Toronto-based nutrition technology company, founded by breast cancer survivor Sonia Couto, unveils new feature that translates calories into activity equivalents, the latest step in a decade of work helping the food industry, public health bodies, and hospitals empower healthier choices.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / April 23, 2026 / MenuSano, the Toronto-based nutrition analysis and compliant labelling platform used by food manufacturers, hospitals, public health bodies, and hospitality operators in more than 30 countries, today announced the launch of its AI Wellness Labelling module. The new feature translates the caloric content of any menu item into everyday activity equivalents, for example, showing a 600-calorie meal as “approximately 1 hour of walking, 10,000 steps, 35 minutes of swimming, or 45 minutes of cycling.”
But for MenuSano’s founder, Sonia Couto, the launch is about more than a feature.
“We are living through a global health crisis,” said Couto. “More than one billion people worldwide are living with obesity, and more than half a billion with diabetes. These are diseases of how we eat, and the food industry plays an enormous role in turning the tide. That’s why MenuSano exists, and why our mission has always been simple: choice is healthy. We give the food industry the tools to make that choice possible.”
A founder shaped by her own story
Couto founded MenuSano with a clear mission: Choice is Healthy. She wanted to give food service operators a practical tool to help customers, including those living with diabetes and other chronic conditions, make better choices every day. That mission took on even greater meaning after her own encounter with serious illness. A breast cancer survivor, Couto emerged from her diagnosis with a conviction that has shaped the company ever since: that food is medicine, and that the choices people make every day at restaurants, hotels, cafeterias, and grocery stores quietly determine long-term health outcomes across entire populations.
“When you go through something like cancer, you start to look at food completely differently,” Couto said. “You realize how much of what we eat, and what we’re given to eat when we travel, when we’re at work, when we’re in a hospital, is shaped by the food service industry. If we can help that industry provide people with clearer, more honest information, we can change millions of individual decisions. And those decisions add up.”
A decade of public health impact
MenuSano’s platform has been used by public health bodies and healthcare networks to tackle some of the toughest nutrition transparency challenges in Canada. Toronto Public Health selected MenuSano as the nutrition analysis tool for its Savvy Diner pilot program, which ran from 2013 to 2018 and contributed to Ontario’s landmark Healthy Menu Choices Act of 2015. By replacing traditional laboratory nutrition analysis, which can cost up to $1,800 per menu item with a two-to-five-week turnaround, MenuSano made voluntary menu labelling feasible for independent restaurants for the first time.
In Eastern Ontario, the Champlain Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Network, housed at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, has worked with more than 20 hospitals, including the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Hospital Montfort, and The Ottawa Hospital, to build healthier food environments for patients, staff, and visitors. MenuSano supports nutrition analysis across the program, helping hospitals position themselves as role models for the communities they serve.
“Hospitals, schools, and public health bodies shouldn’t have to choose between accuracy and affordability when it comes to nutrition information,” Couto said. “Our work with organizations like Toronto Public Health, the Champlain Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Network, and educational institutions like the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology has shown us what’s possible when the right tools are in the right hands.”
Why activity-equivalent labelling
The AI Wellness Labelling module was developed in response to growing demand from the luxury hospitality and corporate dining sectors, where operators are looking for more intuitive ways to communicate nutrition and activity to guests. A calorie number on its own is abstract. An activity equivalent makes it tangible and gives diners a frame of reference they can actually use.
The module automatically calculates walking, swimming, cycling, and additional activity equivalents for any MenuSano-analyzed recipe. It can be displayed on digital menu boards, QR-code menus, mobile ordering apps, in-room dining platforms, and printed menus. Operators can customize the activity profiles shown to match their brand and their guests.
“Our customers in wellness-focused hotels, corporate cafeterias, hospitals, and universities are all asking the same question,” said Couto. “How do we help our guests make better choices without being preachy? Activity-equivalent labelling is one answer. It’s not about shaming anyone. It’s about giving people context they can actually relate to, in the moments when it matters, when they’re ordering food.”
A mission that extends beyond labelling
The new module is the latest in a series of MenuSano AI features designed to help food service operators take responsibility for the health impact of what they serve. The platform already supports allergen identification, ingredient transparency, front-of-package labelling for Canada and other jurisdictions, supplement facts labels, and recipe analysis designed to help operators reformulate toward lower sodium, lower sugar, and cleaner ingredient lists.
“MenuSano is not just a labelling tool,” Couto said. “We are a technology company that believes the food industry can be a force for public health, and we build products that make that easier, faster, and more affordable for operators of every size. A small bakery in Toronto, a hotel in Abu Dhabi, a hospital in Ottawa, a culinary school in Calgary, they all matter. They all feed real people. And every one of them deserves access to the same quality of nutrition information that used to only be available to the largest food companies in the world.”
Availability
The AI Wellness Labelling module is available immediately to all MenuSano customers as an add-on to any plan. The module integrates with existing MenuSano recipes and can be deployed on digital menu boards, QR-code menus, mobile ordering apps, in-room dining platforms, and printed menus.
Interested operators can request a demo at menusano.com.
About MenuSano
MenuSano is a Toronto-based nutrition technology company on a mission to help the food industry empower healthier lives. Its cloud-based platform is used by food manufacturers, restaurants, hotels, caterers, healthcare operators, public health bodies, meal kit companies, and educational institutions around the world to generate FDA-, CFIA-, and UK-compliant nutrition facts labels, analyze recipes, manage allergens, and cost menus.
MenuSano has supported public health initiatives, including Toronto Public Health’s Savvy Diner program and the Champlain Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Network’s Healthy Foods in Champlain Hospitals program. The company serves customers in more than 30 countries and is part of the Konverge Group of Companies. Learn more at www.menusano.com.
Media Contact:
Sonia Couto
Founder, MenuSano
Sonia.Couto@MenuSano.com
416-640-2345
SOURCE: MenuSano
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
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