Beverage menu: complete guide to create yours

Have you ever thought that the beverage menu can be a major differentiator for your bar, restaurant or nightclub?

Beverages – water, juices, soft drinks, beers, cocktails and spirits – usually generate a good portion of revenue and increase the average ticket. Portanto, elaborar um cardápio com uma boa variedade de opções e que também seja lucrativo é fundamental. 

Furthermore, the menu is also an excellent marketing tool and can help attract more customers and stimulate consumption. There are several strategies you can use to increase your sales.

So, if you want to know how to create an attractive and profitable beverage menu, check out our tips below!

What beverages should be on the menu?

Let's start with the basics? There are countless beverages you can include on your menu. Having a variety of options is important to satisfy all customers and leave no one unsatisfied.

We can divide beverages into two main categories:

Non-alcoholic beverages

• Sparkling-free water
• Sparkling water
• Soft drinks
• Energy drinks
• Natural Juices
• Commercial Juices
• Teas
• Coffees

Alcoholic beverages

• Beers
• Draft beers
• Wines
• Sparkling wines
• Vodka
• Whiskey
• Gin
• Tequila
• Cachaça
• Rum
• Liqueurs

These are just some examples of the most common beverages. They can be served in bottles, by the glass, or used to make cocktails.

Cocktails and Mixed Drinks

The cocktail list can be a major differentiator for your bar, restaurant or nightclub. It's interesting to offer already established and popular cocktails, but also have signature drink options to stand out from the competition.

Some of the most common cocktails are:

• Negroni
• Martini
• Margarita
• Mojito
• Caipirinha
• Cosmopolitan
• Moscow Mule
• Whisky Sour
• Aperol Spritz
• Sex on the beach

Now that you have an idea of what a bar menu should contain, let's go through the step-by-step to create yours! Check out our guide below.

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Guide: how to create a beverage menu step by step

As we've seen, the beverage menu has strategic potential for your business: it can help increase your average ticket, be a differentiator and attract more customers. However, to have these benefits, it needs to be well thought out.

Learn more: 9 reasons to adopt a QR code menu

Check out our complete guide below and understand which points you should consider when developing yours!

1. Target audience

The first step is to understand the characteristics of your target audience and their consumption profile.

After all, there's no point in investing in a menu full of cocktails if your clientele is actually more interested in wines. Similarly, if you serve many families with children, you need to have many non-alcoholic options, for example.

It's essential to keep in mind that you don't necessarily need to offer all types of beverages, but have a good variety to meet customer tastes.

2. Your business concept

Another important point is to consider your business concept. What's the style? Is it more sophisticated or more casual?

The beverage menu of a happy hour is quite different from a gastrobar that serves more elaborate dishes. Therefore, you should think about the beverages that best fit your proposal.

Leia também: Lounge Bar: What It Is, How to Start One, and How to Succeed

3. Structure and type of service

Another very important point is to consider your establishment's structure and the type of service you're offering.

If you want to offer an extensive cocktail menu, you need to ensure proper structure, with space to organize beverages and other ingredients, glasses and other preparation tools.

Also consider what space is available for production and whether you have the means to hire the necessary staff.

4. Food pairing

Also consider what foods you serve and offer beverage options that pair well with them.

For example: if your bar's menu consists exclusively of portions and appetizers, it makes more sense to invest in varied options of beers and draft beers and offer only two or three cocktail and spirit options.

On the other hand, a gastrobar that serves more sophisticated dishes can focus on a wine list for pairing and offer one or two beer options.

5. Selection of beverage types

It can be tempting to include all types of beverages. It looks nice to fill a wall with bottles and offer over 100 options for your customers. But be careful, as this can backfire.

Imagine all the investment you'll have to make to acquire the beverages, ingredients and tools necessary to produce and serve. Ask yourself: can I afford these costs? Is it really viable to maintain inventory? Won't I generate waste?

Also think about customer experience: having countless options can make the menu confusing and decision-making harder. Therefore, consider all the previous points and make an appropriate selection of beverage types.

6. Quality of beverages

The quality of beverages is an essential factor to differentiate your menu. Choose renowned brands, diversify options, seek local and seasonal beverages, bring new offerings.

All of this can be an attraction for your establishment and also contribute to customer loyalty, as they will appreciate the quality and experience of discovering new cocktails and flavors.

7. Signature cocktails

Signature cocktails are a trend. They are a way to offer something exclusive and an opportunity to surprise customers.

Creating a cocktail menu based on your establishment's concept that also tells a story is one of the best strategies to differentiate yourself from the competition and provide a unique experience to your customers.

8. Pricing

After choosing which beverages you'll include in your menu, it's time to price them! This step deserves your full attention, as it's crucial for achieving good profitability.

Pricing should be done based on technical sheets and consider all production costs. The tip here is: be detailed to avoid ending up at a loss!

9. Menu development

With everything defined, it's time to create the menu itself. It's very important that it's well organized so customers can find options easily. Therefore, separate beverages by categories and in a logical sequence.

It's also really cool to create creative names and descriptions related to your business concept. This helps reinforce your brand and can encourage your customers to consume more.

Remember: the menu is also a marketing tool, so when building yours you need to be very strategic. The engenharia de cardápio can be applied to boost sales and optimize results.

Leia também: Types of menus: discover 13 models and make the ideal choice

10. feedback

After creating your beverage menu, encourage your customers to give feedback! Ask them for their opinion on the available options and what they consumed.

Listen to what they have to say to make continuous improvements. This way, you ensure your menu will be a sales success.

11. Updates and rotation

Finally, keep your beverage menu always updated. Add new options from time to time, use seasonal ingredients for cocktails, remove those beverages that nobody ever orders.

This way, you can test new options, better understand your audience's preferences, and keep your menu always interesting, with new offerings that encourage customers to experiment and keep coming back.

Tips to increase your profitability with beverages

Creating a strategic beverage menu for your bar, restaurant or nightclub is the first step to increase your profitability, but you also need to take some precautions. That's why we brought you some more tips for even better results.

The first one is about beverage utilization. Se você incluir um drink que vai whisky, por exemplo, então inclua também a dose de whisky pura. Assim você tem duas opções de saída para a mesma bebida. 

Following the same logic, think of a variety of cocktails that use the same base, such as gin or vodka. This way you can have a diverse menu without needing to purchase so many different ingredients.

Another tip is regarding inventory control and purchases. To ensure good management, create technical sheets for all cocktails you serve, indicating exactly how much beverage is needed per dose and the quantity of each ingredient.

This way you have much more accurate control, avoid ingredient shortages and waste, and you can also price beverages appropriately. Plus, you don't need to rush to buy a beverage at a higher price because it ran out on a busy night.

To facilitate this management, rely on a system like EPOC. Ele é um PDV integrado à retaguarda e à produção, com digital menu and everything you need for more efficient operations and simplified management.

With EPOC you can create the technical sheets and automatically decrease inventory as soon as the product is sold, which allows for detailed real-time tracking.

Furthermore, with EPOC you also have available detailed data about which products are most popular and profitable, your customer profile and how your sales results are. This makes it much easier to understand what actions are needed to grow your business.

Want to see how EPOC works? Schedule a free demonstration with our experts now!