Company Overview and Rationale for Selection
I selected US Foods as the company for my marketing research project. US Foods is one of the largest foodservice distributors in the United States, serving restaurants, healthcare facilities, schools, and hospitality businesses nationwide. The company is known for its commitment to innovation, operational efficiency, and culinary partnership, offering both products and technology solutions that help independent restaurant owners manage their businesses more effectively (US Foods, 2025).
I chose US Foods because I worked for the company for eight years and gained valuable insight into its marketing operations, customer relationships, and digital platforms. This firsthand experience gives me a meaningful perspective for applying marketing research principles to a company I understand deeply, while exploring how emerging technologies could strengthen its existing digital ecosystem.
New Product Concept:
SmartCart – AI-Powered Ordering Assistant
The proposed concept, SmartCart, is a new AI-powered ordering feature designed to integrate into the existing US Foods Check Business Tools suite. The Check platform currently provides digital solutions such as Menu Profiler, Inventory Manager, and Customer Connect, which help restaurant owners optimize menu pricing, manage stock, and engage customers online (US Foods, 2025). SmartCart would complement these tools by acting as a predictive ordering assistant, analyzing order patterns, inventory data, and seasonal trends to provide intelligent product recommendations and purchasing forecasts.
Key Features and Benefits:
- Personalized Recommendations: Suggests items based on menu trends, historical orders, and seasonal demand.
- Inventory Optimization: Predicts reorder needs and helps minimize waste.
- Profitability Insights: Identifies high-margin products and potential substitutions.
- Seamless Integration: Works directly within the US Foods digital dashboard and mobile app.
This innovation would enhance the value of the Check Business Tools suite by providing smarter, faster, and more proactive inventory management for independent restaurant owners, one of the fastest-growing customer segments in the foodservice industry.
Research Objectives
The purpose of this research is to evaluate market acceptance, perceived value, and adoption potential for the SmartCart feature within the Check Business Tools suite (Hair, 2023).
Specific Objectives:
- Assess restaurant owners’ awareness and openness to AI-driven ordering tools.
- Identify pain points with current digital ordering processes.
- Determine whether SmartCart’s features align with real operational needs.
- Measure perceived usefulness and willingness to adopt the technology.
- Evaluate how SmartCart could strengthen US Foods’ competitive position relative to Sysco and Performance Food Group.
Competition
US Foods competes with major players such as Sysco, Performance Food Group (PFG), and Gordon Food Service, all of which provide digital ordering tools to improve customer efficiency (US Foods, 2025). Sysco offers Sysco Shop, an online ordering platform with product recommendations and inventory tracking, but it lacks deep AI integration. PFG’s Performance Connect focuses on ease of use and pricing transparency, yet offers limited predictive analytics. Gordon Food Service emphasizes personalized customer support but is less advanced technologically.
SmartCart’s differentiation lies in its AI-driven predictive intelligence, designed to deliver personalized, data-backed insights that help customers make better ordering decisions, something competitors have yet to fully implement.
External Factors
Several external factors could influence the success of SmartCart:
• Economic: Inflation and rising ingredient costs increase the need for smarter ordering to reduce waste and control expenses.
• Technological: Advances in artificial intelligence and data analytics make predictive ordering tools increasingly practical.
• Environmental: Sustainability initiatives are driving interest in tools that help minimize food waste.
• Social: The post-pandemic shift toward automation and digital solutions has accelerated restaurant adoption of technology.
• Regulatory: Data privacy laws (such as CCPA and GDPR) will influence how customer and order data are managed within the platform (Hair, 2023).
Type of Research and Data Collection
This study will use a mixed-method research design, combining exploratory, descriptive, and causal research to ensure a comprehensive understanding of customer attitudes and behaviors (Hair, 2023).
Primary Research:
- Qualitative: Conduct interviews and focus groups with independent restaurant owners and operators to understand challenges in ordering and inventory management.
- Quantitative: Launch a survey across a larger sample of US Foods customers to measure awareness, interest, and willingness to use AI-driven features.
- Experimental: Test a prototype version of SmartCart within the Check Business Tools app with a pilot group of customers to monitor usability and impact on efficiency.
Secondary Research:
- Review industry reports, technology adoption studies, and competitor data to benchmark performance and identify emerging opportunities in digital foodservice management.
- Evaluate external market conditions such as economic trends and regulatory compliance.
Conclusion
Marketing research will determine whether integrating SmartCart into the Check Business Tools suite is both viable and valuable for US Foods and its customers. By gathering quantitative and qualitative data, US Foods can validate customer interest, refine product features, and make informed decisions before a full-scale launch. This approach ensures that innovation is guided by evidence-based insight rather than assumption (Hair, 2023).
References:
Hair, J. F. (2023). Essentials of Marketing Research (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
US Foods. (2025). Check Business Tools. https://www.usfoods.com/our-services/check.html
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