A delivery menu that works has three things: dishes that arrive well after half an hour in a box, few dishes that share ingredients, and prices that leave contribution after the app's commission. If a dish arrives badly, leaves little after commission or forces you to buy an ingredient just for it, take it off the delivery menu, even if it sells well in the dining room.
First: which dishes survive the trip
In the dining room a plate leaves the pass and gets eaten in two minutes. On delivery it sits closed in a container for a long while, steaming. Fried things go soft, crisp things go damp, salad wilts, shakes melt, burger buns soak up the sauce.
Run a travel test on every dish:
- Pack it exactly as it goes to the customer, same container, same bag.
- Leave it closed for your real delivery time. If your orders take 35 minutes to arrive, wait 35.
- Open it and eat it the way a customer would.
A dish that fails has three ways out: separate the parts (sauce in a pot, salad in its own compartment), change the packaging, or drop the dish. Separating costs money: every extra pot adds to the cost. The guide on delivery packaging cost per order shows how to add it in.
A short menu costs less
Every dish you add brings ingredients to buy, store and lose. With low order numbers, the ingredient only one dish uses is the one that leaves the most waste.
Make this list for each dish:
- Which ingredients it shares with other dishes (beef, buns, cheese, onions, fryer oil).
- Which ingredients only it uses.
- How many orders it had last month.
A slow seller that needs an exclusive ingredient carries all that ingredient's waste. A dish that reuses what is already in your mise en place adds almost no risk.
A short menu is also faster to pack. When six orders land at once, every different dish is another station to work.
The app price has to cover the commission
The app takes a percentage of what the customer pays. If you want a dish to leave you the same on the app as in store:
app price = (loaded cost with delivery packaging + contribution you want) ÷ (1 − commission)
Say the app charges 30%; check your contract for your real rate. Your smash burger is $11.00 in store and its loaded cost is $4.70. For delivery you add $0.50 of box, bag and napkins: $5.20.
- In-store contribution: 11.00 − 4.70 = $6.30
- App price to keep the same: (5.20 + 6.30) ÷ 0.70 = 11.50 ÷ 0.70 = $16.43
- Check: 16.43 × 0.30 = $4.93 commission; 16.43 − 5.20 − 4.93 = $6.30
If $16.43 feels too high for your customers, you can charge less on the app and accept a smaller contribution per burger. What matters is knowing how much smaller. The delivery app price tool does this sum for you.
Worked example: a burger kitchen's app menu
You run a burger place and want to decide what goes on the app. You have worked out each item's loaded cost with its delivery packaging. Example commission: 30%.
| Item | App price | Loaded cost | Commission (30%) | You keep | Kept per $1 of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smash burger | $14.00 | $5.20 | $4.20 | $4.60 | $0.33 |
| Fried chicken sandwich | $13.00 | $5.60 | $3.90 | $3.50 | $0.27 |
| Fries | $5.00 | $1.10 | $1.50 | $2.40 | $0.48 |
| Milkshake | $7.00 | $2.10 | $2.10 | $2.80 | $0.40 |
| Canned soda | $3.00 | $0.80 | $0.90 | $1.30 | $0.43 |
"You keep" is price − loaded cost − commission. "Kept per $1" is what you keep divided by the price.
What the table says, together with the travel test:
- The smash burger leaves the most in dollars and holds up if the sauce goes on the bottom bun. It is the one to feature.
- Fries leave a good share of each dollar but arrive limp in a closed box. If a vented box costs $0.15 more, you keep $2.25. Test it before you decide.
- The chicken sandwich leaves the least per dollar and is the only item using chicken thighs and buttermilk brine. If it sells a handful a night, that chicken is waste waiting to happen.
- The milkshake melts. Unless your test says otherwise, keep it for the counter. Cans travel perfectly and leave a good share.
Combos that lift the order without giving away margin
Many delivery costs come per order, not per item: the bag, the packing time, the trip if you deliver yourself. A bigger order spreads them. That is why combos make sense, but they need checking.
Burger + fries + soda combo at $19.50 (separately they would be $22.00):
- Loaded cost: 5.20 + 1.10 + 0.80 = $7.10
- Commission: 19.50 × 0.30 = $5.85
- You keep: 19.50 − 7.10 − 5.85 = $6.55
Compare it with the two alternatives:
- Burger alone: $4.60. The combo leaves $1.95 more.
- All three separately: 22.00 − 7.10 − 6.60 = $8.30. The combo leaves $1.75 less.
The combo pays when it is bought by someone who would only have ordered the burger. When it is bought by someone who was going to order all three anyway, you gave away $1.75. So build combos around the items that leave the most per dollar, like the drink and the fries, and check afterwards whether your average order went up.
Review the menu every month
A delivery menu is never finished. Each month, look at how many orders each dish had and what it left after commission. Menu engineering sorts dishes into four groups by popularity and contribution, and the guide on which products to keep, push or drop gives you the rules for deciding. To price a new dish from its cost, use the plate price tool.
If delivery is a big part of your business, the cost model for delivery-first food businesses puts it all together.
Do it with the calculator
Load each dish into the food cost calculator with its delivery packaging included and your app's commission rate; you will see what each one leaves and can fill in the table above with your own numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How many items should a delivery menu have?
There is no right number. Keep the dishes that arrive well, leave contribution after commission and share ingredients with the rest. Any dish that needs an ingredient nothing else uses carries that ingredient's waste on its own.
Can I charge the same on the app as in the restaurant?
You can, but then the commission comes out of your margin. Work out what you keep at the in-store price and decide whether you accept that number or raise the app price.
How do I know if a dish travels well?
Run a test: pack it exactly as it goes out, leave it closed for your real delivery time, then eat it. If the fries went limp or the shake melted, change the dish, the packaging, or take it off.
Do combos always pay?
No. A discounted combo leaves you less than selling the same items separately. It pays when it gets someone who would only have ordered the main to add the side or the drink.