Out of brioche buns across four brands
The burger brand, the chicken brand, the breakfast brand and a limited-time smash burger brand all use the same brioche bun. On Saturday evening the last box is opened at half seven. The grill chef mentions it. Someone snoozes the burgers on the burger brand's Deliveroo listing. Then orders keep arriving for chicken burgers on the chicken brand, breakfast baps on the breakfast brand, and smash burgers on two apps, because nobody made the connection that all of them need the same bun.
Each order gets a call to the customer, a substitution offer or a cancellation. Four brands take a hit in the same hour from one missing ingredient.
Why a shortage hits every brand
Virtual brands are designed to reuse ingredients, which is the whole point of running several from one kitchen. The customer sees different restaurants, but the fridge sees one set of stock. So an ingredient shortage is a whole-kitchen event, while the tools to respond to it are per listing.
The mapping from ingredients to brand menus is rarely written down. The head chef knows that the bun is in fourteen items across four brands, but the person on the tablets does not, and even the chef cannot switch fourteen items off across twelve listings during service.
Stock levels are also only known when someone looks. There is no warning at five o'clock that the buns will run out by eight.
It gets harder as brands are added. A kitchen that started with two brands and a handful of shared items may now have dozens of items across five menus drawing on the same few ingredients, and the mapping that lived comfortably in one chef's head no longer fits there.
The spread of one shortage
| Problem | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Ingredient shared across brands | One shortage creates cancellations on several listings |
| No ingredient-to-item map | Items switched off on one brand but not another |
| Stock checked only by eye | Shortage found at peak, not the afternoon |
| Orders arriving for unavailable items | Calls, substitutions and refunds |
| Items left switched off | Lost sales the next day on some brands |
Tracking stock by ingredient, not by brand
- We map each menu item on each brand to the key ingredients it uses, in simple quantities: one bun, one chicken breast, a portion of cheese.
- Opening stock of the key ingredients is entered from a short count on a phone at the start of the shift, only for the lines that matter.
- As orders arrive from every brand and app, expected usage is subtracted, so the tool has a running estimate of what is left.
- When an ingredient is projected to run out before close, based on the usual order pattern for that time of the week, you get a warning early enough to send someone to a supplier or adjust.
- When an ingredient is marked out, whether automatically or by the chef, every item that uses it is switched off on every brand and app together, and comes back on when the ingredient is restocked.
- A log shows run-outs by ingredient and time, which feeds your ordering.
The running estimate drifts from reality if portions vary or waste is not recorded, so we keep a quick recount available during service and the chef can always override.
The next time buns run low
At half five the chef's screen warns that buns will probably run out around eight. A porter goes to the cash and carry. On a night when that is not possible, the chef marks buns out at eight and every burger, bap and sandwich across four brands goes off in one go. The dessert and fries brands keep trading. No orders arrive for things you cannot make.
- Warnings before a shared ingredient runs out
- One action switches items off across all brands
- Items come back on when stock is restocked
- A history of shortages to improve ordering
Does this happen in your kitchen?
- A single ingredient running out affects several of your brands.
- Items are switched off on one listing and still selling on another.
- You find out about low stock during the rush.
- Nobody has a list of which items use which ingredients.
- Customers are regularly called to accept a substitution.