The Order Guide allows users to quickly import ingredients, but this can sometimes result in duplicate ingredients tied to different vendors. The Merge feature helps resolve this by consolidating multiple ingredients into a single record, combining all associated vendor product data under one unified ingredient (click here to see how this affects physical counts).
This feature is especially useful when a vendor discontinues a product and introduces a substitute. Even though the vendor product has changed, the ingredient itself remains the same and should continue to be linked to the original ingredient record—especially if it’s used in recipes. Creating a new ingredient instead would require manually updating every recipe that uses the original, which can be a time-consuming and tedious process.
How to Merge Ingredients Using The Optimizer
- Click on the hamburger menu in the top left corner.
- Click on The Optimizer.
- Then choose Merge Ingredients:
-
Select Ingredients to Merge
-
- Identify the primary ingredient (the one to keep).
- Select the secondary ingredient(s) to merge into the primary.
This results in a single ingredient with multiple vendor products.
Substitutions & Recipe Impact
If both products are used in different recipes, merging will substitute the ingredient in the merged recipe with the primary product.
To ensure correct pricing, check the box next to "Current Price" if the merged product is the one currently in use.
This ensures the correct product and price are used in all recipes.
Example: Merged Ingredient with Multiple Vendor Products
The images below show how a single ingredient—Granny Smith apples—can be associated with multiple vendor products after using the Merge Ingredients feature.
Granny Smith apples is the primary ingredient, and it includes products from two different vendors:
- GloryBee – $32.15 total, $6.43 per pound
- Sysco – $33.67 total, $2.81 per pound
Each vendor product has its own packaging details and usage status in recipes. For example, GloryBee’s version is currently marked as Used in Recipe ✅, while Sysco’s is not ❌.