Building Effective Value Meals

The key to a profitable meal deal is in the crafting. A well-crafted, strategically priced meal deal lets you cater to discount seekers without lowering the regular price of individual items. Here are a few tips for using value meals effectively at your pizzeria. 

Give Choices

First introduced by burger chains in the 1990's, "combo" or value meals were popular at first, but then went through a decline in sales at many QSR chains.

A study by NPD Group on reasons for the decline indicated that consumers often wanted more choice than packaged deals were giving them. Today's value meals tend to be more flexible, allowing the customer to choose between several items for a fixed price. Let guests customize their meals with their choice of toppings, crust, beverage and sizes. Take a look at this video example of a SpeedLine value meal. 

In the NPD study, one of the reasons for declining a package deal was that customers did not want the offered beverage. Consider adding low-calorie side and beverage choices to appeal to health-conscious consumers.

Offer Value

Whether you call it a Crowd Pleaser, Family Feast, or Create Your Own Combo, the key is perceived value. While the meal total should be less than ordering a la carte, it's not necessary to give a deep discount to attract bargain seekers. Many customers appreciate the speed and convenience of ordering one thing and getting an entire meal, rather than having to order each item separately. And because packaged deals drive larger orders, the reduced price is made up by increased sales. 

Choose the menu items to package carefully. Profitable deals bundle high-margin items such as salads, breads, or soft drinks, and limit expensive items such as meats, out-of-season veggies, and seafood.

Surprise: You're Getting a Deal!

One easy way to delight your customers: surprise them with the deal. If the customer orders the items that qualify for a deal separately, Terminal can apply the price for the value meal automatically. Just select the "Auto Add/Remove" setting on the meal deal coupon in Menu Designer.

Remember to train staff to let customers know when a value meal has been auto-applied, so they can appreciate your stellar service.

Increase Sales while Impressing Customers

If a customer orders just part of a meal deal—a burger for instance—SpeedLine can prompt the order-taker to ask, “Make that a meal?” (take a quick look). This easy upsell wins add-on sales and good will by showing customers how they can get more value for their money. For how-to info, on the Menu Designer "Help" menu, click "Tutorials," and then click "Creating Suggestive Selling Scripts." 

No value meal in your menu yet? They’re easy to add in Menu Designer. Watch the Create a Value Meal video series or press F1 in Menu Designer for instructions.