CMV Management
A Key to Restaurant Survival and Profitability After the Pandemic
9/3/20251 min read
The restaurant industry was one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2021, as restrictions eased, countless businesses were still facing financial instability. Rising costs, reduced margins, and a lack of structured financial control placed many restaurants at risk of closing their doors.
It was in this context that I, Elisangela Valle, launched the course “Increasing Profitability Through CMV Management”. The program was offered to more than 100 restaurants affiliated with Abrasel (Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants), Brazil’s largest foodservice association, reaching approximately 300 professionals.
The goal was clear: give restaurateurs and their teams the tools to understand and manage CMV (Cost of Goods Sold, or COGS) — a critical metric often overlooked but essential for business survival.
The syllabus included practical and immediately applicable content:
Understanding what CMV (COGS) is and its characteristics.
Why calculating CMV is vital for restaurant management.
Types of CMV and their application in different operations.
Building technical sheets to standardize recipes and control waste.
Calculating product CMV and restaurant markup.
Pricing strategies based on CMV and markup to ensure sustainable margins.
The results were tangible. Many restaurant owners discovered, often for the first time, where their profits were leaking. Others realized that lack of management, not lack of demand, was holding them back. With better control of production costs, more accurate pricing, and sustainable strategies, restaurants began to recover stability.
This initiative not only empowered individual businesses but also contributed to the resilience of Brazil’s foodservice sector at a time of crisis.
At Chef’n’Bytes, this principle remains at the core of our mission: profitability begins with knowledge. Training programs and consulting services that focus on CMV management, cost control, and data-driven decisions are not just financial strategies — they are tools that ensure restaurants can survive challenges, grow sustainably, and continue to play their vital role in the economy.
