Beverage categories do not need to perform identically. Product mix explains how cost percentage, sales volume, gross profit, and inventory work together.

 A good beverage cost percentage depends on what the restaurant sells and how the program makes money. The number needs context before it becomes useful.

Pour cost shows how much of a beverage’s selling price is consumed by product cost. It is useful, but only when considered alongside sales and gross profit.

Beverage cost percentage compares product cost against beverage sales. The formula is simple, but understanding what produces the number is what makes it useful.