Noodle Village operates three locations in Houston's suburban corridors, with delivery accounting for 55% of orders. Their combo system let customers build bowls with base, protein, and toppings — but the swap rules meant most customers replaced the premium protein with a cheaper option, dropping tickets below food-cost targets.
Menu Profit Lab analyzed 60 days of delivery order data and found that 62% of combos included a protein downgrade. Customers weren't gaming the system — they just followed the default path, which was cheaper. The high-margin proteins (braised beef, seared pork belly) appeared to be premium options but were rarely selected in defaults.
The rebuild restructured the combos. Base-only options disappeared. Protein choices were presented as additions with clear price signals. A "Build Your Own" path kept flexibility but made the high-margin proteins the suggested path rather than the budget path.
Average ticket on delivery orders rose by $3.80 within two weeks. Revenue per location climbed while food cost held steady because the high-margin proteins were finally being selected. The team runs a monthly combo analysis to catch drift.
Owner Jessica Tang says the insight was obvious in hindsight — they had designed the menu around their own costs, not around how customers actually ordered.