Case study
Brewery restaurant streamlines its menu and hones staffing to enable growth
Reducing menu complexity by 40% and adopting new back-of-house labor model leads to a 20% increase in EBITDA and stronger brand
Situation
A $60M brewery restaurant chain had several branding, menu, and staffing-related issues. The company lacked a differentiated brand in the marketplace. Its menu had grown in size and complexity, driving higher ingredient inventory and adding operational complexity, while a suboptimal back-of-house (BOH) staffing model ate further into profitability.
Candela's Role
Our team led management through an extensive brand positioning exercise that included demographic and psychographic analysis of location-based sales data, brand workshops with key stakeholders, and the execution of online focus groups. We also worked with a culinary consultant to develop a streamlined menu that was more aligned with the brand and easier to execute, with reduced labor needs, SKU count, and inventory. Finally, our team completed a detailed analysis of Back of House (BOH) staffing by day-part, day of week, and location to develop a new model to better align with consumer demand.
Impact
The company reduced its total menu items by ~40%, which led to more consistency in execution, higher profitability, and a better connection to the brand. It also increased annual EBITDA by ~20% by utilizing a new BOH labor model. Additionally, the work from this project served as a key input in identifying desirable new markets for expansion.
20%
Increase in EBITDA
40%
Reduction in Menu Complexity
