Two good questions to ask are: What is the least popular item on your salad bar?  What’s the most popular?

Least Popular: What doesn’t sell?  Why?  The change of seasons is often the catalyst.  Crunchy items and lightly dressed compound salads are most popular in the warmer months.   Cured meats and cheeses (like antipasti salad) are more popular in winter.  Seasonal changes in produce are also likely culprits.  Example:  tomatoes in the middle of winter are out of season and tend to be pale, unripe and lacking in taste.  Adjust for those seasonal shifts in produce when menu planning on the salad bar.

Peoples preferences also change from season to season.  They tend to crave what is available in their area at the time.  Food guides like Healthy Harvest are great resources to help plan menus with local, seasonal produce.  Check with your produce supplier or broadliner.  Most have a seasonal guide sheet or a link on their webpage that will let you know what’s available in your area.

Most popular: People enjoy these items and very often are sold out by the end of the shift.  Can you add that as a regular item on the rotation?  Or could it become one of the permanent, daily items?  Usually on this list are: roasted tomatoes, beans (black, cannellini or bean salads), poached or grilled chicken or turkey.  Other popular items are spicy croutons, bagel chips, nuts and cured olives.  Adding these items can help boost sales, too.

What about your permanent/daily items?  Have you reviewed those lately?  Are the hard boiled eggs selling as well now as they did 6 months ago?  Bacon bits? Cottage cheese?  Tastes change with new changes in the social diet.  Are people eating more protein or more carbs?  Are they interested in Asian cuisine or Latin flavors?  Ask your staff.  They are on the line every day and can give good feedback.  They hear the guests talking about the salad bar selection.  Not every guest will fill out a comment card, but a sharp staff member will overhear “cauliflower, again?” or “they never have soybeans/tortilla chips/balsamic vinaigrette”.

A little investigating can go a long way.  Tracking items that are either thrown away or saved for later can tell you about peoples eating habits.  Make some adjustments and your customers will be happy – you might even boost sales!