The Danger of the Upsell

Do I want fries with that? Heck yes, I do! Add avocado? Sure! Everything on it? Is there any other way?

I am a few days in to my most recent 24 Day Challenge - and I confess I had a few cheats last night - but the type of food I am consuming, the amount of water, and the type of food I'm fueling my body with is very much on my mind. I came across two indepth articles today that address both the quality and quantity and the trend of what consumers are consuming.

Via today's Gothamist:

How Chain Restaurant Menus Encourage You To Order More

"Those glossy photos on restaurant menus aren't just appetite-building food porn—they're also integral in making you order more. In a fascinating piece on the science behind chain restaurant menus, Megan Garber at The Atlantic examines the process behind menu design and how it influences a customer's order and also a restaurant's bottom line. With quick service chains like Chipotle leading the market, sit-down chains have reevaluated the focus of their menus, trimming down where necessary and engineering menus that engage consumers in a more efficient way.

One of those brands is IHOP, which began an overhaul of its extensive menu to figure out how to better present their options. "Because the menu's so long and difficult to navigate, even our most heavy guests were not aware of the breadth of our offering," explained IHOP head of marketing Natalia Franco. The IHOP team employed multiple methods to test drive different menu designs, including focus groups, in-store food sales data and eye-tracking studies. "As part of those bigger studies,” Franco says, “we clearly knew that improving and optimizing our menu was priority number one." Ultimately, they chose a "catalog" style, which relied heavily on food imagery, color coding and a grouping system that organized dishes by food types.

Customers responded and the chain saw a 3.6% increase in sales, thanks in large part to "selection and upsell." It turns out that the new menus meant guests ordered sides and drinks more than they did before and also were more compelled to try different and "new" menu items. “Now guests and consumers are self-identifying products that they think are new,” explains Franco. There's no doubt in her mind: “Our guests are ordering additional items because of the appeal of the menu.”

Applebee's and other chains like Joe's Crab Shack undergo similar menu makeovers that incorporate things like color variations and visual cues about "healthier" dishes. It's an incredibly complex system that'll leave you feeling a bit manipulated—or just resigned to the fact that we're helpless against subliminal direction. Who's for pancakes?"

The Atlantic article is a longer read, but explores the engineering of a chain restaurant menu in greater detail.

The bottom line here is that as food consumers we have choices all day, everyday. I ask you, how many times a day do you make the Brain to Belly connection? I know when I do it changes my consumption in a significant way.