objectives of food business plan

7 Examples of Goals For Any Food Business

Starting a food business requires more than just a passion for delicious food. Successful entrepreneurs in the food industry understand the importance of setting clear goals to guide their business decisions and marketing plans. 

Whether you’re running a bustling restaurant, a local food truck, or providing conveniently packaged foods, you want to set goals to make sure your business stays on track and continues to grow and prosper. In this article, we’ll look at 7 goals a food business should consider setting.

Different Types of Food Businesses

When people think of a food business, the first thing that usually comes to mind is restaurants. However, there are several types of food businesses in existence. Below are just a few of the common types out there to give you an idea of the variety that exists in the marketplace.

• Restaurants-  These can vary from fast food joints to fine dining establishments. They primarily focus on providing meals to customers in a dining environment. 
• Food Trucks- These are mobile restaurants. They are often known for specific dishes and provide flexibility in choosing locations. Food truck business goals can be very different than some other types of food businesses. 
• Catering – These businesses specialize in providing food for events, parties, weddings, corporate meetings, etc. They handle food preparation, presentation, and sometimes service for a large number of people. We have an article for specific goals for a catering business .
• Meal Kit Delivery Services-  This is a business that delivers pre-portioned ingredients for specific recipes directly to customers’ doors. 
• Bakeries and Pastries- These businesses focus on making baked goods like bread, cakes, pastries, cookies, and more. They can be physical locations or they can ship their goodies to customers and stores. We also have an article for some great goals for a bakery business.
• Specialty Food Shops- These are businesses that sell specific products like gourmet cheeses, artisanal chocolates, organic produce, or imported goods. They often cater to a niche market or food enthusiasts.

There is no shortage of people looking for different ways to consume their favorite foods. The food industry will continue to evolve and change to meet that demand. Whichever type of food business you run, you will need clear goals to shoot for. Let’s take a look at a few goals that will make a difference in your business.

1. Perfect Your Recipe or Menu

At the heart of the food industry is of course the food itself. As a food business owner, you’ll want to be very intentional with what you are serving your customers. You don’t often see a successful food business serving up top-tier enchiladas, sushi, fettuccine, and burgers all together (unless maybe it’s a buffet). 

Most thriving food businesses are known for a signature dish or the type of food that is on their menu. For example, Cane’s Chicken Fingers serves just that, chicken fingers. They perfected their chicken finger recipe and paired it with a signature sauce. So whether you’re serving up pies, bread, pasta, or soups, specialize in whatever it is and make sure it tastes as good as it can.

2. Establish a Brand

A brand is essentially how people perceive your business. What people think of when they think of your company. Establishing a brand is how a business stands out from the crowd. Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Burger King, Five Guys, and Whataburger all serve burgers, however, people’s perception of each brand is completely different. 

Figure out what you want people to associate your food business with and incorporate it into your brand colors, voice, and overall marketing. If you want to be sophisticated, use more muted colors and a formal tone in messaging. If you want to highlight cultural heritage use specific symbolism that brings that out. Develop a brand that resonates with your target audience, reflecting your values and the unique essence of your food product.

3. Keep Customer Review Ratings High

Think about it: before we try something new, we’re checking reviews online to see what others are saying. In the digital age, your reputation hinges on the reviews of your customers. Positive reviews can build trust, while bad reviews can be quite detrimental. In general, 86% of customers will avoid doing business with a company if it has too many negative ratings.

Customer experiences matter, so don’t be afraid to go the extra mile to make customers have a great experience. Seek feedback regularly and see what your business can improve upon and address any issues customers may be having. Incentivize happy customers to provide reviews on sites like Yelp to help get those ratings up.

4. Minimize Food Waste

According to the USDA, it’s estimated about  30-40% of the US food supply is wasted . As a food entrepreneur, consider the impact of food waste on both the environment and your bottom line. 

Some ways to reduce waste are to implement efficient inventory management to prevent over-purchasing and get creative with ingredient use to minimize waste. Partner with local humanitarian organizations and donate any excess food they can use to feed those in need. By reducing your business’s food waste, you’re not just contributing to a healthier planet but also optimizing your business’s resources.

5. Find the Ideal Location 

If you have a brick-and-mortar food business, deciding on where to set up shop is a major decision. Location can determine foot traffic, set the tone for your establishment, and can be conducive to whether you succeed or not. You’ll want to do thorough market research to make sure you are setting up in an area where your target market will be able to find you. You’ll also want to consider where the competition is, what other businesses will be nearby yours, as well as what your overall business needs are such as receiving shipments or customer parking. 

To find the right location, you should conduct a location analysis. This is when you identify a location that may work and then analyze it to see if it is the right location for your physical food business. A location analysis should involve the following:

• Visibility and Accessibility -How visible is your location and can people access it easily
• Labor costs- What are the labor costs in the county or state you plan to open your location
• Proximity to suppliers- Delivery fees can increase depending on location. Finding a location close to suppliers will allow for faster and cheaper shipping.
• Competition- Who are you competing against in the area? Are they larger and more established or are they smaller businesses like yourself?
• Zoning and other regulations- Make sure to check all zoning and other regulations. Also, stay up to date with them as they often change.
• Demographics- Is your target audience in the area where you intend to open this location?

6. Create a Loyalty Strategy

A business’s regulars are a valuable asset. By crafting a loyalty strategy, you can create loyal customers who not only continue to come back but also become advocates and recommend your business to others. Reward repeat customers with incentives like points that can be traded for small rewards such as a BOGO deal. Provide personalized experiences or exclusive events, and don’t forget a heartfelt thank you goes a long way. Making your customers feel special will build that relationship and convert one-time clients to lifetime supporters. 

Loyalty programs can be as simple as a card you can punch each time a customer buys from you. Or, you can develop an app where users earn points with each purchase. Whichever route you choose, be sure to utilize email and SMS marketing to help encourage customers to participate in the program, and the benefits of doing so..

7. Increase Online Presence

Nowadays, being online isn’t an option – it’s a must. It can be frustrating for potential customers if they can’t find more information about a business online. By not having a strong online presence, you’re likely missing out on more customers. 

Make it easy for your target audience to find your business and food products online. Establish a user-friendly website or even consider developing an app that showcases your menu, story, and contact information. A well-designed website serves as a virtual storefront. Engage with your audience on social media platforms as well. Your online presence isn’t just about visibility; it’s about creating a connection with your audience and building trust.

Goals are not static; they should evolve as your business grows and the culinary landscape changes. Whether you’re just starting your food business journey or you’ve been serving up delicacies since ‘99, these seven food business goals will help to ensure you’re focused on the long-term success of your business. 

8 Goals For an Ice Cream Business

7 Business Goals for a Coffee Shop

5 Business Goals for a Restaurant

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Team Writer: Courtney Kovacs is a Texas based writer who enjoys writing about various topics such as entrepreneurship, travel, health and wellness, and faith.

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan in 2024 (Step by Step Guide with Templates)

A restaurant business plan is a framework that guides you to plan and forecast every element of restaurant management and operations.

This includes anything from your restaurant's menu design , location, financials, employee training , and a lot more.

Creating a solid business plan is important, as it helps:

Transform your restaurant ideas into reality.

Boosts entrepreneurial success by 16% ( Harvard Business Study ).

It equips you to navigate challenges before they arise.

Attracts potential investors.

Planning is key to restaurant success. Without a plan, you're more likely to join the 26% of restaurants that fail within a year.

To set yourself up for success create a restaurant business plan.

Here's how to get started. 

What is a restaurant business plan? 

A restaurant business plan serves as a roadmap for starting and running your restaurant , making it easy for outside parties, such as investors, to understand your objectives, vision, and plan of action for your restaurant.

When it comes to the length and level of detail, ranging from brief synopses to large papers, each business plan may vary. It's good to note that investors can benefit from clear insights and additional information provided from the start. 

Every business should have a business plan, whether new or existing. Business plans help you focus on your goals and can help get back on track if you stray from them.

Steps to include in your business plan 

Your restaurant and mission statement needs to reflect your brand and goals, but you don't have to start from scratch.

The Eat App Restaurant Business Plan template , created by industry professionals and packed with insider information, is your go-to manual for creating a profitable business plan.

Your finalized business plan should have 11 essential elements, no matter how you write it. Continue reading below. 

1. Executive summary

A restaurant business plan should always begin with an executive summary. Why?

80% of venture capitalists say they read the executive summary first.

62% of investors say they would not continue reading a business plan if the executive summary did not capture their interest.

A strong executive summary can increase the likelihood of securing funding by up to 40%.

An executive summary not only acts as the introduction to your restaurant business plan samples but also as a summary of the entire idea.

The main aim of an executive summary is to draw the reader (oftentimes an investor) into the rest of your business plan.

The executive summary also helps you envision the identity of your restaurant which essentially shapes the customer experience and sets you apart from competitors.

To establish a distinct identity, you need to focus on common elements of an executive summary, including:

• A mission statement 
• Proposed concept development
• Cuisine selection
• The overall execution
• The potential costs
• Expected return on investments (ROI)

Let's take a more in-depth look at the concept development, cuisine selection, and mission statement.

1.1 Concept Development

Selecting the type of restaurant, service style, and atmosphere is the first step towards creating a unique dining experience. Whether you envision a sample menu for a:

• cozy, intimate bistro
• bustling quick-service deli
• fast-casual restaurant
• fine dining establishment

Your concept should reflect your passion and expertise in the industry.

1.2 Cuisine Selection

The cuisine you select for your restaurant can significantly influence its success.

Choosing the appropriate cuisine is vital for distinguishing your establishment from competitors and attracting your target market.

To make an informed decision, consider factors such as:

• Market demand
• Expertise and passion
• Ingredient availability
• Competition
• Profitability
• Cultural fit
• Seasonality
• Dietary restrictions and trends

In the highly competitive restaurant industry, keeping track of current and emerging cuisine trends can be a significant advantage.

1.3 Creating a mission statement

A well-constructed mission statement communicates the purpose, values, and goals of your restaurant to potential investors and customers alike.

A mission statement serves as a guiding light for decision-makers and employees, fueling their efforts to achieve your restaurant’s objectives.

To create an impactful mission statement, consider the following steps:

• Identify the purpose of the restaurant.
• Contemplate the brand’s image.
• Account for the target audience.
• Incorporate company values.
• Ensure brevity and comprehensiveness.

Related content: How to Write a Restaurant Mission Statement 

Remember, your mission statement should not only differentiate your restaurant from competitors but also resonate with your target market.

A well-conceived mission statement can provide a guiding light to keep your restaurant moving in the right direction. It helps ensure that every decision you make and every interaction you have is in line with your core values and goals.

2. Company description

This is where you carefully introduce the company in the restaurant business plan.

Include the name of the restaurant you are launching in this field along with its address, phone number, and other important information.

Then, also include the owner's information as well as a synopsis or explanation of their background. The restaurant's legal position and its short- and long-term objectives should be outlined in the second section of the company description.

To demonstrate your understanding of the changes in the local food business and the reasons why the most independent restaurant investors will be successful in this market, please submit a brief market research.

Here's an example of the page layout:

Company Description

Restaurant Name: [Restaurant Name]

Location: [Restaurant Address]

Contact: [Restaurant Phone Number] | [Restaurant Email Address]

Owner: [Owner Name]

Experience: [Owner Name] has over [Number] years of experience in the restaurant industry. They have worked in various roles, including [List of Roles]. They are passionate about food and creating a memorable dining experience for their guests.

Legal Standing: [Restaurant Name] is a [Type of Legal Entity] registered in [State/Province].

Further reading

• How to Write a Great Restaurant Description

3. Market analysis

The market analysis portion of the restaurant business plan is typically divided into three parts.

3.1 Industry analysis

What is your target market ? What demographics will your restaurant cater to?

This section aims to explain your target market to investors and why you believe guests will choose your restaurant over others.

Comprehending your target market is key to customizing your restaurant offerings to their preferences and needs.

By diving into demographics, preferences, dining habits, and trends, you can fine-tune your concept and marketing strategy to reach and appeal to your target audience effectively.

An example of analyzing your target market

 Comprehending your target market is key to customizing your restaurant offerings to their preferences and needs.

Demographics and preferences

Identifying your primary target market involves considering factors such as:

For example, a neighborhood with a high concentration of families might prefer a family-friendly restaurant with a diverse menu catering to various age groups and dietary preferences.

Conversely, a trendy urban area with a predominantly young and affluent population may gravitate towards upscale dining experiences and innovative cuisine.

Cultural and ethnic backgrounds also have a significant impact on restaurant preferences, with people from different backgrounds having distinctive tastes and customs that influence their dining choices.

By thoroughly understanding the demographics and preferences of your target market, you’ll be better equipped to create a restaurant concept that resonates with them and ultimately drives success.

Dining habits and trends

As the restaurant industry continues to evolve, staying informed about dining habits and trends is crucial for adapting your offerings and attracting customers.

For example, the rise of online ordering and delivery services has significantly influenced dining habits, with many consumers seeking the convenience of having their meals delivered to their doorstep.

Health trends have also had an impact on dining habits, with an increasing number of individuals seeking healthier options when dining out.

3.2 Competition analysis

It's easy to assume that everyone will visit your new restaurant first, so it is important to research your competition to make this a reality.

What restaurants have already established a customer base in the area?

Take note of everything from their prices, hours, and service style to menu design to the restaurant interior.

Then explain to your investors how your restaurant will be different.

3.3 Marketing analysis

Your investors are going to want to know how you plan to market your restaurant. How will your marketing campaigns differ from what is already being done by others in the restaurant industry?

How do you plan on securing your target market? What kind of offers will you provide your guests? Make sure to list everything.

The menu is the most important part of a restaurant's debut. Your restaurant wouldn't be able to operate without it.

You most likely don't have a final draft at this time, but you should aim to create a mock-up menu for your restaurant business plan. You can choose a design that you can envision yourself using and add your logo to the mock-up.

There are several resources available online if you need assistance with menu design or don't want to hire a designer.

But the price should be the most important component of your sample menu. The cost research you've completed for investors ought to be reflected in your prices. They will have a clearer idea of your restaurant's intended price range as a result. 

