By Geoff Wilson and Andrew Waddington, fsSTRATEGY Inc. There is no question that profit margins in restaurants are sensitive to changes in labour cost. As a prime cost, labour cost comprises nearly one-third of revenue; second only to (in fact, sometimes greater than) cost of goods sold. The degree to which a restaurant may shoulder […]
By Geoff Wilson In its recently released 2017 Canadian Institutional Foodservice Market Report, fsSTRATEGY estimates total gross revenues in institutional foodservice in Canada in 2016 to be $8.5 billion or 10 per cent of total Canadian foodservice industry sales. The table below summarizes the extent of contractor penetration in the primary segments of the Canadian […]
By Geoff Wilson The most important real estate a restaurant has is its menu. The structure of a restaurant’s menu has a significant effect on many aspects of a restaurant’s operations including revenue, food cost, equipment requirements, pantry counts and, most importantly, guest satisfaction and repeat visitation. Getting the menu right is crucial to success. […]
By Geoff Wilson Breakfast has become a significant daypart in Canada’s foodservice industry. However, the recent growth of breakfast in Canadian foodservice has manifested itself more so in quick-service restaurants (“QSR”) rather than full-service restaurants (“FSR”). FSR breakfast traffic and all dollars as a percentage of total foodservice remained relatively flat from 2012 to 2016. […]
By Geoff Wilson Success in the restaurant business can be elusive. What’s more, success means different things to different people. Some operators want to just make a living. Others have loftier goals – maximization of market share, achievement of targeted return on investment and so on. Regardless of one’s definition of success, the basics in […]
By Geoff Wilson While I was in high school, my father, a high school principal, asked me: “What do you want to study in university?” I responded, “Chemistry or hospitality.” His quick, sage reply was, “Study hospitality. People will always have to eat.” He was right. Canada’s foodservice industry continues to grow, but like many […]
