Are Rising Seafood Sales Cannibalizing Menu Items?

QSRs add new entrees to cater to customers practicing Lent.

According to the article, “Seafood sales boost restaurant business during Lent” by Bret Thorn, Lent is producing high seafood sales numbers for QSRs. With almost a quarter of the U.S. population Roman Catholic and 14 percent practicing Lent on Fridays it’s easy to see why seafood is prevailing in the QSR industry.

Although higher sales may seem like a restaurant marketer’s dream. One question arises–are these high seafood sales producing profits or cannibalizing other entrees on the menu?

MenuVitals™ is a great feature on MarketingVitals.com that allows users to see how the addition of an entree, like a seafood dish, will affect the sales and item count of other entrees on the menu during a certain time frame like Lent.