You'll quickly see how important menu engineering can be, even early on.

5. Employees

The company description section of the restaurant business plan briefly introduces the owners of the restaurant with some information about each. This section should fully flesh out the restaurant's business plan and management team.

The investors don’t expect you to have your entire team selected at this point, but you should at least have a couple of people on board. Use the talent you have chosen thus far to highlight the combined work experience everyone is bringing to the table.

6. Restaurant design

The design portion of your restaurant business plan is where you can really show off your thoughts and ideas to the investors. If you don’t have professional mock-ups of your restaurant rendered, that’s fine.

Instead, put together a mood board to get your vision across. Find pictures of a similar aesthetic to what you are looking for in your restaurant.

The restaurant design extends beyond aesthetics alone and should include everything from restaurant software to kitchen equipment. 

7. Location

The location you settle on for your restaurant should be well aligned with your target market (making it easier to cater to your ideal customer) and with your business plans.

At this stage in the process, it's not uncommon to not have a specific location in mind - but you should at the very least have a few options to narrow down.

Pro Tip: When you approach your investors about potential locations, make sure to include as much information as possible about each venue and why it would be ideal for your brand. 

Example for choosing an ideal location

Choosing the ideal location for your restaurant is a pivotal decision that can greatly influence your success. 

To make the best choice, consider factors such as foot traffic, accessibility, and neighborhood demographics.

By carefully evaluating these factors, you’ll be better equipped to maximize visibility and attract your target market.

7.1 Foot traffic and accessibility

Foot traffic and accessibility are important factors in selecting a location that will attract customers and ensure convenience.

A high-traffic area with ample parking and public transportation options can greatly increase the likelihood of drawing in potential customers.

Additionally, making your restaurant accessible to individuals with disabilities can further broaden your customer base and promote inclusivity.

7.2 Neighborhood demographics

Analyzing neighborhood demographics can help you determine if your restaurant’s concept and cuisine will appeal to the local population.

Factors such as income levels, family structures, and cultural diversity can all influence dining preferences and habits.

By understanding the unique characteristics of the neighborhood, you can tailor your offerings and marketing efforts to resonate with the local community.

Conducting a market analysis can be a valuable step in this process.

To gather demographic data for a particular neighborhood, you can utilize resources such as the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and reference maps.

Armed with this information, you can make informed decisions about your restaurant’s concept, menu, and pricing, ensuring that your establishment is well-positioned for success within the community.

Conducting market research will further strengthen your understanding of the local demographic.

8. Market overview

The market overview section is heavily related to the market research and analysis portion of the restaurant business plan. In this section, go into detail about both the micro and macro conditions in the area you want to set up your restaurant.

Discuss the current economic conditions that could make opening a restaurant difficult, and how you aim to counteract that. Mention all the other restaurants that could prove to be competition and what your strategy is to set yourself apart.

9. Marketing

With restaurants opening left and ride nowadays, investors are going to want to know how you will get word of your restaurant to the world.

The next marketing strategy and publicity section should go into detail on how you plan to market your restaurant before and after opening. As well as any plans you may have to bring a PR company on board to help spread the word.

Read more : How to write a restaurant marketing plan from scratch

10. External help

To make your restaurant a reality, you are going to need a lot of help. List any external companies or software you plan on hiring to get your restaurant up and running.

This includes everything from accountants and designers to suppliers that help your restaurant perform better, like POS systems and restaurant reservation systems.

Explain to your other potential investors about the importance of each and what they will be doing for your restaurant.

11. Financial analysis

The most important part of your restaurant business plan is the financial section. We would recommend hiring professional help for this given its importance.

Hiring a trained accountant will not only help you get your own financial projections and estimates in order but also give you a realistic insight into owning a restaurant.

You should have some information prepared to make this step easier for the accountant.

He/she will want to know how many seats your restaurant has, what the check average per table will be, and how many guests you plan on seating per day.

In addition to this, doing rough food cost calculations for various menu items can help estimate your profit margin per dish. This can be achieved easily with a free food cost calculator. 

A well-crafted restaurant business plan serves as a roadmap to success, guiding every aspect of the venture from menu design to employee training.

By carefully considering each component of the plan, aspiring restaurateurs can increase their chances of securing funding, attracting customers, and achieving their long-term goals.

Remember, a restaurant business plan is not just a document to satisfy investors; it is a living tool that should be revisited and updated regularly as the business grows and evolves.

By staying committed to the plan and adapting it as needed, restaurateurs can ensure that their culinary dreams have a solid foundation for success.

Growth Marketing Manager at Eat App

Saif Alnasur used to work in his family restaurant, but now he is a food influencer and writes about the restaurant industry for Eat App.

Reviewed by

Nezar Kadhem

Co-founder and CEO of Eat App

He is a regular speaker and panelist at industry events, contributing on topics such as digital transformation in the hospitality industry, revenue channel optimization and dine-in experience.

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan (+ Examples)

Learn how to create a restaurant business plan with the best format that outlines your concept, and financials. Get examples and templates to get started.

10 minute read

helped business professionals at:

Short answer

What is a business plan for a restaurant?

A business plan for a restaurant is a document that outlines the restaurant's concept, strategies, and financial forecasts. It serves as a roadmap for launching and growing the establishment successfully.

Don't just focus on profit margins, ensure your business plan is well-presented

In the competitive world of the restaurant industry, where low-profit margins are a well-known hurdle, there emerges a critical, yet often overlooked, factor pivotal to success: the design of the business plan.

As we enter 2024, it's becoming increasingly clear that the traditional overlook of business plan design can no longer be afforded.

This isn't just about financial projections or market analysis; it's about crafting a blueprint that encapsulates the essence of your restaurant, compellingly communicates its value, and sets a solid foundation for growth.

By focusing on the design of your business plan, you stand to gain not just the attention of potential investors but also a clearer roadmap to navigate the challenges ahead.

What makes an effective business plan?

Embarking on the restaurant business journey requires more than just a passion for food-it demands a comprehensive plan that lays out every aspect of your venture with precision and foresight.

Let's delve into what constitutes an effective restaurant business plan, ensuring it's not just another document, but a roadmap to success.

6 key components of a winning restaurant business plan:

1. Vision and concept clarity

Start with a crystal-clear articulation of your restaurant's concept. Whether it's a cozy vegan cafe or a high-end steakhouse, the essence of your establishment should leap off the page.

This clarity helps potential investors and partners instantly grasp what you're aiming to create.

Beyond the concept, delineate your restaurant's values, mission, and the unique selling points that set you apart in a crowded market.

2. Comprehensive market analysis

A deep dive into market analysis cannot be overstated. Here, you're not just identifying who your customers are but also understanding the competitive landscape.

What are the prevailing trends in the dining sector? Who are your direct and indirect competitors, and how do you plan to differentiate yourself? This section should reflect a meticulous research process, showcasing insights that guide your strategy.

3. Robust financial planning

In any successful business plan, sound financial management is key.

Essential elements include:

Realistic financial projections: Your forecasts should be realistic, and built on data-backed assumptions.

Detailed profit and loss forecasts

Cash flow predictions

Break-even analysis

Contingency planning: Preparing for unforeseen challenges is crucial.

Develop a well-thought-out contingency plan to navigate the industry's unpredictable nature.

Identify potential risks and solutions, including supplier issues, staffing shortages, and changes in consumer behavior, to ensure business resilience.

4. Operational strategies

Operational excellence underpins a restaurant's success. Detail your plans for day-to-day operations, from sourcing ingredients to managing inventory and staffing.

Highlight your commitment to quality and efficiency in every aspect of the operation, from the kitchen to customer service.

Also, outline the technology and systems you'll implement to streamline processes and enhance the dining experience.

5. Marketing and branding

In today's digital age, a savvy marketing and branding strategy is crucial.

Describe how you'll create a strong brand identity and the channels you'll use to reach your target audience.

From social media campaigns to community engagement initiatives, your plan should reflect a keen understanding of how to connect with potential customers and build a loyal following.

Discover how to create a marketing deck to align your strategy with your business objectives, target audience needs, and market trends.

6. Customer experience focus

Exceptional customer service is the lifeblood of any successful restaurant. Detail the steps you'll take to ensure every guest feels valued and satisfied.

From the ambiance and menu design to staff training programs, every element should contribute to a memorable dining experience.

Feedback mechanisms and how you'll adapt to customer preferences are also vital components of this section.

What should be included in a restaurant business plan?

Creating a restaurant business plan is a foundational step toward launching a successful dining establishment.

It outlines your vision, strategy, and the specific actions you plan to take to make your restaurant a success.

Below, we break down the essential components that should be included in your restaurant business plan, ensuring clarity, comprehensiveness, and appeal to potential investors.

8 essential sections of a restaurant business plan:

1. Executive summary

A compelling overview of the restaurant, showcasing its unique concept, mission, and strategic objectives that guide its operations.

Overview: Present a succinct snapshot of your restaurant, including its concept, mission, key goals, and ownership structure.

Purpose: Highlight what you aim to achieve with the restaurant and the appeal it has to potential investors or lenders.

2. Business description

An in-depth look at the restaurant's theme, location, and how these elements combine to create a distinctive dining experience.

Concept and theme: Describe the unique aspects of your restaurant's concept, from the cuisine and menu items to the design and ambiance.

Location analysis: Analyze the chosen location, discussing demographics, foot traffic, and how these factors make it an ideal spot for your target market.

3. Market analysis

An insightful examination of dining trends, target demographics, and customer needs to inform strategic positioning.

Trends: Examine current trends in the dining industry and how they influence your restaurant's positioning.

Target demographic: Identify your target customers, detailing their preferences, dining habits, and how your restaurant will meet their needs.

Needs and preferences: Focus on understanding and catering to what your target market seeks in a dining experience.

4. Competitive analysis

A detailed evaluation of competitors, focusing on differentiation and strategies for establishing a market edge.

Competitors: List direct and indirect competitors, analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, and how you'll differentiate your restaurant.

Differentiation: Explain the unique selling points that will set your restaurant apart in the competitive landscape.

5. Menu and product offering

Overview of menu design, ingredient sourcing, and special services that enhance the restaurant's appeal.

Menu design: Discuss the inspiration behind your menu, including how it reflects the theme and caters to your target demographic. Outline your pricing strategy and item selection.

Sourcing and suppliers: Detail your approach to sourcing high-quality ingredients, including partnerships with local suppliers and commitments to sustainability.

Special offerings: Highlight any additional services your restaurant offers, such as catering, special events, or exclusive seasonal menus, to draw in a wider audience and generate extra revenue.

6. Marketing and sales strategy

A summary of branding efforts, promotional tactics, and sales projections designed to attract and retain customers.

Branding: Detail your restaurant's brand identity, including name, logo, and how it communicates your restaurant's values and mission.

Marketing tactics: Outline the strategies you will employ to attract and retain customers, such as social media marketing, local advertising, partnerships, and loyalty programs.

Sales forecasts: Provide realistic sales forecasts, explaining the rationale behind these projections and how you plan to achieve them.

7. Operating plan

Description of daily operations, facility management, and health safety protocols to ensure smooth and compliant restaurant functionality.

Daily operations: Describe the operational flow of the restaurant, including hours of operation, staffing requirements, and customer service policies.

Facility management: Discuss the layout and design of your restaurant, kitchen equipment needs, and any other facility-related details that will ensure efficient operation.

Health and safety: Outline the health and safety measures you will implement to comply with local regulations and ensure the well-being of both employees and guests.

8. Management and organization

An outline of the restaurant's organizational structure, key personnel, and staffing strategies for operational excellence.

Ownership structure: Specify the ownership structure of the restaurant, including key stakeholders and their roles.

Team composition: Introduce the management team, chefs, and other critical staff, highlighting their experience and how it contributes to the restaurant's success.

Staffing plans: Discuss your plans for hiring staff, including numbers, positions, and the qualities you seek in employees to maintain high standards of service.

How to create a business plan for a restaurant?

Creating a standout business plan for your restaurant involves focusing on key components that blend your vision with practical strategies.

6 actionable steps to distill your restaurant business plan:

Define your concept clearly: Begin by articulating your restaurant's concept, ambiance, and what sets it apart. This clarity lays the groundwork for the entire business plan.

Conduct thorough market analysis: Dive deep into your target market and competitors. This research will guide your menu design, pricing strategy, and marketing efforts, ensuring you carve out a unique space in the marketplace.

Craft a compelling menu: Ensure your menu reflects your brand identity and appeals to your target audience, all while considering cost-effectiveness and supply chain realities. Aim for a balance between innovation and simplicity.

Develop realistic financial projections: Detail initial costs, revenue expectations, and a break-even point. Importantly, predict potential hurdles with ready contingency plans.

Outline operational strategies: Describe your daily management approach, including sourcing, staffing, and customer service. Efficient operations are crucial for a seamless experience and streamlined processes.

Implement strategic marketing: Choose the most effective ways to connect with your audience. Building a strong brand narrative and engaging actively with customers can help turn first-time visitors into regulars.

7 restaurant business plan examples for winning partners and investors

When it comes to crafting a business plan for a restaurant, the type of establishment you're planning significantly influences the structure and content of the document.

Each kind of restaurant from fast-casual and fine dining to food trucks and bistros-caters to different market segments and operational models.

Here's a look at how these differences manifest in their respective business plans:

1) Fine dining restaurant business plan

Market focus: Targets higher-income clientele seeking a premium dining experience. The plan should highlight exceptional service, high-quality ingredients, and unique culinary offerings.

Operational model: Detailed attention to the ambiance, chef expertise, and a higher staff-to-guest ratio. Wine lists and bar offerings also play a significant role.

Financial projections: Emphasizes higher check averages with a focus on profitability per guest rather than volume. The cost structure will detail higher initial investment in decor, kitchen equipment, and inventory.

Here’s an example of a fine-dining restaurant business plan:

2) Bar restaurant business plan

Market focus: Targets a diverse clientele, from young professionals to social groups, seeking a blend of dining and socializing.

Operational model: Balances innovative cuisine with an extensive beverage selection in a space designed for both eating and lounging, including live entertainment options.

