredient costing, menu segment categories must be consistent across the entire data set so that the results of the analysis will be useable.

Technological Bedding

The high figure of cash and credit cards that pass through a restaurant each day make a POS system a compulsion. Not only does a POS system count and track every penny of the sales, but many POS programs also act as credit card processors. This makes swiping credit cards more secure for both the customer and the business. Servers are accountable for all their sales, and it is impossible to alter checks in the computer unless you have the password. This helps cut down on employee theft.

Madan concludes by sharing how Posist has made his life as a restaurant owner simple. ‘Posist has helped me manage my reports very effectively. It allows me to view customized reports of all your outlets. Access real-time reports of your business anytime, from any web-enabled device and make data-driven decisions for your business.’ Madan concludes by sharing, that in 2019 they are planning to open a total of 19 budget-friendly cafes in Delhi NCR.