The Incredible Increase In Food Costs For the Pizza Industry in 2023

According to the USDA, all food prices are predicted to increase between 3.5 and 4.5 percent in 2023. For our clients who own restaurants, that is a significant increase. So what do you do to offset those costs?

Don’t despair; it’s not difficult; it just takes some careful thought. Below are some ideas to get you started.

1. Your onsite staff should focus on food preparation almost exclusively. That might mean weighing pizza toppings to ensure they are not using more than the expected amount. It might mean focusing on meal production, so the pizza leaves the store looking aesthetically perfect to the customer.
2. Ensure your employees are trained carefully so there is no wasted time and they are efficient in their tasks.
3. Offer exceptional customer service to increase repeat sales.
   1. Greet your customers as soon as they enter the restaurant
   2. Call customers by name when possible
   3. Gently offer to upsell items that might go with what they ordered. Of course, a hard sell turns people off but suggesting an item they might like is fine.
4. Start a loyalty program if you don’t have one to increase return customers.
5. Manage your inventory. By keeping accurate records of stock levels, you can ensure that you order only the necessary items when needed. In addition, take the time to price-match vendors and suppliers to keep costs down.
6. Be aware of your electricity costs. For example, can you turn the lights dimmer? Or turn off more machinery overnight?
7. Reduce the excess noise and stress in the kitchen area. No one likes a ringing phone. This is where Kanekt 365 comes in. We answer all your calls! This is one of the most overlooked places to save money.

How Does Using Kanekt 365 Help The Bottom Line of Your Pizza Restaurant?

1. Reduce wasted inventory by upselling your items when they get close to their expiration date.
2. Decrease your staffing costs by outsourcing the phone and ordering system.
3. Reduce training costs since we train the order-taking agents at our expense.
4. Increase your average ticket price with our gentle upselling techniques on every call.
5. Reduce the stress in the restaurant by eliminating the constantly ringing phone.
6. Increase customer service by reducing wait time for your phone customers.

Food costs will continue to increase throughout 2023. So take one or more of these steps now to help offset those increases. It’s also a great time to determine the ROI of using Kanekt 365 as your partner call center. Enter your store’s data into our website ROI calculator, and it will show you how much you’ll save or give us a call, and we’ll do it for you!