Financial projections: Outlines dual revenue streams from food and drinks, emphasizing beverage sales' higher profit margins and detailing licensing, entertainment, and insurance costs.

Here’s an example of a bar restaurant pitch deck:

3) Bistro restaurant business plan

Market focus: Caters to locals and tourists seeking a casual yet refined dining experience, positioning itself as a cozy neighborhood spot.

Operational model: Highlights a selective menu that adapts seasonally, emphasizing a warm ambiance and personal service.

Financial projections: Projects moderate earnings with a strong local following, noting initial investments in location and ambiance to create a distinctive setting.

Here’s an example of a bistro restaurant pitch deck:

4) Food truck business plan

Market focus: Appeals to urban professionals, millennials, and foodies looking for unique, high-quality food options on the go.

Operational model: Mobility is key. The plan must address location strategy, permits and regulations, and adaptability to different events and seasons.

Financial projections: Lower startup costs compared to brick-and-mortar establishments but include considerations for vehicle maintenance, fuel, and parking permits.

5) Coffee restaurant business plan

Market focus: Appeals to a varied audience with a unique theme or specialty cuisine, standing out from conventional coffee shops.

Operational model: Details the influence of theme or cuisine on menu design, decor, and guest experience, aiming to make the restaurant a destination.

Financial projections: Anticipates varied financial outcomes based on concept uniqueness, with thorough market research guiding pricing and marketing strategies.

6) Italian, Mexican, Asian, etc., cuisine restaurant business plan

Market focus: Focuses on providing authentic dining experiences to both expatriates and locals interested in specific cuisines.

Operational model: Requires sourcing authentic ingredients and skilled chefs familiar with the cuisine. The business plan should address menu authenticity, culinary training, and potential partnerships for ingredient import.

Financial projections: Depending on the positioning (casual vs. fine dining), financials would reflect the cost of unique ingredients and the expected dining experience level.

Here’s an example of an Italian restaurant business plan proposal:

7) Fast food restaurant business plan

Market focus: These plans emphasize speed, efficiency, and affordability. The target market typically includes busy professionals, families looking for convenient meal options, and younger demographics.

Operational model: The business plan must detail quick service operations, including streamlined kitchen layouts, supply chain logistics for fast-moving inventory, and technology for order taking (e.g., apps, and kiosks).

Financial projections: Focus on volume sales, low to moderate check averages, and strategies for high turnover rates.

How to design a restaurant business plan?

Designing a restaurant business plan is much like crafting a compelling game pitch deck, it's all about presenting your concept in a way that's as irresistible as the dining experience you're proposing.

8 restaurant business plan design tips:

1. Embrace scrollytelling

Use narrative scrolling to take your audience through the journey of your restaurant's concept, from the inspiration behind your dishes to the ambiance you plan to create.

This dynamic presentation style keeps readers engaged, turning your business plan into an immersive experience.

Here's an example of scroll-based design:

2. Incorporate interactivity and multimedia

Go beyond static pages by embedding interactive elements like sample menu walkthroughs, virtual tours of the restaurant layout, or clips from cooking demos.

These elements not only highlight your restaurant's unique offerings but also keep potential investors or partners engaged throughout your presentation.

And here's what a static presentation looks like compared to an interactive one:

Static PowerPoint

Interactive Storydoc

3. Use data visualization

Present market research, target demographics, and financial projections through clear, compelling visuals.

Transform complex data into easy-to-understand graphs, charts, and infographics, making your business strategy both visually appealing and straightforward to grasp.

Here's an example of a presentation with dataviz elements:

4. Personalize your deck

Leverage software that allows for customization, such as incorporating the viewer's name or tailoring content to specific investor interests.

A personalized approach demonstrates meticulous attention to detail and can forge a stronger connection with your audience.

5. Use cohesive branding

Ensure your business plan reflects your restaurant's identity through consistent use of colors, fonts, and imagery that align with your branding.

This not only enhances the visual appeal of your plan but also immerses your audience in the atmosphere you aim to create.

6. Ensure mobile-responsive

Given the variety of devices stakeholders might use to view your plan, ensuring a mobile-responsive design is essential.

This ensures that your business plan is accessible and engaging, whether it's being viewed on a smartphone or a desktop computer.

7. Highlight key information

Design your business plan to draw attention to critical information.

Techniques such as strategic content placement and highlighting can guide the reader's focus, ensuring that essential points stand out without overwhelming the viewer with too much information at once.

8. Segment content in tabs

Organize your business plan into sections or tabs that cater to different aspects of your restaurant concept and business strategy.

This not only makes your plan more navigable but also allows readers to easily find the information most relevant to their interests or concerns.

Here's an example of a tabs slide:

Restaurant business plan templates

Kicking off your restaurant business plan is a daunting task, especially when you aim to capture the essence of your dining concept in a document.

Interactive restaurant business plan templates are designed to simplify this process. They provide a structured framework that incorporates interactive and multimedia elements, essential for presenting your restaurant in a vibrant and dynamic manner.

These templates not only save you precious time but also guarantee that your business plan conveys a polished and compelling story.

Snag one today!

I am a Marketing Specialist at Storydoc, I research, analyze and write on our core topics of business presentations, sales, and fundraising. I love talking to clients about their successes and failures so I can get a rounded understanding of their world.

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Restaurant Business Plan: What To Include, Plus 8 Examples

• Business Growth & Management , Templates & Guides

Do you want to ensure the success of your new foodservice endeavor? Write a restaurant business plan.

In this article, the experts at Sling tell you why a business plan is vital for both new and existing businesses and give you tips on what to include.

Table Of Contents

What Is A Restaurant Business Plan?

Why is a restaurant business plan important, questions to ask first, what to include in an effective restaurant business plan, how to format a restaurant business plan, efficient workforce management is essential for success.

At its most basic, a restaurant business plan is a written document that describes your restaurant’s goals and the steps you will take to make those goals a reality.

This business plan also describes the nature of the business itself, financial projections, background information, and organizational strategies  that govern the day-to-day activity of your restaurant.

A restaurant business plan is vital for the success of your endeavor because, without one, it is very difficult — sometimes even impossible — to obtain funding from an investor or a bank.

Without that all-important starting or operational capital, you may not be able to keep your doors open for long, if at all.

Even if funding isn’t a primary concern, a business plan provides you — the business owner or manager — with clear direction on how to translate general strategies into actionable plans  for reaching your goals.

The plan can help solidify everything from the boots-on-the-ground functional strategy  to the mid-level business strategy  all the way up to the driving-force corporate strategy .

Think of this plan as a roadmap that guides your way when things are going smoothly and, more importantly, when they aren’t.

If you want to give your restaurant the best chance for success, start by writing a business plan.

Sitting down to write a restaurant business plan can be a daunting task.

As you’ll see in the What To Include In An Effective Restaurant Business Plan section below, you’ll need a lot of information and detail to ensure that the final document is both complete and effective.

Instead of starting with word one, it is hugely beneficial to answer a number of general questions first.

These questions will help you narrow down the information to include in your plan so the composition process feels less difficult.

The questions are:

• What problem does the business’s product or service solve?
• What niche will the business fill?
• What is the business’s solution to the problem?
• Who are the business’s customers?
• How will the business market and sell its products to them?
• What is the size of the market for this solution?
• What is the business model for the business?
• How will the business make money?
• Who are the competitors?
• How will the business maintain a competitive advantage?
• How does the business plan to manage growth?
• Who will run the business?
• What makes those individuals qualified to do so?
• What are the risks and threats confronting the business?
• What can you do to mitigate those risks and threats?
• What are the business’s capital and resource requirements?
• What are the business’s historical and projected financial statements?

Depending on your business, some of these questions may not apply or you may not have applicable answers.

Nevertheless, it helps to think about, and try to provide details for, the whole list so your finished restaurant business plan is as complete as possible.

Once you’ve answered the questions for your business, you can transfer a large portion of that information to the business plan itself.

We’ll discuss exactly what to include in the next section.

In this section, we’ll show you what to include in an effective restaurant business plan and provide a brief example of each component.

1) Executive Summary

You should always start any business plan with an executive summary. This gives the reader a brief introduction into common elements, such as:

• Mission statement
• Overhead costs
• Labor costs
• Return on investment (ROI)

This portion of your plan should pique the reader’s interest and make them want to read more.

Fanty & Mingo’s is a 50-seat fine-dining restaurant that will focus on Sweruvian (Swedish/Peruvian) fusion fare.

We will keep overhead and labor costs low thanks to simple but elegant decor , highly skilled food-prep staff, and well-trained servers.

Because of the location and surrounding booming economy, we estimate ROI at 20 percent per annum.

2) Mission Statement

A mission statement is a short description of what your business does for its customers, employees, and owners.

This is in contrast to your business’s vision statement which is a declaration of objectives that guide internal decision-making.

While the two are closely related and can be hard to distinguish, it often helps to think in terms of who, what, why, and where.

The vision statement is the where of your business — where you want your business to be and where you want your customers and community to be as a result.

The mission statement is the who , what , and why of your business — it’s an action plan that makes the vision statement a reality

Here’s an example of a mission statement for our fictional company:

Fanty and Mingo’s takes pride in making the best Sweruvian food, providing fast, friendly, and accurate service. It is our goal to be the employer of choice and offer team members opportunities for growth, advancement, and a rewarding career in a fun and safe working environment.

3) Company Description

In this section of your restaurant business plan, you fully introduce your company to the reader. Every business’s company description will be different and include its own pertinent information.

Useful details to include are:

• Owner’s details
• Brief description of their experience
• Legal standing
• Short-term goals
• Long-term goals
• Brief market study
• An understanding of the trends in your niche
• Why your business will succeed in these market conditions

Again, you don’t have to include all of this information in your company description. Choose the ones that are most relevant to your business and make the most sense to communicate to your readers.

Fanty & Mingo’s will start out as an LLC, owned and operated by founders Malcolm Reynolds and Zoe Washburne. Mr. Reynolds will serve as managing partner and Ms. Washburne as general manager.

We will combine atmosphere, friendly and knowledgeable staff, and menu variety to create a unique experience for our diners and to reach our goal of high value in the fusion food niche.

Our gross margin is higher than industry average, but we plan to spend more on payroll to attract the best team.

We estimate moderate growth for the first two years while word-of-mouth about our restaurant spreads through the area.

4) Market Analysis

A market analysis is a combination of three different views of the niche you want to enter:

• The industry  as a whole
• The competition your restaurant will face
• The marketing  you’ll execute to bring in customers

This section should be a brief introduction to these concepts. You can expand on them in other sections of your restaurant business plan.

The restaurant industry in our chosen location is wide open thanks in large part to the revitalization of the city’s center.

A few restaurants have already staked their claim there, but most are bars and non-family-friendly offerings.

Fanty & Mingo’s will focus on both tourist and local restaurant clientele. We want to bring in people that have a desire for delicious food and an exotic atmosphere.

We break down our market into five distinct categories:

• High-end singles
• Businessmen and businesswomen

We will target those markets to grow our restaurant  by up to 17 percent per year.

Every restaurant needs a good menu, and this is the section within your restaurant business plan that you describe the food you’ll serve in as much detail as possible.

You may not have your menu design complete, but you’ll likely have at least a handful of dishes that serve as the foundation of your offerings.

It’s also essential to discuss pricing and how it reflects your overall goals and operating model. This will give potential investors and partners a better understanding of your business’s target price point and profit strategy.

We don’t have room to describe a sample menu in this article, but for more information on menu engineering, menu pricing, and even a menu template, check out these helpful articles from the Sling blog:

• Menu Engineering: What It Is And How It Can Increase Profits
• Restaurant Menu Pricing: 7 Tips To Maximize Profitability
• How To Design Your Menu | Free Restaurant Menu Template

6) Location

In this section, describe your potential location (or locations) so that you and your investors have a clear image of what the restaurant will look like.

Include plenty of information about the location — square footage, floor plan , design , demographics of the area, parking, etc. — to make it feel as real as possible.

We will locate Fanty & Mingo’s in the booming and rapidly expanding downtown sector of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Ideally, we will secure at least 2,000 square feet of space with a large, open-plan dining room and rich color scheme near the newly built baseball stadium to capitalize on the pre- and post-game traffic and to appeal to the young urban professionals that live in the area.

Parking will be available along side streets and in the 1,000-vehicle parking garage two blocks away.

7) Marketing

The marketing section of your restaurant business plan is where you should elaborate on the information you introduced in the Market Analysis section.

Go into detail about the plans you have to introduce your restaurant to the public and keep it at the top of their mind.

Fanty & Mingo’s will employ three distinct marketing tactics to increase and maintain customer awareness:

• Word-of-mouth/in-restaurant marketing
• Partnering with other local businesses
• Media exposure

We will direct each tactic at a different segment of our potential clientele in order to maximize coverage.

In the process of marketing to our target audience, we will endeavor to harness the reach of direct mail and broadcast media, the exclusivity of the VIP party, and the elegance of a highly trained sommelier and wait staff.

8) Financials

Even though the Financials section is further down in your restaurant business plan, it is one of the most important components for securing investors and bank funding.

We recommend hiring a trained accountant  to help you prepare this section so that it will be as accurate and informative as possible.

Fanty & Mingo’s needs $250,000 of capital investment over the next year and a half for the following:

• Renovations to leased space
• Dining room furniture
• Kitchen and food-prep equipment
• Liquor license

Projected profit and loss won’t jump drastically in the first year, but, over time, Fanty & Mingo’s will develop its reputation and client base. This will lead to more rapid growth toward the third and fourth years of business.

Most entrepreneurs starting a new business find it valuable to have multiple formats of their business plan.

The information, data, and details remain the same, but the length and how you present them will change to fit a specific set of circumstances.

Below we discuss the four most common business plan formats to cover a multitude of potential situations.

Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a short summary of your restaurant business plan’s executive summary.

Rather than being packed full of details, the elevator pitch is a quick teaser of sorts that you use on a short elevator ride (hence the name) to stimulate interest in potential customers, partners, and investors

As such, an effective elevator pitch is between 30 and 60 seconds and hits the high points of your restaurant business plan.

