Menu Design

Star item

In menu engineering, a high-popularity, high-margin item — a top performer the operator should protect, feature, and merchandise. Categorization comes from PMIX (popularity) and contribution margin. Other categories: Plowhorse (popular, low-margin), Puzzle (unpopular, high-margin), Dog (unpopular, low-margin).

Related Terms

Menu engineering

The discipline of analyzing menu item performance — popularity (PMIX) and contribution margin — to optimize pricing, descriptions, and placement for higher revenue per cover. Classic framework categorizes items as Stars, Plowhorses, Puzzles, and Dogs.

PMIX (Product Mix)

A report listing each menu item's units sold over a period, expressed as a percentage of total items sold. Used in menu engineering to identify popular vs slow-moving items. PMIX + contribution margin determines whether an item is a Star, Plowhorse, Puzzle, or Dog.

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