11 Food Items You Think You Get For Cheap But Are Actually Profitable For Restaurants

A buffet meal for just 500 bucks! That’s a steal you say.

You are going to pig out and eat more than the money’s worth and that is also going to be a factor that will make you happy at the end of a filling meal.

But are buffets really worth your money?

Are the combo meals you see in the fast food chains worth it either?

For a large part of the food industry, no, they are not.

Why? Let’s take a walk through the economics of a meal you think you are really cheap.

1. Combo meals in fast food restaurants are actually not saving you any money

There was a time when if you actually broke down the individual costs of a combo meal, it would add up to be actually cheaper than the cost of the whole combo.

That’s when restaurants jacked up the prices of individual components of a combo meal, so that they do not get asked uncomfortable questions.

 

2. Soups are a cost-saver for restaurants – even at the high-end restaurants

Most of the soups use leftover meat and vegetables as ingredients. They will use chicken meat that is left over after the meat has been taken for main dishes. The soups will cost only about 5-10% of the money you are buying it for. That makes it one of the most profitable dishes in restaurants.

Also, most of the soups are made well in advance at the start of the day and then warmed in batches as and when ordered by patrons.

 

3. Buffet meals are extremely profitable and cheap to make for restaurants

You serve yourself – there is no need for waiters at all.

Everything is prepared in huge quantities and laid out for you – it is basically a fancy mess, just like your hostel days.

Vegetables are really cheap in huge quantities, and so is meat. Plus, there is no plating and everything is laid out for everyone to eat. Also, the starters waiters bring in as soon as you sit on the table – terming them as “samples” are just to fill you in quickly, and are relatively cheaper.

 

4. Desserts are made in huge quantities well in advance

Desserts are also made well in advance in large quantities and are plated in a way that we think that the chef made that one tiny piece of pastry just for us.

No, he didn’t. They are made in huge quantities and are kept in freezers and are loaded with ingredients that will not let it spoil very easily.

Restaurants make huge profits from desserts this way.

 

5. Non-alcoholic beverages cost a measly percentage of the price they sell it for

Most of the drinks contain only artificial flavors. That brings down the cost of making the drinks. Also, anything with aerated water like Coke and Pepsi is anyways going to be ultra-cheap, because soda is by itself very cheap; actually cheaper than the paper cups they are served in fast food restaurants.

 

6. And even alcoholic beverages in hotels are horribly marked up, even if they look really cheap

“Happy hours” are not exactly happy hours. Most of the alcohol are horribly overpriced, and if you could stop and calculate, the markup would be anywhere between 200 and 300%. That means you are paying thrice the amount you should ideally pay.

Also, just because you cannot see the alcohol coming out of the bottle because you are chatting with your friends, it could be watered down, or diluted. And most of the restaurants caught with selling watered down alcohol turn out to be the happy hour places.

 

7. Pastas and sauces are very easy to make too

Have you ever been to a supermarket and bought pasta for yourselves? It is pretty cheap, right? It is actually cheaper for the restaurants because they buy it in wholesale rates, which makes it cheaper for them.

And unless the restaurant is putting in exotic seafood and meat, it doesn’t really cost that much for the restaurants, and hence, they end up making a lot of profit.

 

8. Pizzas, even when discounted, rip you off

You might not know it, but pizzas are actually very cheap to make. Most of the pizzas in restaurant chains, if you have observed carefully, do not have a lot of veggies or toppings on them.

Most of the cost to make the pizza is spent on the dough and the cheese, and on an average, a large pizza will cost just 150-200 rupees. And the toppings do not even cost a lot because there is so little of it on the pizza itself.

But you end up paying a lot more because of discounts that do not mean anything.

 

9. Fries are nothing but potatoes and salt

Potatoes are cheap. And there is nothing but salt and potatoes in fries. To put things into perspective, a kilo of potatoes cost 24 rupees a kilo. A medium fries at a fast food chain will cost around 50-60 rupees.

Also, most restaurants have machines that dice and slice potatoes in huge numbers, and have industrial grade fryers and have special fry cooks.

The small packet of fries just made the restaurant a huge profit, even though you thought that it cost very less, because it said so on a glitzy display board.

 

10. Eggs are super cheap when bought at wholesale rates

Eggs are really cheap. And the restaurants do not usually put in exotic ingredients in egg dishes either. That means, egg dishes are extremely cheap for the restaurants too.

Also, the restaurants buy eggs in wholesale rates too.

 

11. Tea and coffee are much cheaper than you think they are

Tea and coffees are also huge sources of profits for restaurants. They are machine made and the raw materials – tea and coffee powder is sourced directly from the producer.

Sugar is cheap too, and just like that – tea and coffee also end up making restaurants a lot of profits.

If you really want to see what goes into your tea at your favorite restaurant, ask them what particular brand of tea they are putting in it – and sit back and get a big basket of popcorn for the show that will ensue.

Still think the discounts at your favorite restaurant is amazing?

Let us know in the comments.

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