Instead of plotting points on a graph, this report simply lists the menu items in their respective menu engineering quadrants. The generation of this report is identical to that of the Popularity Grid and simply supplies you with a different way to look at the same information.
The four profitability categories this report uses are the Star menu item, the Plow horse, the Puzzle and the Dog.
Stars represent your most profitable and popular menu items. With these items, you could decide to maintain rigid quality and portion control, as well as giving this item a position of prominence on the menu.
Plow horses are popular menu items, but their contribution margins are lower than average. You could decide to test plow horse items for price sensitivity, give them a lower menu profile, combine them with lower cost products to improve their margin of contribution, reduce the portions, or raise its price.
Puzzles have high contribution margins, but are not popular menu items. You could take these items off the menu, reposition them to a better position on the menu, rename them, decrease their prices, give the product better merchandising, or limit the total number of puzzle items on the menu.
Dogs, as the name implies, are menu losers. They are neither popular nor profitable. These items could be eliminated from the menu. You could also attempt to raise its price or carry the item, but not list it on the menu, reserving it for special customers.