For quick-service restaurant operators, performance is measured in seconds and cents.
Operators track ticket times, labor ratios and food costs down to the unit
Yet one of the most consistent drivers of margin loss has received far less attention: surplus food from plates, preparation scraps, overpurchasing and more. That is beginning to change. As inflation, supply volatility and labor pressures continue to challenge profitability, operators are reexamining what gets thrown away and why.
What they are finding is that these losses are not random. Surplus food is measurable, patterned and in many cases, preventable. In the United States, ReFED estimates that restaurants generate an estimated 11.4 million tons of food waste each year, representing roughly $25 billion in lost value.