Top 10 HORECA KPIs to track to drive your on-trade data strategy

Claire Brunaud
7 days ago
5 min read

In the on-trade, everything moves fast: trends, consumer preferences, activations, pricing, the weather…

Yet many players—both restaurateurs and manufacturers—are still managing “by instinct” or based on consolidated reports that arrive far too late.

The reality is simple: without the right KPIs, it’s impossible to steer your strategy, adjust your menu, measure an activation, or spot an opportunity before competitors do.

The 10 KPIs below are the ones that consistently come up among Fyre users, whether they are restaurateurs, distributors, or brands.

They are also the KPIs that real-time on-trade data finally makes reliable, comparable, and actionable, thanks to direct connections to the POS systems of more than 120,000 establishments across Europe.

1. Average check (average spend per ticket)

It is often the first indicator people look at… and yet it is rarely used to its full potential.

An average check that is:

too low in a cocktail bar → a pricing or product mix issue,
too high in a QSR → a risk of price elasticity and declining volumes,
steadily increasing → a signal of premiumization or improved commercial efficiency.

The average check becomes even more powerful when combined with:

venue segments (QSR, bars, FSR…),
times of day,
current activations.

It is often through this KPI that a restaurateur realizes a cocktail is undervalued and could justify a €1 or €2 increase, generating an immediate boost in profitability.

2. Product mix

The product mix reflects the real life of an establishment or a category: what customers actually order, and at what time.

For a brand, it helps to understand:

how sales are distributed within its category,
whether a product is overperforming in certain types of venues (premium, mainstream, prestige…),
whether an activation truly changes purchasing behavior.

For a restaurateur, it is the ideal tool to manage the menu and identify products as:

Stars
Cash cows
Question marks
Dead weight

…based on the BCG matrix directly available in Fyre.

3. Margin per product (profit contribution)

It is restaurateurs’ favorite KPI—and the one that most quickly transforms profitability.

With Fyre, many achieve +15% profitability within three weeks simply by adjusting the prices of undervalued products and removing those that destroy margin.

Tracking margin per product makes it possible to:

spot high-volume products that generate little profit,
identify the most profitable segments (e.g., premium cocktails in “prestige” bars),
make smarter trade-offs between assortment and pricing.

4. Penetration rate / incidence

It is a key KPI for manufacturers looking to measure the impact of an activation or a product launch.

Thanks to transactional data, it becomes possible to track:

product incidence per meal,
beverage incidence by type of cuisine,
incidence by time of day,
incidence before and after a price increase.

A classic example tracked via Fyre:

What is the incidence of a cola beverage when serving pizza versus burgers → This KPI allows sales teams to know exactly where to focus their efforts.

5. Product availability / presence rate (On-Trade distribution)

It is sometimes forgotten that in the on-trade, the primary volume lever is not preference—it is availability.

POS connectivity makes it possible to track:

whether a product is actually sold in an establishment,
how its presence evolves over time,
whether an activation improves its distribution,
which geographic clusters respond best.

This KPI is what enabled Coca-Cola, during the Paris Olympic Games, to precisely manage product availability across 7,000 targeted hotspots (segmented into 25 clusters) and adjust field actions in real time.

6. Share of spend

It is a strategic indicator for understanding the role a category or brand plays in a customer’s total spend.

Tracking share of spend makes it possible to:

understand the real competitive landscape (e.g., cocktails vs beer, soda vs water),
identify the moments when your category is “losing” the battle,
spot up-selling opportunities.

Fyre provides a clear view of share of spend by category, region, channel, or venue segment.

7. Price evolution (price architecture)

Prices in HORECA evolve quickly—sometimes too quickly to be properly analyzed through traditional panels.

Tracking price architecture is essential to:

avoid incoherent price gaps within a range,
understand price elasticity,
position a product launch correctly,
anticipate consumer behavior.

Fyre’s granularity (next-day, outlet-level) makes it possible to immediately identify:

a price increase that causes a product to drop,
an undervalued price that pulls the average check down,
a premiumization opportunity in certain segments.

8. Performance by HORECA segment (segmentation)

The on-trade is a fragmented market—highly fragmented.

Bars, brasseries, QSR, FSR, coffee shops, fine dining, clubs, and more.

That’s why Fyre uses 56 segments, far more granular than the traditional “Eating / Drinking” categories found in historical panels.

What questions can a manufacturer finally ask?

Which category overperforms in prestige bars?

Which products are booming in Asian fast-casual venues?

What is the right mix in coffee shops on weekdays versus weekends?

This level of segmentation has become a KPI in itself: it is what makes it possible to explain why a trend is emerging.

(If you’d like, I can continue with KPIs 9 and 10 in the same tone and structure.)

9. Geographic performance (geo clusters & hotspots)

Consumer behavior varies enormously from one neighborhood to another.

Tracking geographic performance makes it possible to:

identify high-potential hotspots,
understand why a product performs better in certain areas,
adapt activation mechanics,
optimize sales force allocation.

This KPI is what made it possible to create the 25 Parisian clusters during Coca-Cola’s Olympic Games activation, enabling ultra-local, highly agile performance management.

10. Activation impact (activation ROI)

This is probably one of the KPIs that has evolved the most thanks to real-time data.

Before:

It was impossible to precisely measure the impact of a promotion or an event.

After:

With Fyre, brands can track impact day by day, compare test vs control groups, and adjust in real time.

Thanks to Venue Activation, it becomes possible to know:

whether an offer was seen,
whether it was accepted,
whether it generated sales,
whether it performs better in certain types of venues,
what ROI it actually delivers.

This KPI fundamentally changes the way on-trade activations are managed.

A common thread behind these 10 KPIs

What do they all have in common?

👉 They only create value if they are precise, representative, and available in real time.

That is exactly what Fyre’s direct POS + AI connection enables: structuring receipts, segmenting the market, and ensuring data comparability at scale.

The days of managing the on-trade with monthly national averages are over.

Today, the best decision-makers—both restaurateurs and manufacturers—rely on:

speed,
granularity,
segmentation,
actionability.

KPIs are no longer just numbers: they are growth levers.

Conclusion: in HORECA, on-trade data strategy belongs to those who track the right KPI at the right time

The on-trade is a living, complex, and highly fragmented market.

To manage it effectively, having “a few numbers” is no longer enough: you need a deep understanding of what is happening in every segment, every product, and every moment of the day.

By tracking these 10 KPIs with a real-time solution like Fyre, restaurateurs can quickly improve profitability, while manufacturers can finally manage their activations, distribution, and product launches with precision.

On-trade data does not replace intuition. It makes it sharper, faster, and more profitable.