Unlock your menu to drive profit across every daypart

From breakfast to late night: Optimise your offering throughout the whole day

One of the best ways to boost profitability is by maximising sales from your existing kitchen operations. Identifying untapped daypart opportunities helps you unlock new revenue without increasing overheads, making your menu work harder around the clock. A well-structured daypart menu is key to attracting more walk-ins, appealing to a broader customer base, reducing waste and improving margins. Here are some top tips to help you unlock your menu’s full dayparts potential.

1. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day

 

Start the day with a profitable breakfast offering. Breakfast and brunch are increasingly popular in the UK, with 55% of consumers now eating breakfast out of home at least occasionally, up from 51% in 2022. Hybrid working patterns are driving demand for on-the-go options, with 50% of hybrid workers enjoying breakfast outside the home at least twice a week.

This rising appetite for out-of-home breakfasts turns mornings into a prime trading opportunity, helping you attract more customers, differentiate from competitors, boost margins and encourage repeat visits throughout the day.

“Remember to shout about your breakfast! Display signs, social posts or table menus so early risers know you’re serving tasty morning options and come back regularly.” – Craig Miles, Culinary Development Chef

* Breakfast Eating Habits – UK – 2025 Mintel Report

  • Keep it simple: Think pastries, breakfast buns, eggs on toast. Easy to prep and fast to serve meal solutions which can be prepped ahead. These ingredients are usually low cost.
  • Upsell drinks: Coffee, tea and smoothies offer high margins and can boost average spend per head. Entice customers with early bird deals and incentives.
  • On- the- go: Cater to commuters and early risers with takeaway options.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Capitalise on the rise of ‘work from home’

 

With the rise of hybrid working, an increase of consumers are choosing to work from food and drink outlets for a change of scenery. This opens the opportunity for operators to drive sales at sites between 9am and 5pm, generating consistent, profitable daytime revenue.

“It’s important to make sure you have a good coffee offer so you can compete with high street coffee shops.” – Craig Miles, Culinary Development Chef

Explore our coffee brand offering a range of delicious, artisan coffee at a quality you can trust and at prices you’ll love.

Explore the Black + White Coffee Co range

  • Offer light snacks, small plates and hot drink bundles for remote workers.
  • Promote quiet seating, internet connection and charging points to encourage time spent and increase spend per head.
  • Offer loyalty and reward schemes for drinks and small plates to encourage repeat visits.

3. Lunchtime rush

Work smarter, not harder at lunchtime. Consider your location, menu and current dishes, and explore how to use these to your advantage to drive sales, attract office workers and control overheads.

  • Manage waste

    Use batch-prepared, cost-effective ingredients to keep labour and waste down. Consider using up leftover ingredients for salads and sandwich fillings. Find more food waste solutions below.

    Find out more

  • Benchmark against high-street outlets

    If you are based around offices or in a town, it is essential that people can grab a quick lunchtime offer that is competitively priced rather than going to the nearest supermarket. Create fixed price meal deals and set menu prices to entice customers on their lunch breaks.

    “Consider adding service times to your menu or displays so customers know how fast they’ll get their food. Quick bites help to capture busy lunchtime crowds.” – Craig Miles, Culinary Development Chef

  • Sweat your assets

    Maximise your existing kitchen resources by utilising menu items which work across all dayparts. This approach attracts customers throughout the day while keeping additional ingredients, prep time and waste to a minimum.

    “For example, banana bread can be sandwiched with yoghurt and seasonal fruit for breakfast and brunch, paired with coffee as a midday snack or baked and served with ice cream, bananas and toffee sauce for dessert. A hashbrown can also feature on the morning menu, then be transformed into a loaded hashbrown for lunch or dinner.” – Craig Miles, Culinary Development Chef

    Check out our Topped and Loaded trend for recipe inspiration.

    Find out more

  • Demand for portion-controlled foods

    With 25%* of UK consumers interested in injectable weight loss drugs, demand is rising for portion-controlled, nutrient-dense meals that offer smaller, balanced servings to help reduce overeating and waste.

    At the same time, the potential risk of malnourishment is driving interest in functional foods rich in protein and essential nutrients, supported by clear labelling and transparent nutritional information to help consumers make confident, health-conscious choices.

    Take a look at our Whole Lotta Goodness trend for recipe inspiration.

    *Mintel Food & Drink Trends 2025 for EMEA Report

    Find out more

4. Keep margin in mind

When offering a wider food range throughout the day, assessing margins and cost saving opportunities is essential.

  • Menu engineering

    Design your menu around high-margin dishes that are quick to prepare. Assess what your customers repeatedly order and incorporate these into your lunchtime offering.

    Find out more

  • Consider your ingredients

    Use cross-utilised ingredients to reduce waste and streamline storage. Opting for frozen and dried ingredients open opportunities to prep ahead and manage food waste.

    Discover more

  • Overhead management

    Consider offering online ordering, preordering and self-checkouts during busy or short-staffed times.

    “If it’s right for your operation maybe consider utilising a dark kitchen setup, focusing on delivery-only dishes that help reduce overheads, cut food waste and keep your main kitchen running smoothly.” – Craig Miles, Culinary Development Chef

    Explore our takeaway supplies, solutions and dark kitchen support.

    Find out more

  • Promote your offer strategically

    Use social media, email and POS advertising to highlight daypart-specific deals, attracting higher footfall and customer awareness. Introducing loyalty schemes and specific deals that reward frequent visits across different times of day is an easy way to attract returning customers.

Review & adapt

 

Introducing a food offer to every daypart isn’t necessarily the right solution for all venues. Ensure you weigh up the cost and reward, what days of week bring in the most revenue for the day part offers? Trial the offer to gauge customer feedback and market appeal, adapting the offer to feedback and results.

“A strong daypart menu turns every hour of operation into a revenue opportunity, it is about serving smarter to sell more and drive profitability.”- Craig Miles, Culinary Development Chef

For more support, check out our resources

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Additional support

  • Unlock your menu

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  • The Interactive Pub

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