Can you believe the holiday season is back already!? Customers certainly can, and their cravings for great holiday food have already begun to heat up! This year, 64% of eaters are expected to order festive meals from restaurants, which means your opportunity for profit is limitless. To keep you serving the best things for your business’s revenue, we’ve put together this list of 2024’s most profitable holiday menu items. Use the following countdown together with a piece of powerful restaurant tech to keep your margins high all winter long!
Keep in mind: the restaurant industry has changed quite a bit over the past year, and customer tastes are following. This holiday, restaurants will likely need to grapple with high inflationary costs and staffing shortages, making steady profit critical. We’ve selected these items on both customer popularity and cost-of-production fronts to make sure you’re getting the most out of everything you serve. For even more support with determining the best move for your restaurant over the holidays, utilize a full-featured financial tool. Now, let’s dig in!
Profitable Holiday Menu Item #8: Turkey
It’s the king of holiday foods, and for good reason: eaters just can’t get enough of this festive fowl! Turkey is central to almost every holiday menu, and is typically what restaurants see the most demand for during this season. This year, turkey prices have fallen significantly, making them one of the few foods that rising costs haven’t impacted. By adding turkey to your menu in various forms, you’ll have a protein that’s good for the holidays – and your profit margins.
Profitable Holiday Menu Item #7: Hot Beverages
When you think “holiday menu”, your mind probably goes to Starbucks.That’s because this coffee giant is the master of seasonal marketing, rotating its menu often to keep up with customer tastes. Starbucks isn’t the only success story in holiday coffee, though! Other major chains like Dunkin’ Donuts have followed its lead, creating a competitive environment for seasonal brews. If your cafe is looking for profit this holiday season, promoting some themed coffees, teas, and cocoas on your menu is key.
Profitable Holiday Menu Item #6: Dessert
Nothing goes better with coffee than a warm pastry. Maybe that’s why holiday-themed desserts have become one of the season’s most popular restaurant dishes this decade. Major chains worldwide are adding holiday pastries, shakes, and sweets to their menus with smart menu pricing, giving their margins a sugar rush. As we’ve discussed before, desserts make a strong add-on to any cuisine, and can be prepped and served easily. If you’re a sweet shop this season, you’re in luck – if not, start following their lead for steady profit.
Profitable Holiday Menu Item #5: Cocktails
Speaking of things to warm you up over the holidays, seasonal cocktails are also seeing a revival this year. A variety of industry-leading QSRs have added themed beverages to their drink menus to satisfy the needs of thirsty patrons. These cocktails are especially popular with patrons looking to revisit nostalgic flavors in a new way and a great way to add a holiday flare to your menu. Fortunately for restaurant owners, holiday-appropriate liquor can be purchased year-round, and have some of the best margins in the business!
Profitable Holiday Menu Item #4: Take-Out Dinners
In the modern era, we’re all living busy lives, which can make cooking a multi-course holiday dinner a challenge. Fortunately, the kind souls in the restaurant industry are taking kitchen duties out of their customers’ hands with prepared meals. Ready-to-eat holiday dinners are now a common sight on restaurant menus across the country, and represent a huge amount of seasonal profit. This revenue is especially important for smaller, independently-owned restaurants, who can get value out of the holidays without in-house service.
Profitable Holiday Menu Item #3: Merchandise
Several of today’s top QSR chains are selling branded merchandise for the holidays, and it’s been a hit with customers. As a touch of seasonal fun, these items help re-establish restaurants’ brands with the public, and make for great marketing tools. Plus, as they aren’t food, this merchandise is excellent for mass-production and online shipping! If you’re looking to promote your business in a cute, original way this holiday season, look into branded clothing and accessories. You’ll be surprised how many customers want to buy merch from their favorite local spots like yours, too!
Item #2: Food Gifts
To-go meals are great for getting fresh food to your customers quickly, but what about serving items in the long-term? That’s where food gifts, like advent calendars, baskets, and boxes come in! We’ve touched on these goods – called “FMCGs” – in the past, but it’s the holiday season makes them even more crucial. Restaurants of all sizes have been getting into packaged food in a big way this year. Gifts like these provide supplemental revenue, and can be put together easily with non-perishable items. And what makes a better present than your cooking?
Item #1: Sandwiches
Ask anyone what their favorite part of holiday dinner is, and you’ll probably get this answer: “Sandwiches the day after!” These days, that isn’t just a nice thought. It’s a huge part of restaurants’ holiday menus! Sandwiches made with traditional holiday ingredients are appearing at restaurants big and small, bringing in a new era of seasonal lunches.
This is a great thing for restaurateurs, as sandwiches are one of the easiest, most cost-effective items available. Flavors like turkey, cranberry, and roast beef make any sandwich tastier – and more popular. If you're adding a sandwich to your holiday menu, check out these menu descriptions examples to make each sandwich sound as good as it tastes.
This holiday season, give the gift of profitable menu items!
No matter what kind of restaurant you run, there are many ways for this holiday season to be your best one yet. With the menu items we’ve listed out here, you’ll have a variety of holiday flavors – and merchandise – to choose from! Use a strong management platform to add these items to your menu effectively, and you’ll set a precedent for seasonal success. To maximize the amount of profit you can earn, be sure to use software that eliminates commission fees, as well. The right mix of items, strategy, and tech will make your restaurant 2024’s holiday star, and keep customers coming back all year long!