A pitch deck is a slide show and oral presentation that is designed to stimulate discussion and motivate interested parties to investigate deeper into your stakeholder plan (more on that below).

Most pitch decks are designed to cover the executive summary and include key graphs that illustrate market trends and benchmarks you used (and will use) to make decisions about your business.

Some entrepreneurs even include time and space in their pitch deck to demonstrate new products coming down the pipeline.

This won’t necessarily apply to a restaurant business plan, but, if logistics permit, you could distribute small samples of your current fare or tasting portions of new dishes you’re developing.

Stakeholder Plan (External)

A stakeholder plan is the standard written presentation that business owners use to describe the details of their business model to customers, partners, and potential investors.

The stakeholder plan can be as long as is necessary to communicate the current and future state of your business, but it must be well-written, well-formatted, and targeted at those looking at your business from the outside in.

Think of your stakeholder plan as a tool to convince others that they should get involved in making your business a reality. Write it in such a way that readers will want to partner with you to help your business grow.

Management Plan (Internal)

A management plan is a form of your restaurant business plan that describes the details that the owners and managers need to make the business run smoothly.

While the stakeholder plan is an external document, the management plan is an internal document.

Most of the details in the management plan will be of little or no interest to external stakeholders so you can write it with a higher degree of candor and informality.

After you’ve created your restaurant business plan, it’s time to take steps to make it a reality.

One of the biggest challenges in ensuring that your business runs smoothly and successfully is managing  and optimizing  your team. The Sling  app can help.

Sling not only includes powerful and intuitive artificial-intelligence-based scheduling tools but also many other features to help make your workforce management more efficient, including:

• Time and attendance tracking
• Built-in time clock
• Labor cost  optimization
• Data analysis and reporting
• Messaging and communication
• And much more…

With Sling, you can schedule faster, communicate better, and organize and manage your work from a single, integrated platform. And when you use Sling for all of your scheduling  needs, you’ll have more time to focus on bringing your restaurant business plan to life.

For more free resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track and calculate labor costs, visit GetSling.com  today.

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This content is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal, tax, HR, or any other professional advice. Please contact an attorney or other professional for specific advice.

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How to write a restaurant business plan

A small restaurant business plan is the roadmap you use to open a successful spot. As a first step to creating yours, ask your friends and colleagues to share restaurant business plan examples. Their restaurant business plan samples can inspire yours.

Once you’ve studied those examples, it’s time to start writing your own. No matter how much thought you’ve put into your concept or how many trusted colleagues have assured you of its greatness, you must write a restaurant business plan. It will prove the viability of your concept to potential investors and provide them with a clear and engaging answer to the question: “Why does the world need this restaurant?”

“The point of a business plan is to show that you’ve done your homework,” says Charles Bililies, owner of Souvla , a fine casual Greek restaurant in San Francisco that has received national acclaim since opening in the spring of 2014.

“You have to show any potential investor that you have an actual plan, you know what you’re talking about, it looks professional, and you’re not just screwing around.”

Quick links Branded cover Table of contents Concept Sample menu Service Management team Design Target market Location Market overview Marketing and publicity Specialists and consultants Business structure Financials

1. Branded cover

Include your logo (even if it’s not finalized), the date, and your name.

2. Table of contents

A table of contents in a restaurant business plan provides an organized overview of the document’s structure and content. It typically appears at the beginning of the plan and lists the major sections and subsections with their corresponding page numbers.

The table of contents is important for several reasons. Firstly, it allows readers to quickly navigate through the plan, enabling easy access to specific sections of interest. Secondly, it helps in presenting a professional and well-structured document, showing that you have carefully organized your thoughts and ideas. It also improves readability and comprehension, as readers can easily locate and refer back to relevant information

3. Restaurant concept

Describe your restaurant concept and get the reader excited about your idea. Specify whether the restaurant will be fine dining or more casual. Include an executive summary and go into detail about the food you’ll be serving, inspiration behind your concept, and an overview of service style.

Define clearly what will be unique about your restaurant and include your mission statement. This section should include a market analysis that shows how your restaurant will be similar and different from competing restaurants.

4. Sample menu

The menu is the most important touchpoint of any restaurant’s brand, so this should be more than just a simple list of items. Incorporate your logo and mock up a formatted menu design (tap a designer for help if needed).

Your sample menu should also include prices that are based on a detailed cost analysis. This will:

• Give investors a clear understanding of your targeted price point
• Provide the info needed to estimate check averages
• Show the numbers used create financial projections for starting costs
• Show investors that you’ve done the homework
• Prove you can stay within a budget

This section is most relevant for:

• Fine-dining concepts
• Concepts that have a unique service style
• Owners who have particularly strong feelings about what role service will play in their restaurant.

It can be a powerful way of conveying your approach to hospitality to investors by explaining the details of the guest’s service experience.

Will your restaurant have counter service and restaurant hostess software designed to get guests on their way as quickly as possible, or will it look more like a theater, with captains putting plates in front of guests simultaneously?

If an extensive wine program is an integral part of what you’re doing, will you have a sommelier? If you don’t feel that service is a noteworthy component of your operation, address it briefly in the concept section.

6. Management team

Write a brief overview of yourself and the team you have established so far. You want to show that your experience has provided you with the necessary skills to run a successful restaurant and act as a restaurant business owner.

Ideally, once you have described the strong suit of every member of your team, you’ll be presenting a full pitch deck. Most independent restaurant investors are in this for more than just money, so giving some indication of what you value and who you are outside of work may also be helpful.

Incorporate some visuals. Create a mood board that shows images related to the design and feeling of your restaurant.

Whether you’re planning to cook in a wood-burning oven or are designing an eclectic front-of-house, be sure to include those ideas. Photos of materials and snippets of other restaurants that you love that are similar to the brand you’re building are also helpful.

8. Target market

Who is going to eat at your restaurant? What do they do for a living, how old are they, and what’s their average income? Once you’ve described them in detail, reiterate why your specific concept will appeal to them.

9. Location

There should be a natural and very clear connection between the information you present in the “Target Market” section and this one. You probably won’t have a specific site identified at this point in the process, but you should talk about viable neighborhoods.

Don’t assume that potential investors will be familiar with the areas you’re discussing and who works or lives there—make the connections clear. You want readers to be confident that your restaurant’s “ideal” diner intersects with the neighborhood(s) you’re proposing as often as possible.

If you don’t have a site , this is a good place to discuss what you’re looking for in terms of square footage, foot traffic, parking, freeway accessibility, outdoor seating , and other important details.

10. Market overview

Address the micro and macro market conditions in your area and how they relate to licenses and permits. At a macro level, what are the local and regional economic conditions?

If restaurants are doing poorly, explain why yours won’t; if restaurants are doing well, explain how you’ll be able to compete in an already booming restaurant climate. At a micro level, discuss who your direct competitors are. Talk about what types of restaurants share your target market and how you’ll differentiate yourself.

11. Marketing and publicity

The restaurant landscape is only getting more competitive. Discuss your pre- and post-opening marketing plans to show investors how you plan to gain traction leading up to opening day, as well as how you’ll keep the momentum going.

If you’re going to retain a PR/marketing company, introduce them and explain why you’ve chosen them over other companies (including some of their best-known clients helps). If not, convey that you have a solid plan in place to generate attention on your own through social media, your website , and media connections.

12. Specialists and consultants

List any outside contractors you plan to retain, such as:

• General contractor
• PR and marketing

Briefly explain the services they’ll be providing for you, why you chose them, and any notable accomplishments.

13. Business structure

This section should be short and sweet. What type of business structure have you set up and why did you make that specific decision? You will need to work with an attorney to help you determine what business structure is best for you.

“Step one: write a business plan. Step two: hire a good attorney. In addition to helping me build a smart, sustainable business structure, my attorney was also a great resource for reviewing my business plan because she’s read thousands of them. She was a very helpful, experienced outside perspective for more than just legal matters,” says Charles Bililies.

14. Financial projections

Let your accountant guide you through this portion of your business plan. It is crucial that whoever you hire to help you with your finances has a wealth of restaurant experience (not just one or two places). They should be familiar with the financial specifics of starting a restaurant and know what questions to ask you.

Before creating realistic financial projections, your accountant will want to know:

• How many seats the restaurant will have
• What your average check will be
• How many covers per day you plan to do

Being conservative in these estimations is key. These three data points will be used as the basis for figuring out whether your concept is financially feasible.

Lou Guerrero, Principal at Kross, Baumgarten, Kniss & Guerrero, emphasizes, “You’ll get a lot of accountants that tell you that they’ve done a couple of restaurants, but you have to choose someone that has a deep expertise in what you’re doing. There’s nothing to gain from going with someone that doesn’t have a very restaurant-centric practice.”

A well-vetted accountant with restaurant experience will know exactly what you’ll need to have prepared to show investors.

The key projections you can expect to work on are:

• Pro forma profit and loss statement for the first three to five years of operation
• Break even analysis
• Capital requirements budget

Writing a comprehensive restaurant business plan is a crucial step towards opening a successful establishment. By seeking inspiration from examples, demonstrating your expertise, and addressing all the essential components, you can prove the viability of your concept to potential investors.

Remember, a well-prepared business plan demonstrates professionalism and a clear understanding of your goals, increasing your chances of achieving long-term success in the competitive restaurant industry.

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan

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When starting a business—no matter what type of business that may be—a business plan is essential to map out your intentions and direction. That’s the same for a restaurant business plan, which will help you figure out where you fit in the landscape, how you’re going to differ from other establishments around you, how you’ll market your business, and even what you’re going to serve. A business plan for your restaurant can also help you later if you choose to apply for a business loan .

While opening a restaurant isn’t as risky as you’ve likely heard, you still want to ensure that you’re putting thought and research into your business venture to set it up for success. And that’s where a restaurant business plan comes in.

We’ll go through how to create a business plan for a restaurant and a few reasons why it’s so important. After you review the categories and the restaurant business plan examples, you can use the categories to make a restaurant business plan template and start your journey.

Why you shouldn’t skip a restaurant business plan

First-time restaurateurs and industry veterans alike all need to create a business plan when opening a new restaurant . That’s because, even if you deeply understand your business and its nuances (say, seasonal menu planning or how to order correct quantities), a restaurant is more than its operations. There’s marketing, financing, the competitive landscape, and more—and each of these things is unique to each door you open.

That’s why it’s so crucial to understand how to create a business plan for a restaurant. All of these things and more will be addressed in the document—which should run about 20 or 30 pages—so you’ll not only have a go-to-market strategy, but you’ll also likely figure out some things about your business that you haven’t even thought of yet.

Additionally, if you’re planning to apply for business funding down the line, some loans—including the highly desirable SBA loan —actually require you to submit your business plan to gain approval. In other words: Don’t skip this step!

How much do you need?

with Fundera by NerdWallet

We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.

Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

How to write a restaurant business plan: Step by step

There’s no absolute format for a restaurant business plan that you can’t stray from—some of these sections might be more important than others, for example, or you might find that there’s a logical order that makes more sense than the one in the restaurant business plan example below. However, this business plan outline will serve as a good foundation, and you can use it as a restaurant business plan template for when you write your own.

Executive summary

Your executive summary is one to two pages that kick off your business plan and explain your vision. Even though this might seem like an introduction that no one will read, that isn’t the case. In fact, some investors only ask for the executive summary. So, you’ll want to spend a lot of time perfecting it.

Your restaurant business plan executive summary should include information on:

Mission statement: Your goals and objectives

General company information: Include your founding date, team roles (i.e. executive chef, sous chefs, sommeliers), and locations

Category and offerings: What category your restaurant fits into, what you’re planning to serve (i.e. farm-to-table or Korean), and why

Context for success: Any past success you’ve had, or any current financial data that’ll support that you are on the path to success

Financial requests: If you’re searching for investment or financing, include your plans and goals here and any financing you’ve raised or borrowed thus far

Future plans: Your vision for where you’re going in the next year, three years, and five years

When you’re done with your executive summary, you should feel like you’ve provided a bird’s eye view of your entire business plan. In fact, even though this section is first, you will likely write it last so you can take the highlights from each of the subsequent sections.

And once you’re done, read it on its own: Does it give a comprehensive, high-level overview of your restaurant, its current state, and your vision for the future? Remember, this may be the only part of your business plan potential investors or partners will read, so it should be able to stand on its own and be interesting enough to make them want to read the rest of your plan.

Company overview

This is where you’ll dive into the specifics of your company, detailing the kind of restaurant you’re looking to create, who’s helping you do it, and how you’re prepared to accomplish it.

Your restaurant business plan company overview should include:

Purpose: The type of restaurant you’re opening (fine dining, fast-casual, pop-up, etc.), type of food you’re serving, goals you have, and the niche you hope to fill in the market

Area: Information on the area in which you’re opening

Customers: Whom you’re hoping to target, their demographic information

Legal structure: Your business entity (i.e. LLC, LLP, etc.) and how many owners you have

Similar to your executive summary, you won’t be going into major detail here as the sections below will get into the nitty-gritty. You’ll want to look at this as an extended tear sheet that gives someone a good grip on your restaurant or concept, where it fits into the market, and why you’re starting it.

Team and management

Barely anything is as important for a restaurant as the team that runs it. You’ll want to create a section dedicated to the members of your staff—even the ones that aren’t yet hired. This will provide a sense of who is taking care of what, and how you need to structure and build out the team to get your restaurant operating at full steam.

Your restaurant business plan team and management section should have:

Management overview: Who is running the restaurant, what their experience and qualifications are, and what duties they’ll be responsible for

Staff: Other employees you’ve brought on and their bios, as well as other spots you anticipate needing to hire for

Ownership percentage: Which individuals own what percentage of the restaurant, or if you are an employee-owned establishment

Be sure to update this section with more information as your business changes and you continue to share this business plan—especially because who is on your team will change both your business and the way people look at it.

Sample menu

You’ll also want to include a sample menu in your restaurant business plan so readers have a sense of what they can expect from your operations, as well as what your diners can expect from you when they sit down. This will also force you to consider exactly what you want to serve your diners and how your menu will stand out from similar restaurants in the area. Although a sample menu is in some ways self-explanatory, consider the following:

Service : If your brunch is as important as your dinner, provide both menus; you also might want to consider including both a-la-carte and prix fixe menus if you plan to offer them.

