Question
Problem 2 involves a different scenario, where the caf owner has decided to offer catering packages to local groups. Three catering package types, breakfast, lunch,
Problem 2 involves a different scenario, where the caf owner has decided to offer catering packages to local groups. Three catering package types, breakfast, lunch, and coffee break, each consisting of both food and drink options, need to be developed, and their contents will depend on the size of the group. The question is, given the package type and group size, what array of food and drink items will be best for profit? A list of possible menu items (expanded upon from problem 1), along with their costs and retail prices, is found on the Problem 2 worksheet.
Expanded Menu | Cost | Retail Price |
Cappuccino (6oz) | 1.24 | 3.75 |
Caf latte (10oz) | 2.02 | 3.75 |
Espresso (1oz) | 0.3 | 2.5 |
Americano (8oz) | 1.28 | 4.75 |
Egg and cheese English muffin | 2.25 | 5.71 |
Cookie | 0.78 | 3 |
Cinnamon roll | 1 | 3.75 |
Quiche | 3.42 | 5.75 |
Table 1, outlines required total items (# of Items) for group sizes from 10 to 50, in intervals of 10. (For now, anyway, we will require group size to be a multiple of 10.) The second column multiplies the number of people by 2, creating the starting assumption that we will provide two items (one drink and one food item) per person. Lastly, the third column, # of Items, adds 5, 7, 9, 11, or 13 (depending on the group size) to the People * 2 value. This (and not merely People * 2) is what we will treat as our conservative estimate of items required, speaking to the fact that some in the group might want seconds, and that running out of items makes both the caterer and the event organizer look bad. So, for example, if the caf will be catering for 10 people, then the bundle should include exactly 25 items (food and drinks combined).
# of People | People * 2 | # of Items |
10 | 20 | 25 |
20 | 40 | 47 |
30 | 60 | 69 |
40 | 80 | 91 |
50 | 100 | 113 |
Table 1: Number of Items Required
Now, drilling down into the question of what kind of drinks and what kind of food to provide, we need to consider the type of catering. It is more important to provide various coffee drinks at a coffee break than at a lunch event. The table below lists, for each menu item, per-person minimums. For example, at a breakfast event, for every 1 person, we will provide at least .2 cappuccinos, .2 caf lattes, and so on. So if the caf caters to a group of 10 for breakfast, the catering package must contain at least 2 cappuccinos, 2 caf lattes, 2 espressos, and 2 Americanos (10 * .2 for each of those items).
Per-person minimums | |||
Breakfast | Lunch | Coffee break | |
Cappuccino (6oz) | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.25 |
Caf latte (10oz) | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.25 |
Espresso (1oz) | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.25 |
Americano (8oz) | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.25 |
Egg and cheese English muffin | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 |
Cookie | 0 | 0.15 | 0.5 |
Cinnamon roll | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
Quiche | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0 |
Table 2: Minimums per Item
Constraints
The total items provided, both food and drinks, must equal the conservative estimates (# of Items) found in the first table for the relevant group size.
Separately, the number of food items must be greater than or equal to the number of people expected. The same goes for drinks. This ensures that each person would receive both one drink and one food item, at the very least.
Using the solver add-in in excel, use the required constraints to generate the profit maximizing value. Basically, given the package type and group size, what array of food and drink items will be best for profit?
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