Menu prices are on the rise. It’s one of the reasons the average American is eating at restaurants less often. Rising food costs have taken a toll for years. Operators are paying 7.6% more than they were last year and 29% more than they were four years ago. Many operators don’t see any other option but to pass costs on to their customers.
Fortunately, there is an alternative. The right technology could offer opportunities to streamline operations and offset rising food costs without passing them on to customers. For many operators, however, adopting new tech will mean undergoing a fundamental mindset shift.
Historically, our industry has been run on a kind of gut instinct. Instinct alone, however, is no longer enough to run a thriving business. Modern restaurants require a tech stack capable of offsetting expenses and optimizing the guest experience. I encourage operators to transition to an approach characterized by data-intensive searching for answers on how to run operations more efficiently.
What’s Behind Rising Food Costs?
Whether you’re feeling the squeeze at the supermarket or the wholesaler, the primary culprits are the same: inflation and supply chain disruptions. Though egg prices have dominated recent conversations about the rising cost of food, they’re just one of the staples causing sticker shock in 2025. The price of beef, coffee, and other foods will continue to rise throughout the year if the Department of Agriculture’s estimates hold true.
It’s possible that the worst prices are still to come. Tariffs could soon kick-start a trade war and cause more upheaval for operators. If proposed tariffs against Mexico and Canada go into effect, a huge range of foods and beverages will cost more from wholesalers and grocers.
The Value of Data Analysis for Offsetting Rising Food Costs
Leveraging technology to offset food costs comes down to one key factor, having access to data. I consider data to be the single most transformative tool in the modern restaurant’s repertoire. With access to greater amounts of historical and real-time data you can more strategically manage your team, your purchases, and much more.
Tech for Offsetting the Rising Cost of Food
You may not be able to predict the cost of kitchen necessities or drive prices down, but technology can help optimize all the things you can control. Eliminating costs elsewhere can help to offset the rising cost of food and labor without forcing you to risk alienating customers with unexpected price hikes.
Inventory Management Tech to Cut Waste
According to a 2023 estimate, restaurants throw out as much as 10% of their food each year, contributing to an industry-wide 22 to 33 billion pounds of waste. Wasted food is wasted money – especially as kitchen staples grow more and more pricey. Solutions for inventory management can help operators to avoid these losses with more efficient, data-backed ordering and real-time insights into stock levels.
With the right technology, operators can achieve “just-in-time ordering” and reach optimal inventory levels. I’ve recommended solutions including MarketMan, Margin Edge, and Gordon Restaurant Pro for tech-enabled inventory management.
Though you shouldn’t choose a solution without a thorough review process, any software on the market represents an upgrade from manual inventory management. Your staff will thank you for giving them more advanced tools than pen and paper. They’ll never get stuck trudging through your walk-in freezer after a long shift again and you’ll never have to worry about human error or wrong assumptions leading to wasted food.
Scheduling Software to Optimize Labor Spend
The average operator’s labor expenses are rising alongside food costs. Staffing solutions like 7Shifts and Push can help offset rising costs with data-driven insights for setting schedules and easy integration with your payroll and POS (point of sale) systems.
These systems can not only to help operators understand how many staff they’ll need for a Friday lunch, for example, but will also offer insights related to other factors that may affect that traffic. Maybe it’s going to snow, and you can do with one fewer person in the kitchen. Historical sales data will also inform scheduling to ensure operators avoid wasting money by over- or under-staffing their restaurants.
Like inventory management platforms, team management software should not only offset costs but help to build a better restaurant culture. 7Shifts, for example, allows staff members to offer their feedback so that operators can further tailor their schedules for employee satisfaction as well as cost savings.
Behavior and Feedback Analysis To Better Meet Customer Demand
Customer tastes and expectations are constantly evolving. Meeting customers where they are is perhaps the primary challenge facing restaurant owners today. It’s an evergreen challenge too, one that operators will contend with even after rising food prices have normalized.
Tools for collecting feedback and analyzing customer behavior can empower operators to act with their customer’s verified preferences in mind. Solutions like Momos centralize social media feeds to create a hub for reputation management and customer engagement.
Talk to a Restaurant Tech Consultant Today
Navigating the restaurant tech landscape can be overwhelming, but you’re not alone. My fellow consultants and I have helped restaurateurs like you find the right combination of solutions to offset the rising cost of food and labor, give customers what they’re looking for, and continually innovate.
