Product Hub is a new home for everything you buy — and it works alongside the Menu Costing you already use, not instead of it.
Why we built it
Until now, an item — an ingredient, a piece of packaging, anything you buy — only existed because you’d set it up inside Menu Costing. Product Hub gives that list a home of its own: one place to see everything you use, map it to the products and suppliers you actually buy it from, and keep it organised — however you go on to use it.
What’s an “item”?
An item is the thing itself — Chicken Breast, 500ml Takeaway Cups — kept separate from any one product or supplier. One item can be supplied by more than one product, so if your usual supplier runs out, you’re mapping a replacement rather than starting from scratch.
What you can do in Product Hub today
- See every item you use, in one searchable, filterable list
- Create a new item from scratch, or find one you’ve already set up in Product Hub
- Map an existing FoodByUs product to an item, or add your own custom product for anything the marketplace doesn’t carry
- See at a glance whether an item is already set up in Menu Costing
- Set its unit of measure, wastage, and which mapped product it’s costed from
- Rename or remove items you no longer need
- Check price history for items you order regularly
How this changes Menu Costing
The main thing: setting up an ingredient now happens in Product Hub. The “+ Add Ingredient” and “Auto-Create Ingredients” buttons are gone from the Ingredients screen — create the item in Product Hub instead, and its unit of measure, wastage, and costed-from product are all set on that same item page, under Menu Costing Settings. Prep Recipes, Dish Recipes, and your margins stay exactly where they are, in Menu Costing.
That’s possible because Menu Costing and Product Hub now look at the same underlying items:
- An ingredient you’ve already set up in Menu Costing shows up as an item in Product Hub automatically, with its products already mapped
- A product you map to an item in Product Hub becomes available to cost that ingredient from in Menu Costing
For now, think of the two as a pair rather than a replacement:
Stays in Menu Costing
- Prep & Dish Recipes
- Margins & food cost tracking
Now in Product Hub
- Creating a new ingredient (as an item)
- Its unit of measure, wastage, and which product it’s costed from
- Mapping products, suppliers & custom products
The Ingredients screen itself shows you the join: switch on Show all Product Hub Items and you’ll see every item you’ve created in Product Hub, not just the ones already costed. Anything that still needs a unit of measure or wastage set is flagged right there, with a one-click way to finish it.
Common questions
Do I need to change anything in Menu Costing?
Setting up an ingredient — creating it, its unit of measure, wastage, and which product it’s costed from — now happens in Product Hub instead. Prep Recipes, Dish Recipes, Modifiers and your margins all stay exactly where they are.
Is Menu Costing going away?
No. Prep Recipes, Dish Recipes, Modifiers and your margins all stay in Menu Costing — that’s not changing. What’s already moved is ingredient setup itself: creating one, and its unit of measure, wastage, and costed-from product, all now happen in Product Hub.
Where do I set unit of measure, wastage, or which product an ingredient is costed from?
In Product Hub, on the item’s own page under Menu Costing Settings — if you have Product Hub access. If you don’t yet, this still lives in Menu Costing, under Ingredients.
Who has access to Product Hub?
It’s rolling out gradually, and two things determine whether you’ll see it:
- A Premium subscription — required.
- Being on User Management — required for Stocktake. If your team hasn’t moved across yet, contact your FoodByUs rep.
If you don’t see Product Hub in your menu yet, it’s on its way.