Beverage/wine service: If you’ll have an emphasis on specialty beverages or wine, a separate drinks list could be important.

Seasonality: If you’re a highly seasonal restaurant, you might want to consider providing menus for multiple seasons to demonstrate how your dishes (and subsequent purchasing) will change.

Market analysis

This is where you’ll begin to dive deeper. Although you’ve likely mentioned your market and the whitespace you hope to address, the market analysis section will enable you to prove your hypotheses.

Your restaurant business plan market analysis should include:

Industry information: Include a description of the restaurant industry, its size, growth trends, and other trends regarding things such as tastes, trends, demographics, structures, etc.

Target market: Zoom in on the area and neighborhood in which you’re opening your restaurant as well as the type of cuisine you’re serving.

Target market characteristics: Describe your customers and their needs, how/if their needs are currently being served, other important pieces about your specific location and customers.

Target market size and growth: Include a data-driven section on the size of your market, trends in its growth, how your target market fits into the industry as a whole, projected growth of your market, etc.

Market share potential: Share how much potential there is in the market, how much your presence will change the market, and how much your specific restaurant or restaurant locations can own of the open market; also touch on any barriers to growth or entry you might see.

Market pricing: Explain how you’ll be pricing your menu and where you’ll fall relative to your competitors or other restaurants in the market.

Competitive research: Include research on your closest competitors, how they are both succeeding and failing, how customers view them, etc.

If this section seems like it might be long, it should—it’s going to outline one of the most important parts of your strategy, and should feel comprehensive. Lack of demand is the number one reason why new businesses fail, so the goal of this section should be to prove that there is demand for your restaurant and show how you’ll capitalize on it.

Additionally, if market research isn’t your forte, don’t be shy to reach out to market research experts to help you compile the data, or at least read deeply on how to conduct effective research.

Marketing and sales

Your marketing and sales section should feel like a logical extension of your market analysis section, since all of the decisions you’ll make in this section should follow the data of the prior section.

The marketing and sales sections of your restaurant business plan should include:

Positioning: How you’ll describe your restaurant to potential customers, the brand identity and visuals you’ll use to do it, and how you’ll stand out in the market based on the brand you’re building

Promotion: The tools, tactics, and platforms you’ll use to market your business

Sales: How you’ll convert on certain items, and who/how you will facilitate any additional revenue streams (i.e. catering)

It’s likely that you’ll only have concepts for some of these elements, especially if you’re not yet open. Still, get to paper all of the ideas you have, and you can (and should) always update them later as your restaurant business becomes more fully formed.

Business operations

The business operations section should get to the heart of how you plan to run your business. It will highlight both internal factors as well as external forces that will dictate how you run the ship.

The business operations section should include:

Management team: Your management structure and hierarchy, and who is responsible for what

Hours: Your hours and days of operation

Location: What’s special about your location that will get people through the door

Relationships: Any advantageous relationships you have with fellow restaurateurs, places for sourcing and buying, business organizations, or consultants on your team

Add here anything you think could be helpful for illustrating how you’re going to do business and what will affect it.

Here, you’ll detail the current state of your business finances and project where you hope to be in a year, three years, and five years. You’ll want to detail what you’ve spent, what you will spend, where you’ll get the money, costs you might incur, and returns you’ll hope to see—including when you can expect to break even and turn a profit.

Financial statements: If you’ve been in business for any amount of time, include existing financial statements (i.e. profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow, etc.)

Budget: Your current budget or a general startup budget

Projections: Include revenue, cash flow, projected profit and loss, and other costs

Debt: Include liabilities if the business has any outstanding debt or loans

Funding request: If you’re requesting a loan or an investment, lay out how much capital you’re looking for, your company’s valuation (if applicable), and the purpose of the funding

Above all, as you’re putting your financials together, be realistic—even conservative. You want to give any potential investors a realistic picture of your business.

Feel like there are other important components but they don't quite fit in any of the other categories (or make them run too long)? That’s what the restaurant business plan appendix section is for. And although in, say, a book, an appendix can feel like an afterthought, don’t ignore it—this is another opportunity for you to include crucial information that can give anyone reading your plan some context. You may include additional data, graphs, marketing collateral (like logo mockups), and more.

Start Your Dream Business

The bottom line

Whether you’re writing a restaurant business plan for investors, lenders, or simply for yourself and your team, the most important thing to do is make sure your document is comprehensive. A good business plan for a restaurant will take time—and maybe a little sweat—to complete fully and correctly.

One other crucial thing to remember: a business plan is not a document set in stone. You should often look to it to make sure you’re keeping your vision and mission on track, but you should also feel prepared to update its components as you learn more about your business and individual restaurant.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

On a similar note...

Restaurant Business Plan PDF Example

• February 28, 2024
• Business Plan

Creating a comprehensive business plan is crucial for launching and running a successful restaurant. This plan serves as your roadmap, detailing your vision, operational strategies, and financial plan. It helps establish your restaurant’s identity, navigate the competitive market, and secure funding for growth.

This article not only breaks down the critical components of a restaurant business plan, but also provides an example of a business plan to help you craft your own.

Whether you’re an experienced entrepreneur or new to the food and beverage industry, this guide, complete with a business plan example, lays the groundwork for turning your restaurant concept into reality. Let’s dive in!

Our restaurant business plan is structured to cover all essential aspects needed for a comprehensive strategy. It outlines the restaurant’s operations, marketing strategy , market environment, competitors, management team, and financial forecasts.

• Executive Summary : Offers an overview of the restaurant’s business concept, market analysis , management, and financial strategy.
• Restaurant & Location: Describes the restaurant’s prime location, size, seating capacity, and distinctive design, emphasizing its appeal to the target demographic.
• Supply & Operations: Outlines the supply chain management, focusing on local sourcing and quality ingredients, and details the operational aspects, including kitchen layout, equipment, and front-of-house operations.
• Key Stats: Shares industry size , growth trends, and relevant statistics for the full-service restaurant market.
• Key Trends: Highlights recent trends affecting the restaurant sector, such as health-conscious dining, sustainability, and technology integration.
• Key Competitors : Analyzes the main competitors in the vicinity, showcasing the restaurant’s unique selling proposition in comparison.
• SWOT: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis.
• Marketing Plan : Strategies for promoting the restaurant to maximize visibility and customer engagement.
• Timeline : Key milestones and objectives from the initial setup through the launch and operational optimization.
• Management: Information on who manages the restaurant and their roles.
• Financial Plan: Projects the restaurant’s financial performance, including revenue, profits, and expected expenses, aiming for profitability and sustainable growth.

Restaurant Business Plan

Fully editable 30+ slides Powerpoint presentation business plan template.

Download an expert-built 30+ slides Powerpoint business plan template

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary introduces your restaurant’s business plan, offering a concise overview of your establishment and its offerings. It should detail your market positioning, the variety of cuisines and dining experiences you offer, its location, size, and an outline of day-to-day operations. 

This section should also explore how your restaurant will integrate into the local market, including the number of direct competitors within the area, identifying who they are, along with your restaurant’s unique selling points that differentiate it from these competitors. 

Furthermore, you should include information about the management and co-founding team, detailing their roles and contributions to the restaurant’s success. Additionally, a summary of your financial projections, including revenue and profits over the next five years, should be presented here to provide a clear picture of your restaurant’s financial plan.

Make sure to cover here _ Business Overview _ Market Overview _ Management Team _ Financial Plan

Dive deeper into Executive Summary

Business Overview

For a Restaurant, the Business Overview section can be concisely divided into 2 main slides:

Restaurant & Location

Briefly describe the restaurant’s physical environment, emphasizing its design, ambiance, and the overall dining experience it offers to guests. Mention the restaurant’s location, highlighting its accessibility and the convenience it offers to diners, such as proximity to entertainment venues or ease of parking. Explain why this location is advantageous in attracting your target clientele.

Supply & Operations

Detail the range of cuisines and dishes offered, from appetizers and main courses to desserts and specialty beverages. Outline your sourcing strategy, ensuring it reflects a commitment to quality and sustainability, and matches the market you’re targeting.

Highlight any unique culinary techniques, exclusive ingredients, or innovative kitchen technologies that set your restaurant apart. Discuss your operational strategies, including inventory management, supplier relationships, and kitchen workflow, to ensure efficiency and consistency in delivering exceptional dining experiences.

Make sure to cover here _ Restaurant & Location _ Supply & Operations

Market Overview

Industry size & growth.

In the Market Overview of your restaurant business plan, start by examining the size of the restaurant industry and its growth potential. This analysis is crucial for understanding the market’s scope and identifying expansion opportunities.

Key market trends

Proceed to discuss recent market trends , such as the increasing consumer interest in farm-to-table dining, ethnic cuisines, and experiential dining experiences.

For example, highlight the demand for restaurants that offer unique cultural dishes, the growing popularity of health-conscious and dietary-specific menus, and the integration of technology in enhancing the dining experience.

Key competitors

Then, consider the competitive landscape, which includes a range of dining establishments from gourmet fine dining to fast-casual eateries, as well as the rise of food delivery services and meal kits.

For example, emphasize what makes your restaurant distinctive, whether it’s through a unique culinary approach, a niche market focus, or a strong commitment to sustainability and local sourcing.

Make sure to cover here _ Industry size & growth _ Key market trends _ Key competitors

Dive deeper into Key competitors

First, conduct a SWOT analysis for the restaurant , highlighting Strengths (such as a unique menu and exceptional customer service), Weaknesses (including potential high operational costs or strong competition in the area), Opportunities (for example, a growing interest in diverse cuisines and healthy eating), and Threats (such as economic downturns that may decrease consumer spending on dining out).

Marketing Plan

Next, develop a marketing strategy that outlines how to attract and retain customers through targeted advertising, promotional discounts, an engaging social media presence, food blogger outreach, and community involvement, such as local events or charity sponsorships.

Finally, create a detailed timeline that outlines critical milestones for the restaurant’s opening, marketing campaigns, customer base growth, and expansion objectives, ensuring the business moves forward with clear direction and purpose.

Make sure to cover here _ SWOT _ Marketing Plan _ Timeline

Dive deeper into SWOT

Dive deeper into Marketing Plan

The management section focuses on the restaurant’s management and their direct roles in daily operations and strategic direction. This part is crucial for understanding who is responsible for making key decisions and driving the restaurant towards its financial and operational goals.

For your restaurant business plan, list the core team members, their specific responsibilities, and how their expertise supports the business.

Financial Plan

The Financial Plan section is a comprehensive analysis of your financial projections for revenue, expenses, and profitability. It lays out your restaurant’s approach to securing funding, managing cash flow, and achieving breakeven.

This section typically includes detailed forecasts for the first 5 years of operation, highlighting expected revenue, operating costs and capital expenditures.

For your restaurant business plan, provide a snapshot of your financial statement (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement), as well as your key assumptions (e.g. number of customers and prices, expenses, etc.).

Make sure to cover here _ Profit and Loss _ Cash Flow Statement _ Balance Sheet _ Use of Funds

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Privacy Overview

12 Examples of SMART Goals for Restaurants

Running a successful restaurant requires more than just quality food and excellent customer service. Establishing SMART goals can ensure that your restaurant successfully meets its objectives.

The SMART framework is an effective tool when strategizing for restaurant success. This post will cover examples of SMART goals that can be applied in a restaurant setting, giving owners insight into creating a solid foundation for their business.

Table of Contents

What is a SMART Goal?

The SMART ( Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based ) framework will allow you to develop practical goals for your restaurant business.

Do you still want more clarity? Here is a deeper dive into each component:

You need to ask yourself what success means for your restaurant. By brainstorming and creating specific goals for each area of your business, you’ll have a better chance of meeting or even exceeding them.

In an ever-changing restaurant industry, businesses must stay ahead of the curve. Establishing measurable goals is vital to achieving success.

It helps owners and managers realize their vision and encourages them to focus on long-term objectives. Understanding these goals from the outset allows restaurants to track progress and adjust as needed.

The adage “shoot for the stars and you’ll reach the moon” doesn’t always apply when setting goals. It would be best to develop realistic goals, as reaching sky-high expectations can be mentally and emotionally draining.

For example, suppose your goal is to start a new business . You’d want to chunk it down into smaller steps, such as researching ideas, writing a business plan, and securing funding.

Having personal values keeps you grounded and reminds you of your purpose. That’s why aligning your goals with your values is so important—it gives you something tangible to strive towards, allowing you to laser-focus on the bigger picture during tough times.

A successful timeline contains all the critical steps of the goal-setting process, from planning and scheduling different tasks to regularly checking progress.

It’s like having a map to reach success—you know where to go and how long it will take you. You will guarantee you’re taking steady strides toward attaining your desired outcome.

Let’s take a look at 12 SMART goals examples for your restaurant business:

1. Increase Revenue

“I want to increase our restaurant’s revenue by 5% within the next 6 months by implementing creative promotions and marketing campaigns. I’ll focus on leveraging our social media channels, creating stronger relationships with current customers, and developing new partnerships.”

Specific: The SMART goal is explicit because it details how to increase revenue within a set period.

Measurable: The person could check the restaurant’s revenues every month.

Attainable: Increasing revenue by 5% within the 6 months is doable.

Relevant: The goal is relevant to boosting restaurant revenue.

Time-based: You will ideally meet success after 6 whole months.

2. Boost Customer Satisfaction

“I want to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty by improving the speed of our service. To do so, I will implement a new ordering system and train staff to use it. The aim is to have the system running in the following three months.”

Specific: The statement is well-defined, stating precisely the objective and how to achieve it.

Measurable: By monitoring the speed of service, it will be possible to determine whether customer satisfaction has improved.

Attainable: It is achievable to implement a new system and train staff.

Relevant: This is pertinent to customer satisfaction because it will ensure that patrons are served quickly and efficiently.

Time-based: There is a three-month timeline for reaching this particular goal.

3. Invest in Employee Wellness

“I’m committed to helping my employees stay physically and mentally healthy. I will provide free access to resources such as gym memberships, counseling services, and healthy meal options by the end of 8 months.”

