Finding your mushy peas.

I have a friend who told me this unusual story about business profitability.

His relative — let’s call him Bob — had recently bought a fish and chip shop in a neighbouring town.

This chippy was doing alright but Bob wanted to take a closer look at how the business was running on a practical level. So, one Friday night, he sat by the sidelines to observe an evening’s service.

At busy times, take-aways like this are a frenzy of activity. And everything is cooked on demand (or minutes before, in anticipation of demand), so it’s all hands on deck.

Fish and chip shops typically serve a relatively small selection of products but there is usually a range of options that can make a difference to the size of a sale.

For example, Bob saw one customer ordering two small cods with one large and one medium chips. Another went for haddock with two small portions of chips. One character wanted a saveloy sausage with ‘scraps’ (bits of loose batter that falls off the fish during frying).

Anyway, over the course of the evening, he noticed a couple of small things.

For example, one of the members of staff tended to give slightly larger portions of chips.

Another added salt and vinegar in such small quantities that they were almost always asked to sprinkle on more.

Neither of these observations were a cause of huge concern. After all, it’s part of the charm of a traditional fish and chip shop that food is not served in industrial, identical portions — as in MacDonald’s. And the odd bit of generosity or chat builds a bond with customers, who will invariably come back again.

But Bob spotted something that raised his eyebrows when he looked at the cost of raw materials and profitability of particular items.

Both potatoes and fish (particularly fish) are subject to fluctuations in the cost of the raw materials. So, in a month when Maris Pipers or Cod are pricey, profits go down.

However, there is a side order popular in most fish and chip shops that is not subject to price volatility. And Bob noticed it was the most profitable item on the menu by far.

Mushy peas.

Mushy peas are dried marrowfat peas, soaked overnight, then boiled and seasoned. They typically sit behind the counter in a heated stainless steel cauldron and are served in a small polystyrene container with a plastic see-through lid. They’re more common in the North of the UK for some reason.

Not everyone likes them but they are an inoffensive, colourful addition to a fish supper. They are a cheap delicacy, pretty much insulated from the rises and falls in food prices. But, on a plate with the fish and chips, they are proportionately the most valuable to the business.

They are normally bought in big tins from a wholesaler but they are easy to prepare from scratch — much less expensively — on site.

By encouraging customers to add this side order — in Bob’s case by highlighting their presence behind the counter with a serving suggestion poster- the business became more profitable.

It seems like a silly story and I’m not aware that Bob retired as a millionaire but I think it highlights that there is commercial value sometimes hidden in plain sight.

Finding your mushy peas could be a little game changer for you business. If you know where to look.