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US Foods Holding Corp. has announced the rollout of Menu IQ, a new AI-powered digital solution engineered to help foodservice operators optimise menu profitability and manage fluctuating food costs.

The tool is being offered at no additional cost to US Foods customers and is fully integrated into MOXē, the distributor's proprietary all-in-one business application used for product browsing, inventory management, and ordering. This move signals a continuing trend among broadline distributors to provide "value-add" SaaS (Software as a Service) capabilities to increase customer stickiness and drive digital ordering adoption.

Shifting from Intuition to Data-Driven Strategy

Menu IQ is designed to replace manual, spreadsheet-based food costing with automated, real-time analytics. By linking menu items directly to the operator's actual inventory and purchasing data, the tool provides immediate visibility into margin performance at the dish level.

Key Capabilities of Menu IQ:

• AI Recipe Management: Operators can upload existing recipes, and the system's AI will automatically calculate the associated food costs based on current procurement data.

• Real-Time Profitability Tracking: Continuous monitoring of which menu items are actively driving margins, allowing for agile pricing adjustments.

• Actionable Insights: Dashboard analytics that instantly highlight underperforming dishes and flag opportunities for recipe optimisation or substitution.

• Integrated Data Hub: The tool pulls actual, live food costs directly from the MOXē Inventory system, ensuring calculations are based on the operator's real-world purchasing rather than static industry averages.

Addressing the Top Operator Concern

James Jones, Senior Vice President of Digital Commerce at US Foods, highlighted that the tool was developed in direct response to operator feedback regarding macroeconomic pressures.

“Every day we hear about our operators’ biggest challenges, and menu profitability sits at the top of their concerns,” Jones stated. "Our customers are demanding easier, more intuitive solutions to help improve menu profitability, and Menu IQ enables us to meet this need. Menu IQ delivers real-time visibility into which dishes are driving margins so our operators can adjust instantly to make smarter decisions about which changes will drive increased profitability."

Market Context

As restaurant operators continue to navigate volatile commodity prices and rising labour costs, digital tools that streamline back-of-house operations have become a critical competitive differentiator for food distributors. By embedding advanced AI costing tools directly into its primary e-commerce platform, US Foods is positioning itself not just as a supplier of goods but as a critical operational partner for independent and multi-unit restaurant operators.