Specific: The goal outlines what you intend to do (provide resources) and when it should be done (within 8 months).

Measurable: You could track the progress of providing access to resources.

Attainable: Identifying and setting up these resources can be done within 8 months.

Relevant: Investing in employee wellness is essential for a business and can lead to longer-term benefits such as increased employee engagement and loyalty.

Time-based: The goal must be completed within 8 months.

4. Optimize Menu Selection

“By the end of four months, I aim to optimize the restaurant’s menu selection, minimizing waste and enabling customers to find something they love while keeping the food cost low.”

Specific: This is explicit because the individual wants to optimize their restaurant’s menu selection.

Measurable: The goal should be measurable if you track the number of customer orders and waste levels.

Attainable: This SMART statement is feasible if the person takes the time to assess the menu and adjust it accordingly.

Relevant: Optimizing a restaurant’s menu selection is vital for customer experience and financial sustainability.

Time-based: Goal attainment is expected after four months.

5. Improve Cost Efficiency

“In order to improve our bottom line, I will increase cost efficiency within the restaurant by 8% over the 7 months ahead. This could include reducing waste, looking for more affordable suppliers, and finding ways to streamline processes.”

Specific: The goal is clear. The restaurant aims to improve its bottom line by increasing cost efficiency.

Measurable: You can evaluate the change in cost efficiency every month.

Attainable: This is definitely possible if given the necessary time and resources.

Relevant: The goal is appropriate for the restaurant’s desire to increase its cost efficiency.

Time-based: You have a 7-month window to achieve success.

6. Upgrade Technology Infrastructure

“I’ll upgrade my restaurant’s technology infrastructure to increase efficiency and customer experience for 6 months. I want to install new computers, tablets, and software to streamline operations and provide customers with an enhanced dining experience.”

Specific: You have precise tasks available, such as installing new computers and tablets.

Measurable: You could count the number of upgrades completed each month.

Attainable: This is achievable in 6 months if you have the right resources and personnel to help with the upgrades.

Relevant: The statement is directly related to your restaurant’s objectives of improving efficiency and customer experience.

Time-based: Six months is required to accomplish this certain goal.

7. Expand Brand Awareness

“We need to be connected and consistent with how we communicate our brand messages. I plan to increase our brand visibility outside the local market by launching new campaigns and advertising on social media channels in 5 months.”

Specific: The goal is clear and concise: increase the visibility of our brand outside the local market.

Measurable: You will measure success based on the number of campaigns and messages launched on social media channels.

Attainable: The 5-month timeline gives you enough time to conduct market research, design campaigns, and launch advertising on social media.

Relevant: This is relevant and valuable because it helps build the brand’s presence in other markets.

Time-based: There is a 5-month end date for effective brand awareness.

8. Promote Sustainable Practices

“I aim to reduce our restaurant’s carbon footprint by 10% next year. To accomplish this, I will introduce initiatives that promote sustainable practices such as using reusable utensils, composting food scraps, and reducing water usage.”

Specific: The individual will reduce their restaurant’s carbon footprint by 10%.

Measurable: Make sure you actively introduce initiatives to promote sustainable practices.

Attainable: This is a reachable goal because it’s possible to implement more sustainable practices in the restaurant.

Relevant: This statement is appropriate because it addresses a critical environmental issue.

Time-based: The SMART goal is time-bound by the end of next year.

9. Develop Loyalty Program

“My goal is to develop and launch a loyalty program for our customers after 6 months. I will encourage customer retention and help our business grow by rewarding returning customers for their loyalty.”

Specific: The goal states the objective , what will be done to achieve it, and the deadline.

Measurable: You could track the number of customers who sign up for the loyalty program.

Attainable: This is possible because it is realistic to develop and launch a loyalty program in 6 months.

Relevant: Encouraging customer loyalty and retention is important for growing the business.

Time-based: There is a 6-month time frame for goal completion.

10. Reduce Food Waste

“I will reduce food waste in my restaurant by 10% within 7 months by instituting a system of regular checks and monitoring inventories more closely. This will be more cost-effective and show my commitment to going green.”

Specific: The goal is to reduce food waste and institute a system of checks and monitoring inventories.

Measurable: You could measure the reduction of food waste in percentage.

Attainable: Minimizing food waste is a realistic goal that you can accomplish.

Relevant: This is relevant to your restaurant’s environmental commitment.

Time-based: You have 7 months to reduce food waste by 10%.

11. Create Unique Experiences

“I want to create memorable dining experiences by implementing a monthly special menu that reflects our local culture. I’ll work with creative chefs to create interesting dishes using local ingredients and provide the best service.”

Specific: This is specific because the goal outlines an actionable plan to create unique experiences.

Measurable: You could count how many customers consistently order the monthly special.

Attainable: Creating a special menu and working with creative chefs are realistic activities that can be done regularly.

Relevant: Promoting unique experiences for diners allows restaurants to stand out from the competition and retain customers.

Time-based: It is implied that the goal is ongoing, so you must pursue it regularly.

12. Add Delivery Services

“I want to expand our services and give customers the convenience of delivery. I will research and create a plan to add delivery services to our restaurant within 6 months.”

Specific: This goal focuses on adding delivery services to the restaurant.

Measurable: Ensure the successful addition of delivery services within the given time frame.

Attainable: With research and a plan, adding delivery services is undoubtedly feasible.

Relevant: Customers appreciate the convenience of delivery services, so this goal is relevant to restaurant success.

Time-based: You have 6 months to add delivery services for your business.

Final Thoughts

The SMART goal-setting method is critical to restaurant success. With well-defined and measurable goals, businesses can monitor progress and make necessary changes to stay competitive in their industry.

Restaurants that establish SMART goals can experience positive growth and long-term sustainability. It’s a worthwhile investment of time and energy that will pay off in the end. So take the plunge and devise your own SMART goals today—you won’t regret it.

Goals & Objectives of Opening a Restaurant

• Small Business
• Types of Businesses to Start
• Opening a Restaurant
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Sample of a SWOT Analysis for a Restaurant

What are some qualities or characteristics that make a good restaurant, objectives of a buffet restaurant.

• How to Start a Buffet Restaurant
• How to Own & Manage a Fast Food Restaurant

If you’re planning to open a new restaurant, your business plan must include specific goals and objectives. This doesn’t just mean detailing the ambiance and look of your restaurant or the type of food you intend to serve, it also means setting goals centered on customer service, sales and staffing. Whether you operate a franchise or you are opening an independent restaurant, there are several major goals and objectives you should establish to achieve the success you desire.

Provide an Outstanding Patron Experience

In the restaurant business, you aren’t just serving food. You are selling a dining experience. So one of your major goals should be to provide a customer experience that encourages repeat business. From the moment a patron enters your restaurant until that patron leaves, that person should feel as if they are valued. But you can’t achieve this goal without having a way to measure the type of experience you are offering.

Set measurable customer experience goals such as greeting patrons as soon as they enter, serving meals within 20 minutes and having each server communicate the specials to every diner.

Establish Customer Loyalty

Another major objective of a restaurant is to create a sense of loyalty in their patrons to make them regular customers. Your restaurant won’t survive if you can’t convert first-time visitors into repeat customers. One of the best ways to create loyalty is by offering some type of reward program.

One example is a reward program that allows patrons to build up points with regular visits and use those points for free meals and drinks. Another idea is to offer gift cards to your regular customers, which can help attract new patrons.

Offer a Diverse Menu

Even if your restaurant specializes in one type of food, you can still make it an objective to offer a diverse menu that will attract patrons. As you plan the menu for your restaurant, consider the fact that potential diners may have a varied palate. For example, if you specialize in Asian fusion, make it a key objective to keep a few simple options on the menu.

This caters to those customers who might enjoy your delicious food but aren’t necessarily adventurous when it comes to food. Plan a menu that gives several key options and a few more basic recipes, as well as a number of sides to draw different types of foodies to your eatery.

The National Restaurant Association has identified some popular trends that can help your menu planning. This includes more international cuisine, vegetable-inspired dishes, locally-sourced food, new cuts of meat that vary from the standard and zero-waste cooking. This refers to a cooking style in which no ingredients are thrown away or wasted, which helps the environment and also reduces your cost-per-menu-item.

Creating a Brand

Branding isn’t just for big names such as Apple and Zappos, it has also become one of the main goals of small businesses, including restaurants. Fortunately, the evolution of social media has leveled the playing field, allowing smaller companies to communicate their brand without needing a huge budget. You can brand your restaurant in several ways, including:

•       Choosing a catchy name
•       Designing a distinct logo
•       Creating a theme or concept
•       Identifying the experience (fun, high-end, casual)
•       Developing a distinct look and ambiance

Branding is all about selling the “why” of your restaurant rather than the “what,” because patrons already know you offer food. The key is to identify what makes your place unique and worth a visit. Then you must find ways to grab your audience’s attention. One means of doing that is to hold an event in which you invite the public to come and sample different items on your menu and offer giveaways.

• Toast: How To Set Short and Long Term Goals For Your Restaurant
• National Restaurant Association

Sampson Quain is an experienced content writer with a wide range of expertise in small business, digital marketing, SEO marketing, SEM marketing, and social media outreach. He has written primarily for the EHow brand of Demand Studios as well as business strategy sites such as Digital Authority.

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan

An overview of how to write a restaurant business plan for foodservice entrepreneurs, from concept and menu planning to kitchen design and marketing.

Get the Essential Guide to Starting a Restaurant

Download our guide to explore budget-friendly restaurant startup concepts, necessary licenses and permits, business planning tips, and more!

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Here’s the truth about starting a restaurant. According to a study by Cornell University , over 26% of independent restaurants don’t survive their first year and nearly 60% fail by their third year. That’s why creating a solid restaurant business plan is so important. It may give you an opportunity to put concrete structure around your thinking and assess your ideas from a higher viewpoint, before spending a single dollar.

Although there are no guarantees in life (and especially in business) with a little preparation, education, and mentorship, you can avoid many of the pitfalls that upend others. In this article, you’ll discover how to begin writing a restaurant business plan—and how you can get an education that may help you start your own foodservice business .

Define Your Business Concept

A business plan should start with a basic conceptual overview. Where did the idea for your restaurant or food business come from? And how is your idea unique compared to what else is currently in the market? Who is your target market, and what (in general) will you be serving them?

Think of the concept as the bird’s eye view of your business.

You may also wish to include a mission statement in this section. This will be a short sentence or two that outlines the value the business provides to customers and employees, and may set an inspirational objective. A good example is The Kitchen American Bistro in Boulder, Colorado, which has the following mission:

“We believe in the power of good food and good drink to connect people as family, friends and a community. The Kitchen remains committed to our mission of creating community through food.”*

Verbalizing the bigger picture as a stated mission gives your business depth beyond just making money. When you use it as a guiding principle, it will be reflected in your marketing, operations, and the attitudes of those who join your team.

Do a Market Analysis

Where will your proposed restaurant fit into the overall foodservice market? Is there a niche in your area that’s not being served? Or will you be competing with established businesses? And if so, how will your concept stand out?

Everything from local factors like lack of competition to nationwide factors like a booming economy can contribute to your restaurant’s success or failure. A market analysis can help you to assess both the challenges and opportunities that you’ll face when you open your doors.

Food Entrepreneurship at Escoffier

Dive into greater detail on many of the topics covered in this article in Escoffier’s Food Entrepreneurship programs . The Culinary Entrepreneurship course specifically explores topics like business planning and begin writing a business plan.

Describe Your Service Style

Will your restaurant be fine dining? Counter service? An all-day café with servers? A buffet? A beer garden?

Make sure it’s clearly defined. If your service style is simple, you may include this in your concept section. But if it’s more complex, it may warrant its own section in your business plan. For example, perhaps you plan to offer elevated table service with a number of thoughtful touchpoints. You’ll want to be very clear about what that will look like.

Your service style will directly impact your staffing levels, which will affect your labor costs. That’s why it’s vital to include this information and the associated cost estimates in your business plan.

A full-service waitstaff like this will be more costly than a lean counter-service staff.

Build Your Sample Menu

A great restaurant menu is specifically designed to appeal to your target market, while staying true to your concept. Even if you’re not 100% sure what your final restaurant menu will include, create a sample version for your business plan.

The menu is your product, and it will impact everything about your restaurant from food costs (typically between 25% and 35% of the menu price) to the number of cooks you’ll need to the layout of your kitchen.

You should also calculate pricing for this menu to verify if it can be served at a price point that fits with your target demographic. A family-friendly spot with $20 burgers, for example, is creating a disconnect between its target market and its menu price.

The Science Behind Menu Design

Creating and designing a menu can be complex. You have to balance the art of making great food with the practicalities of food and labor costs. In Escoffier’s Food Entrepreneurship programs, students may explore topics like visual design and price analysis.

Determine Your Facility Design and Location

Once you have a sense of your concept and menu, you can begin to plan what your restaurant should look like and where it will be.

The kitchen is the most expensive part of a restaurant’s total cost. And every square foot taken up by cooking space is a square foot that can’t hold customers. Industry wisdom states that a kitchen should be between 25% and 30% of the total restaurant space—including storage. So you have to plan your kitchen as efficiently as possible.

In the dining room, you’ll need tables and chairs, possibly a host stand, and maybe a bar. You may have plans for art and custom light fixtures, or a high-end tap system for draft beer. Renderings from your architect and/or interior designer can help to show what you’re envisioning.

Include all of the equipment, furnishings , and supplies that you plan to purchase for both the back of house and front of house, so you can estimate the cost of building out your restaurant.

You will also need to decide where your restaurant will be. This will impact rent, guest parking, foot traffic, and even your operating hours. If you’re in a business district, for example, you may choose to only be open for lunch.

Choose Your Management Team and Determine Staff Needs

A great plan without a great team is likely to fail. An important part of your business plan is determining the various roles and responsibilities for your managers and employees.

Depending on the size of your business, your plan may include an organizational chart that explains which position is reporting to whom, how many people you will be hiring, the main skill sets of the management team, and the unique things that each employee brings to the table.

