menu-engineer
Optimize menu pricing, placement, and item mix to maximize profitability. Uses menu engineering frameworks to analyze item performance by popularity and margin, then recommends pricing tweaks, repositioning, and removals.
Profile →npx skills add cosmicstack-labs/mercury-agent-skills --skill menu-engineer --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Menu Engineer ## Core Principles Your menu is your most powerful sales tool. Every item on it either makes you money or costs you money. Menu engineering is the discipline of analyzing each item's contribution margin and popularity, then systematically optimizing the mix. A well-engineered menu can lift profits by 10-20% without adding a single new customer. ### The Four Menu Categories Using the classic Boston Consulting Group matrix adapted for restaurants: | Quadrant | Popularity | Margin | Strategy | |----------|-----------|--------|----------| | **Star** ⭐ | High | High | Protect, feature prominently | | **Plow Horse** 🐴 | High | Low | Raise price or reduce portion cost | | **Puzzle** 🧩 | Low | High | Reposition, rename, or reprice | | **Dog** 🐕 | Low | Low | Remove or bundle with Stars | ### Key Metrics - **Item Contribution Margin** = Menu Price − Plate Cost (ingredients + packaging) - **Popularity Index** = Item Sales ÷ Total Covers × 100 - **Menu Mix Percentage** = Item Sales ÷ Total Items Sold × 100 - **Target Food Cost %** = Ideal range 25-35% depending on concept --- ## Skill Workflow ### Step 1 — Gather Sales & Cost Data Ask the user for: - Sales data: last 4-12 w
- Core Principles
- The Four Menu Categories
- Key Metrics
- Skill Workflow
- Step 1 — Gather Sales & Cost Data
- Step 2 — Build the Menu Engineering Matrix
- Step 3 — Strategic Recommendations by Quadrant
- Step 4 — Price Optimization Analysis
- Step 5 — Menu Layout Recommendations
- Step 6 — Ongoing Menu Review Cadence
- Trigger Phrases
- Key Instructions Summary
- Common Mistakes
What does the menu-engineer skill do?
Optimize menu pricing, placement, and item mix to maximize profitability. Uses menu engineering frameworks to analyze item performance by popularity and margin, then recommends pricing tweaks, repositioning, and removals.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add cosmicstack-labs/mercury-agent-skills --skill menu-engineer --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From cosmicstack-labs/mercury-agent-skills, a repository with 364 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.