Everything we pick up behind the counter, written up for the next trader
Hard-won lessons on selling more, cooking faster, and keeping the margin, written for the business, not the boardroom.
Cut the queue, not your margins
The longest queue at a market isn't a sign of success. It's a list of people who nearly bought from you. Here's how ordering ahead converts the line into revenue.
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PlaybookRun a school tuck shop without the break-time crush
Break is twenty minutes and half of it goes on the queue. Here is how a school canteen or tuck shop can take orders from phones and a kiosk, keep the till honest, and still hand out every pie before the bell.
GrowthStart a loyalty programme that pays for itself
Regulars are the cheapest customers you will ever get. Here is how to build a stamp card that brings them back without quietly eating the margin you were protecting.
PlaybookRun a market food court without the gate bottleneck
If you organise a market or festival, the food queues are your problem too. Here's how to put every stall on one page so visitors spend more time at the event and less time in line.
OperationsSelling out without disappointing anyone
Running out is part of a good market day. Running out badly costs you the next sale and the goodwill. Here's how to sell the last plate cleanly and know what to prep next time.
PlaybookLive by lunchtime: the 10-minute stall setup
You don't need new hardware or a developer to start taking mobile orders. Here's the exact path from sign-up to your first paid order.
OperationsKDS without the chaos: running your pass on one screen
Paper tickets get lost, fall off, and never tell you what to cook first. A kitchen display fixes all three, as long as you set it up the way your kitchen actually works.
MoneyPricing a festival menu that actually makes money
High revenue and a thin profit are not the same thing. Use your own cost data to price a menu that survives a busy weekend with margin intact.
The newsletter
A short note every other week: what's working at other stalls, what's quietly costing them money, and what we've just shipped.