You can also call out any special achievements or accolades for the managers you plan to bring on board, like a general manager with a great deal of experience or a chef with impressive certifications .

If you attend culinary school or enroll in a food entrepreneurship program, some of those team members could even be former classmates. Business is ultimately about the relationships between people, and culinary school is a ripe environment to build those critical connections that may serve you down the road.

Forecast Your Costs, Revenue, and Potential Profit

Anyone looking to launch a foodservice business probably wonders how much the whole endeavor is going to cost, and what the return on investment might be. If you’ve gone through all of these steps, you’ll be well on your way to better awareness of the fundamental costs of business and what you can do to help guide it toward being a profitable venture.

Your business plan should detail the financing that will be required to get your business up and running, the associated costs of marketing and staff, and variable costs such as ingredients. Your business plan should be sufficiently detailed to estimate the profits and expenses for the first few years of your business, in order to help ensure that your plan is economically feasible.

Keeping An Eye On Restaurant Profits

Restaurant profit margins are relatively low compared to other businesses. A key course in Escoffier’s curriculum for the Food Entrepreneurship Associate Degree explores managerial accounting concepts, culinary math, and an overview of basic business accounting transactions such as how to read financial statements. It may explain the practical application of these concepts to the hospitality industry and how to manage costs for long-term profitability.

Create a Marketing Plan

The first step in restaurant or food truck marketing is to identify who your ideal customer will be. Are they looking for date spots, family-friendly restaurants, or group dining? What do they like to eat? What are their wants and needs? Will you be targeting specific dietary profiles, like vegan , paleo, or gluten-free?

Once you know who your customers are, how will you reach them? You will probably need to start a website, including your location, hours, and menu. You may also choose to promote your restaurant on social media , sharing photos and videos on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. You can also work with local food influencers , leveraging their larger platforms to spread the word about your new restaurant.

Share photos taken by your customers to connect with your audience.

While your marketing plan is sure to change and evolve over time, it’s wise to have a general strategy in place before you open your doors so you can have a successful grand opening.

Marketing 101

Escoffier’s Food Entrepreneurship programs include coursework in food styling and photography , social media, and hospitality marketing. Graduates could be prepared to identify their ideal customers and reach them for better visibility and higher sales.

An Entrepreneurial Education Can Mean Being Prepared

While it is obvious that you need a passion for the world of food and drink before launching a food service business, starting any venture is difficult without mentorship from professionals who have real-world experience.

In Escoffier’s Food Entrepreneurship programs , students can work with skilled experts from the culinary world who may help them avoid the pitfalls common to new business owners. A blend of culinary theory and practical, hands-on business operations experience can prepare students for the intricacies of foodservice, with a steady eye on profitability.

To learn more about what students can expect in our Food Entrepreneurship programs, get in touch with our Admissions Department . They can answer your questions and help you develop a plan to get closer to your dreams of business ownership.

Enjoyed this article? Here are a few more you may like.

• How to Start a Restaurant with Little to No Money
• Ghost Kitchens & Ghost Restaurants: What Are They and How Do You Start One ?
• The Complete Guide to Starting a Home-Based Catering Business

*Information may not reflect every student’s experience. Results and outcomes may be based on several factors, such as geographical region or previous experience.

This article was originally published on June 29, 2020, and has since been updated.

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Restaurant Goals: How to Set Great Goals for Your Food Business?

Set great goals for your food business to thrive.

Not sure what are the objectives of a restaurant?

Do you want to set goals for your food business?

Restaurants, like other types of businesses, must have objectives that allow them to grow in different ways.

Whether you want your restaurant to be more profitable, to have more presence on social media, or to retain as many customers as possible, you should set realistic goals that help you achieve these things.

In this article I will talk to you about:

• The objectives of a restaurant and their importance.
• The two main types of goals you should set.
• And the steps you need to take to create realistic and achievable goals.

There are many benefits that you can take advantage of in your business by creating the right goals. Furthermore, a business without objectives is bound to fail, stagnate, and become a source of frustration for the owner.

This article will help you avoid that at all costs!

Goals of a Restaurant

The goals of a restaurant are vital for it to function properly.

After all, the objectives of your business are your north and should be established when developing the business plan.

You cannot have a business without objectives because very soon you will discover that you do not have a philosophy that encourages you to improve in everything you do with your restaurant.

This is also important to define the mission, vision, and values of your business.

Having clear and defined goals will also help you:

• Train your staff to strive to achieve those goals.
• To have a strategic mindset regarding each activity carried out in your restaurant that influences those objectives.
• To create a growth plan that allows you to develop your restaurant in different areas.
• And to maximize your profits, profitability, and sustainability with the correct objectives.

If you do not have clear objectives, you will be missing out on these benefits, which will subtract power and potency from each of your efforts or your employees’.

This can also affect the perception that your customers have of your business, which after a while will be stagnant, stunned, or not very original.

As a consequence, it could also cause your business to fail due to lack of innovation, monetary problems, or many small problems that became catastrophic when added together.

Next, I will tell you about the two main types of objectives of a restaurant.

The General Objective of a Restaurant

The first type is the general objective or objectives of a restaurant. These are goals that are, as the name implies, less defined.

They can be of different types, such as:

• Increase sales and profits.
• Increase the exposure of the restaurant.
• Keep the restaurant profitable at all times.
• Keep the gastronomic offer of the restaurant inexpensive or low-cost.
• Maximize the sustainability and efficiency of the restaurant.

The general objectives are a bit more strategic since, to achieve them, you will have to make a series of decisions that bring you a little closer to this favorable result.

Many general goals are long-term or infinite in some way in the sense that there will always be a new way to "achieve" them.

For example, "increase sales and profits" is a goal that is based on records or milestones that you can overcome with your business eventually if you make the right decisions.

Specific Objectives of a Restaurant

The specific objectives of a restaurant are less strategic because they must have exact steps that you must follow to achieve them. In turn, the specific objectives contribute a little more to the general objectives.

Also, the specific objectives of a restaurant are longer. Here are some examples:

• Maximize sales by studying and optimizing opening hours to take better advantage of peak hours or hours that are proven to generate the most sales of your most profitable dishes.
• Improve the online exposure of your restaurant by optimizing its social media presence, creating a website , and applying an SEO strategy with high-performance keywords.
• Create a customer loyalty strategy that connects with your clients in the different channels of the restaurant and create an email marketing campaign to send offers that help build loyalty.
• Improve customer service in the restaurant by training your staff to use sales scripts, improve their problem-solving skills, diction, and manners while interacting with customers.

The specific objectives of a restaurant are different in that they can be updated or changed as they are achieved.

However, it is a good idea to also create an infrastructure that allows the changes to be permanent. This way, you will avoid wasting time on goals that you have already achieved, but that have declined over time.

For example, you can achieve the goal of improving customer service with all the steps I mentioned above, but if you don't set these to be applied to every new employee, the quality of service will eventually decline once you hire new people.

Specific goals are a bit more complex, however, they are easy to set if you follow the correct procedure.

Steps to Create Goals for a Restaurant

Now I’ll give you the specific steps you must follow to create goals for your restaurant.

The purpose of these steps is to:

• Create goals that are achievable and realistic.
• Create measurable goals.
• Create objectives you can create infrastructures or systems around to make sure that they do not decline once you have achieved them.
• Create a specific plan that allows you to achieve each goal.

It should be noted that I have created these steps based on the SMART strategy for creating goals .

Therefore, the type of objectives that you will be able to create with these steps will be specific goals .

As an example, I'll use the goal of maximizing the number of takeout or delivery orders.

Let's start with the steps!

1. Make Sure the Goal Is Specific

The SMART strategy from the beginning says that the objective has to be specific.

Therefore, you must create objectives with specific and reduced results, instead of results that will have a great impact on your business.

Think of goals that are like a grain of sand in an hourglass — the overall goal is achievable once each grain of sand is at the bottom.

My goal is:

Maximize the number of delivery orders by 50%.

Let's say my restaurant receives about 100 delivery orders each month and that this is a new service.

The general goal that this specific goal would be helping is to maximize my restaurant's sales.

2. The Objective Must Be Measurable

Making sure your goal is measurable requires several things.

You should make sure that:

• Your objective is specific.
• That you have the correct tools to collect data.
• That you can isolate specific data that allows you to calculate the result.

For my goal, I need to increase my restaurant's delivery orders by 50%, which translates to 50 more orders per month.

I will need to obtain specific data to be able to measure these objectives.

For that, I will use the Waiterio restaurant POS system and the web page that is automatically created for my business.

In order to isolate this data, I will recreate the dishes on my menu, but I will add the label (delivery). I will also add the cost of the service, the cost per container, and more as ingredients of the dish to justify a small price increase.

This way, people who want to use the delivery service will be able to choose these specific items easily and this will also provide me with data to calculate the performance of the service at the end of the month.

3. The Goal Must Be Achievable

This step means that you need to make sure your goal is as realistic as it can be.

In my case, I know this goal is achievable because this delivery service is relatively new in my restaurant.

That means that I can optimize it in different ways, improve my marketing strategy , and improve other aspects of my business to increase the number of orders per month by 50%.

However, wanting to increase my restaurant's delivery orders by, say, 250% right away, is a bit of a stretch — although I won't deny that it would be great!

In that sense, you must create goals that are realistic and possible, and avoid wanting to achieve impossible goals that will only cause you frustration or make you question your methods.

I recommend that you start with small goals so that you can easily adjust your strategies.

4. The Objective Must Be Relevant

This step means that you need to make sure that each specific goal you are creating is relevant so that you can achieve the overall goals of your restaurant.

In my case, my general goal is to maximize my restaurant's sales and profits.

Therefore, I am quite sure that my goal of maximizing delivery orders is relevant to further improving my sales.

Whenever you have doubts about whether your objective is relevant, study the influence it will have on your general objectives to confirm it.

5. The Goal Must Be Timely

The timing of the goal means that you should set a time limit to achieve the goal — which is also recommended to be a realistic timeframe.

This is very important so that you can take the time to create solutions or make decisions that help you achieve your goals.

It will also give you time so that you can study the results, rather than getting ahead of yourself by having high expectations about the effectiveness of your methods.

Continuing with my example, I will have to add one more line to my goal.

My goal is to increase delivery orders:

• In three months.
• Adding this service to my social media marketing strategy.
• To my website.
• And designing a physical banner to place in my restaurant.

Considering that my objective must be measurable and that marketing campaigns take time, I believe that three months is enough for it to take effect and to obtain consistent results.

6. Create a System That Allows Your Achievements to Endure

I have created this step to emphasize creating systems that allow you to make your achievements the new normal.

For example, if I get my delivery orders to go up 50%, I don't want them to go down in the months after I achieve this goal.

Instead, I want them to be like this constantly, and to grow from then on.

For this reason, I will create a calendar of monthly publications that allows me to remind my social media followers that I offer a delivery service in my restaurant.

Thus, I’ll make sure that this service stays in the minds of my diners, and that sales stay at levels close to or above 150 per month.

7. Update Your Goals

In addition to creating systems so that each achievement endures, I recommend that you also update your objectives so that you can maximize your results as much as you can.

For example, in the following months after having achieved my goal and having created a system to maintain it, I want to increase my orders again by 20%.

This step can be applied until your goal is minimal, to eliminate common mistakes, and to improve your restaurant even more.

Sure, it's a good idea to do this after reaching other goals that improve other aspects of your business. This way you make your restaurant improve in all areas, instead of having a highly developed area, and the rest full of weaknesses.

How Many Goals Should My Restaurant Have?

Your restaurant doesn't have to have 100 goals for it to grow.

Instead, it is a better idea that each semester or each year you focus on a few specific objectives that help your restaurant grow in different areas.

I recommend that you create a maximum of three general objectives and about three specific objectives per each general objective.

This way you can keep your restaurant growing at a steady rate at all times.

A Project Without Objectives Is Not Viable!

A business that has no objectives cannot grow or improve its activities. There is no such thing as a nihilistic business .

If you feel that your business is stagnant, that you haven’t achieved the goals that you had in mind, it is a good idea to consider creating new goals using these steps.

One benefit that I haven't mentioned so far is that having and achieving your restaurant's goals is a great motivation for success, both for you and your employees.

Are you creating the goals your restaurant needs to be successful? I hope so!

Join 40,000 restaurants using waiterio point of sale system

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- Matthew Johnson (Owner of MrBreakFastJa , Jamaica)

Recent articles

How to Set, Track, and Achieve Business Objectives with 60 Examples

By Kate Eby | April 10, 2023

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Businesses that set objectives make better decisions. Business objectives allow companies to focus their efforts, track progress, and visualize future success. We’ve worked with experts to create the most comprehensive guide to business objectives.

Included in this article, you’ll find the differences between business objectives and business goals , the four main business objectives , and the benefits of setting business objectives . Plus, find 60 examples of business objectives , which you can download in Microsoft Word.

What Is a Business Objective?

A business objective is a specific, measurable outcome that a company works to achieve. Company leaders set business objectives that help the organization meet its long-term goals. Business objectives should be recorded so that teams can easily access them. 

Business objectives cover many different factors of a company’s success, such as financial health, operations, productivity, and growth. 

One easy way to make sure that you are setting the right business objectives is to follow the SMART goal framework . SMART objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. 

To learn about setting project objectives using the SMART framework, see this comprehensive guide to writing SMART project objectives .

Business Objectives vs. Business Goal

A business goal is a broad, long-term outcome that a company works toward. Goals usually inform which strategies that department leaders will implement. A business objective , however, is a specific, short-term outcome or action that helps the company achieve long-term goals.

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, goals and objectives are not the same . In general, goals are broad in scope and describe an outcome, while objectives are narrow in scope and describe a specific action or step. 

While these differences are important to understand, many of the common frameworks for successful goal-setting — such as SMART, objectives and key results ( OKRs ), and management by objectives (MBO) — can be useful when writing business objectives. 

When deciding on objectives for a team or department, keep in mind the overarching goals of a business. Each objective should move the company closer to its long-term goals.

Project Goals and Objectives Template

Download the Project Goals and Objectives Template for Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Use this free, printable template to learn how to break down project goals into individual objectives using the SMART framework. Write the primary goal at the top of the worksheet, then follow the SMART process to create one or more specific objectives that will help you achieve that goal. 

