Memorial day is only a few days away, school is almost out and restaurants will soon be releasing their summer menu items. If your restaurant doesn’t have summertime promos lined up, you might want to consider a strategy for including these limited time offers to your menu. LTO’s can boost your sales by up to 20%, and many customers are likely to visit your restaurant based on seasonal food and drink specials. They are proven to be successful and can be a great way to get new people through your door. Adding new menu items may seem like a lot of work if you’re not used to regular promos, but it can be really simple! Here are some ideas to help you get started. Putting your own personal twist on any of these ideas is a great way to stand out and catch people’s attention.
Summertime Drinks
People are looking for something to help them beat the heat, and drinks are an easy item to add to your menu. There are endless combinations of summertime drinks, from cocktails, mocktails and even some fun summer slushies for the kids, and sometimes, adding the smallest dash of an ingredient can really give it some flare. Adding mint, a slice of fresh fruit, a jalapeno for some spice or a cute umbrella are all aesthetically pleasing and enticing. Drinks are a great selling point, especially in the summer months. When people come in from shopping, or running errands, or maybe they are headed to the beach or a splash pad with their family, a summertime drink is a great option to help you cool down and not break the bank!
Keep It Fresh
Having a lighter menu option is a great choice this summer. People are looking for healthier menu options, so even fast food restaurants are finding ways to incorporate lower calorie options. Summer salads with berries and light dressing are a great choice, or a wrap filled with both sweet and savory foods. Smoothie’s are also great for on-the-go snacks and as we talked about earlier this year, snacks are a big selling point for restaurants these days.. Anything with fresh fruit is great, so you can offer a small fruit cup as a side or as a snack to go!
Desserts
This is another easy way to add in a summertime menu item. If your quick service restaurant serves milkshakes or ice cream, throw in a fun summer flavor. Anything fruity is always a good option, as we have already discussed, or many places even do a s’mores flavor for summertime. Get creative, and find something that works well for your restaurant.
As you can see, summertime promos do not have to be complicated. Don’t overthink it, just pick a couple of places to sprinkle some sunshine into your menu and see how you can increase profits. If you don’t already have a loyalty program in place, that might want to be something else you consider. If LTO’s can bring in new customers, you want to be sure they keep coming back, even after the promo has ended!