For resources to help with setting and tracking goals at your company, see this all-inclusive list of goal tracking and setting templates .

What Are the Four Main Business Objectives?

The four main business objectives are economic, social, human, and organic. Each can help a business ensure their prolonged health and growth. For example, human objectives refer to employees’ well-being, while economic objectives refer to the company’s financial health. 

These are the four main business objectives:

• Example: Reduce spending on paid advertisements by 20 percent.
• Example: Reduce average customer wait times from eight minutes to four minutes. 
• Example: Hire two new chemical engineers by the end of Q2.
• Example: Improve the efficiency of a specific software product by 15 percent.

Types of Business Objectives

There are many types of business objectives beyond the main four. These range from regulation objectives to environmental objectives to municipal objectives. For example, a global objective might be to distribute a product to a new country. 

In addition to economic, social, human, and organic objectives, here are some other types of business objectives companies might set: 

• Regulatory: These objectives relate to compliance requirements, such as meeting quality standards or conducting internal audits.
• National: These objectives relate to a company’s place in and how they contribute to the country they operate in, such as promoting social justice causes and creating employment opportunities. 
• Global: These objectives relate to a company’s place in and its contribution to many countries, such as improving living standards and responding to global demands for products and services. 
• Environmental: These objectives relate to a company’s environmental impact, such as reducing chemical waste or making eco-friendly investments. 
• Healthcare: These objectives relate to the health and well-being of a population, whether within or outside an organization. These objectives might be improving healthcare benefit options for employees or refining a drug so that it has fewer side effects.

The Importance of Having Business Objectives

Teams need business objectives to stay focused on the company’s long-term goals. Business objectives help individual employees understand how their roles contribute to the larger mission of the organization. Setting business objectives facilitates effective planning. 

Here are some benefits to setting business objectives:

• Develops Leadership: Company leaders are more effective when they have a clear vision and can delegate tasks to make it a reality. Setting objectives is a great way to improve one’s leadership skills.
• Increases Motivation: People tend to be more invested in work when they have clear, attainable objectives to achieve. Plus, each completed objective provides a morale boost to keep teams happy and productive. 
• Encourages Innovation and Productivity: With increased motivation and workplace satisfaction come more innovations. Set attainable but challenging objectives, and watch teams come up with creative solutions to get things done.
• Improves Strategy: Setting objectives that align with overarching company goals means that everyone across the company can stay aligned on strategic implementation. 
• Enhances Customer Satisfaction: Overall customer satisfaction is more likely to increase over time when measurable quality improvements are in place. 
• Improves Prioritization: When they are being able to see all of the current objectives, team members can more easily prioritize their work, which in turn makes their workloads feel more manageable. 
• Improves Financial Health: Setting economic objectives in particular can help companies stay on top of their financial goals.

60 Examples of Business Objectives

Company leaders can use business objectives to improve every facet of an organization, from customer satisfaction to market share to employee well-being. Here are 60 examples of business objectives that can help a company achieve its goals. 

Economic Business Objectives

• Increase profit margins by 5 percent by the end of the Q4. 
• Recover 50 percent of total outstanding debts from each quarter the following quarter for the next year. 
• “Increase revenue by 10 percent each year for the next five years,” suggests Tyler. 
• Offer three new holiday sales events in the coming year. 
• Move 30 percent of surplus stock by the end of Q2.
• “Reduce costs by 10 percent each year for the next five years,” suggests Tyler.
• Reduce monthly interest payments by 1.5 percent by consolidating debt. 
• Introduce a new credit payment option to expand the potential customer base. 
• Apply for six government grants by the end of the year. 
•  Hire an accountant to track expenses and file the company’s taxes. 
•  Secure a $100,000 loan to start a business.
•  Pitch your business ideas to a venture capital firm. 
• Improve your business credit score from 75 to 85 in two years. 
• Invest in solar panels for your company headquarters to reduce building energy costs by 75 percent. 
• Establish a monthly practice to analyze your cash flow statement.

Social Business Objectives

• Decrease customer average customer wait times by 20 percent in two months.
• Improve the average customer service satisfaction rating from 3.2/5 to 3.8/5 in six months through targeting trainings. 
• Hire a contract UX designer to redesign the company website interface in four months. 
• Decrease customer churn by 15 percent in one year. 
• “Triple the customer base within two years,” suggests Tyler.
• Offer 20 percent more customer discounts and specials over the course of two years. 
• Increase market share by 5 percent in three years. 
• Increase monthly sales quotas for sales associates by 10 percent. 
• Develop a sales incentive program to reward top-performing sales associates with vacations, bonuses, and other prizes. 
• Donate $10,000 to local causes, such as public school funds or local charities. 
• Partner with a charitable organization to host a company-wide 5K.
• Increase your marketing budget by 15 percent.
• Hire a new marketing director by the end of Q3.
• Donate 40 percent of surplus stock to a relevant charity. 
• Increase engagement across all social media platforms by 10 percent with a multiplatform ad campaign.

Human Business Objectives

• Hire three new employees by the end of Q1.
• Hire a contractor to train your IT team on new software. 
• Rewrite and distribute your company values statement. 
• Conduct a quarterly, company-wide productivity training over the next two years. 
• Establish a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committee. 
• Design and implement a mentorship program for diverse employees. 
• Create an incentive program that grants additional vacation days for all employees when company-wide productivity goals are met. 
• Offer a free monthly happy hour to improve the employee experience. 
• Select change leaders across multiple teams to provide support for a corporate reorg.
• Start three employee resource groups (ERGs) within the next six months. 
• Diversify websites and career fairs where the hiring team recruits applicants to encourage a more diverse pool of candidates for new jobs. 
• Invest in an office redesign that improves the office atmosphere and provides more in-office resources, such as free coffee and snacks, to on-site employees. 
• Upgrade employee laptops to improve productivity and employee satisfaction. 
• Conduct a yearly, comprehensive employee experience survey to identify areas of improvement. 
• Throw office parties to celebrate change milestones. 

Organic Business Objectives

• Increase the top line by 15 percent every year for the next five years.
• Achieve 20 percent net profit from 10 product enhancements in the next two years.
• Decrease raw materials costs by 10 percent by the end of the year.
• Reduce downtime by 25 percent by the end of the year.
• Within two years, attain a rate of 25 percent new revenue from products released within the last year.
• Improve customer acquisition ration by 10 percent every quarter for the next two years. 
• Reduce total inventory levels by 20 percent over four months.
• Interact with at least 20 Instagram users every month for one year.
• Have a new product launch covered by at least three reputable industry publications within two months of the launch date.
• Grow both the top line and the bottom line by 60 percent every year for three years. 
• Reduce product defects by 15 percent every year for four years.
• Increase on-time delivery dates for top customers by 25 percent over the span of three quarters.
• Conduct yearly workplace safety reviews.
• Decrease average customer wait times for responses to social media queries from 45 minutes to 15 minutes by the end of Q4.
• Improve your company website to be on the first page of search results within six months.

Download 60 Example Business Objectives for

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When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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How to Write a Fast Food Restaurant Business Plan + Free Template

Makenna Crocker

6 min. read

Updated February 7, 2024

Crafting a savvy business plan is like perfecting the ultimate fast food combo for your restaurant’s triumph. It’s the special blend of your entrepreneurial vision, spicy industry knowledge, well-baked financial projections, and sizzling strategic plans served together to drive your venture forward.

In the U.S. alone, the fast-food industry is estimated to be worth over $250 billion as of 2023, indicating the immense potential within this sector. The industry has shown remarkable resilience even in economic downturns, further validating its prominence in the business world.

In this article, we’ll bite into our  free fast food restaurant business plan  for the example scenario of Fast Bites Delight, serving you a step-by-step guide to brewing up a compelling business plan specific to your fast food enterprise. You can download our sample fast food restaurant business plan to get started.

Through this journey, we aim to help you dish out a blueprint that can help you tap into this growing market and set your fast food joint up for success.

• Introduce your fast food business

Fast Bites Delight isn’t your typical fast-food joint. It serves up a smorgasbord of speedy, appetizing meals that neither compromises on nutrition nor taste. With more people seeking quality, convenience, and nutrition, Fast Bites Delight whips up a delectable answer to this culinary conundrum.

Their mission? Swiftly serve scrumptious yet healthy meals that satiate fast food cravings while keeping nutrition front and center.

The introduction effectively captures Fast Bites Delight’s unique selling proposition – serving quick, delicious meals that balance taste and nutrition. Highlighting your unique selling proposition upfront can give your business plan an immediate edge and create intrigue for what follows.

Conduct a market analysis 

Identifying your market is crucial. For Fast Bites Delight, their primary patrons include busy professionals, families on the go, students craving nourishing fast-food, and individuals scouting for a quick, healthy bite. But their clientele isn’t limited to individual consumers. They also cater to local businesses that need food services for events or meetings.

Their competition ranges from conventional fast-food chains, convenience stores, and quick-service restaurants to food trucks and supermarket deli sections. The key to standing out in this crowd? Fast Bites Delight dishes out a diverse, health-focused menu prepared with premium ingredients, served with a side of speedy service and a generous dollop of top-notch customer service.

This section does an excellent job identifying their key target market and competition. A  detailed market analysis  will help you understand your customers’ needs and how your product/service fulfills them. It also guides your marketing and competitive strategies.

• Funding your fast food restaurant

Every venture needs a financial launchpad. Fast Bites Delight projects an initial investment requirement of $250,000. This chunk of capital covers essentials like property rent, kitchen apparatus, renovations, initial inventory, and a cash reservoir to keep the business bubbling until it starts generating enough revenue.

By clearly stating their financial needs, Fast Bites Delight makes it easier for potential investors to see what their investment will cover. You too should detail your funding requirements, ensuring transparency and building trust with stakeholders. For more guidance on funding, check out our  Small Business Funding Guide .

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• Fast food restaurant sales and marketing strategy

The art of attracting customers involves blending multiple strategies. Fast Bites Delight plans to plate up culinary delights at their physical location, serve digital customers via their website, partner with food delivery apps, and spread their flavors through catering services.

Their marketing mix combines traditional methods with digital strategies. Social media campaigns, local SEO, content marketing, collaborations with community businesses and events, email marketing, and in-store promotions flavor their marketing efforts. The goal? To resonate with their target audience, whet their appetites, and draw them into the delightful dining experience that Fast Bites Delight promises.

They’ve created a multi-faceted approach to reach their customers, demonstrating adaptability and a customer-centric approach. In your plan,  consider different strategies  to reach your audience – from physical to digital platforms.

• Fast food restaurant financial projections

Projections give stakeholders a taste of the financial potential. Fast Bites Delight estimates revenue will rise from $300,000 in 2023 to $400,000 by 2025. Their expenses are expected to start at $200,000 in 2023, increasing to $240,000 by 2025.

With these numbers, they project profits simmering at $100,000 in 2023 and rising to a sizzling $160,000 by 2025.

Fast Bites Delight provides clear and realistic financial projections, an essential element to  demonstrate viability and profitability . Make sure your plan includes similar forecasts, indicating your business’s financial potential.

• Milestones for your fast food restaurant

Milestones add structure and strategy. Fast Bites Delight’s roadmap includes obtaining permits and licenses by June 2023, getting the restaurant ready for a grand opening in October 2023, and launching catering services by December 2023. In March 2024, they plan to expand their online delivery options.

By June 2024, they aim to turn a profit monthly. Franchise opportunities may even be on the table in 2025.

This part of the plan breaks down their journey  into achievable steps . It provides a clear timeline of expectations and goals. Similarly, include your startup’s major milestones to give a timeline for your growth.

• Assembling the perfect team

Running a fast food restaurant is no solo venture. The owner/operator stands at the helm, overseeing daily operations from menu planning to staff training. A kitchen manager ensures the back of the house operates smoothly, maintaining food safety, managing kitchen staff, and collaborating on menu development. Front-of-the-house manager ensures customers receive top-notch service while maintaining a clean and welcoming environment.

They clearly define the roles and responsibilities within their team, showcasing how everyone contributes to the restaurant’s success. Define your team structure similarly to give potential investors confidence in your operation’s management.

• Partnerships for your fast food restaurant

Partnerships add value and resources that a standalone business might struggle to find. Fast Bites Delight aims to join forces with local farms and food suppliers to source high-quality, fresh ingredients. Collaborations with food delivery apps extend their reach, making their meals accessible to customers from their homes or offices.

Community organizations and schools also fall within their network scope. By hosting fundraising events and promoting healthy eating habits, Fast Bites Delight aims to strengthen their ties with the community. Local businesses and health and fitness centers present partnership opportunities for catering services and promotional offers, combining business with the promotion of healthier lifestyle choices.

Partnerships are a strategic asset to Fast Bites Delight, extending their reach and adding value to their offerings. Identify potential partnerships for your business to show how you plan to leverage community and industry networks.

• Conclusion: The sweet success of fast bites delight

Fast Bites Delight’s business plan is a masterclass in combining vision, market analysis, strategic planning, and financial forecasting. From understanding their audience and competition to defining their unique value proposition, planning their funding needs, setting goals, and assembling the right team, they have a roadmap that can guide their venture toward success.

As a fast-food entrepreneur, applying these principles and tailoring them to your context will set you on a path toward a successful venture in this highly competitive market. So get ready, set, and let your fast food business plan cook up a storm!

The conclusion reaffirms their unique approach and ties the entire plan together. When you conclude your business plan, summarize your unique value proposition and how each aspect of your plan contributes to achieving your goals.

If you are ready to write your plan, you can download our free  fast food restaurant business plan  from our library of  500+ sample business plan templates . 

Makenna Crocker is the Marketing Specialist at Richardson Sports. Her work focuses on market and social trends, crafting gripping and authentic content, and enhancing marketing strategy to foster stronger B2B and B2C relationships. With a master’s degree in Advertising and Brand Responsibility from the University of Oregon, she specializes in generating a strong and responsible brand presence through content that positively influences and inspires others.

Table of Contents

• Conduct a market analysis 

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