diff --git a/backend/app/services/matcher.py b/backend/app/services/matcher.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..10a3c16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/services/matcher.py
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+"""Fuzzy ingredient<->grocery_item matcher.
+
+Builds a candidate pool of (text, ingredient_id) tuples from the
+canonical ingredient table (name + aliases), ranks each grocery_item
+name against the pool with rapidfuzz, and writes the top N matches
+above a confidence threshold to the ingredient_grocery_match table.
+
+Manual matches (source='manual') are preserved across runs.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from decimal import Decimal
+from typing import Iterable, List, Tuple
+from uuid import UUID
+
+from rapidfuzz import fuzz, process
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
+
+from app.models import (
+    GroceryItem,
+    Ingredient,
+    IngredientGroceryMatch,
+    IngredientMatchSource,
+)
+
+
+@dataclass
+class MatchResult:
+    ingredient_id: UUID
+    grocery_item_id: UUID
+    confidence: float
+
+
+def build_match_pool(ingredients: Iterable[dict]) -> List[Tuple[str, str]]:
+    """Flatten (canonical name + aliases) into (text, ingredient_id) pairs."""
+    pool: List[Tuple[str, str]] = []
+    for ing in ingredients:
+        pool.append((ing["name"], ing["id"]))
+        for alias in ing.get("aliases") or []:
+            if alias:
+                pool.append((alias, ing["id"]))
+    return pool
+
+
+def rank_candidates(
+    target: str,
+    pool: List[Tuple[str, str]],
+    top_n: int = 3,
+    threshold: float = 0.75,
+) -> List[dict]:
+    """Return up to top_n unique-by-ingredient_id matches above threshold."""
+    if not pool:
+        return []
+    texts = [t for t, _ in pool]
+    extracted = process.extract(target, texts, scorer=fuzz.WRatio, limit=20)
+    seen: set[str] = set()
+    out: List[dict] = []
+    for matched_text, score, idx in extracted:
+        confidence = score / 100.0
+        if confidence < threshold:
+            continue
+        ingredient_id = pool[idx][1]
+        if ingredient_id in seen:
+            continue
+        seen.add(ingredient_id)
+        out.append(
+            {
+                "ingredient_id": ingredient_id,
+                "matched_text": matched_text,
+                "confidence": confidence,
+            }
+        )
+        if len(out) >= top_n:
+            break
+    return out
+
+
+def run_match_job(
+    db: Session,
+    *,
+    source_filter: str = "lucky_california",
+    top_n: int = 3,
+    threshold: float = 0.75,
+) -> int:
+    """Refresh ingredient_grocery_match for every grocery_item from `source_filter`.
+
+    Manual matches (source='manual') are NOT touched. Returns the number of
+    auto rows written/updated.
+    """
+    ingredients = [
+        {"id": str(row.id), "name": row.name, "aliases": list(row.aliases or [])}
+        for row in db.query(Ingredient).all()
+    ]
+    pool = build_match_pool(ingredients)
+
+    grocery_rows = (
+        db.query(GroceryItem)
+        .filter(GroceryItem.source == source_filter)
+        .all()
+    )
+
+    written = 0
+    for grocery in grocery_rows:
+        target = " ".join(filter(None, [grocery.name, grocery.brand or ""])).strip()
+        ranked = rank_candidates(target, pool, top_n=top_n, threshold=threshold)
+        for r in ranked:
+            ing_id = UUID(r["ingredient_id"])
+            existing = (
+                db.query(IngredientGroceryMatch)
+                .filter(
+                    IngredientGroceryMatch.ingredient_id == ing_id,
+                    IngredientGroceryMatch.grocery_item_id == grocery.id,
+                )
+                .first()
+            )
+            if existing and existing.source == IngredientMatchSource.MANUAL:
+                continue
+            confidence = Decimal(str(round(r["confidence"], 3)))
+            if existing is None:
+                db.add(
+                    IngredientGroceryMatch(
+                        ingredient_id=ing_id,
+                        grocery_item_id=grocery.id,
+                        confidence=confidence,
+                        source=IngredientMatchSource.AUTO,
+                    )
+                )
+            else:
+                existing.confidence = confidence
+                existing.source = IngredientMatchSource.AUTO
+            written += 1
+
+    db.commit()
+    return written
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_matcher.py b/backend/tests/test_matcher.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2664633
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_matcher.py
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import pytest
+
+from app.services.matcher import build_match_pool, rank_candidates
+
+
+def test_build_match_pool_includes_aliases() -> None:
+    ingredients = [
+        {"id": "i1", "name": "Chicken Thighs", "aliases": ["chicken thigh"]},
+        {"id": "i2", "name": "Chicken Breast", "aliases": []},
+    ]
+    pool = build_match_pool(ingredients)
+    # 1 name + 1 alias for i1, 1 name for i2 = 3 entries
+    assert len(pool) == 3
+    assert ("Chicken Thighs", "i1") in pool
+    assert ("chicken thigh", "i1") in pool
+
+
+def test_rank_candidates_top_n_with_threshold() -> None:
+    pool = [
+        ("Chicken Thighs", "i1"),
+        ("chicken thigh", "i1"),
+        ("Chicken Breast", "i2"),
+        ("Pork Chops", "i3"),
+    ]
+    ranked = rank_candidates(
+        target="Foster Farms Chicken Thighs Family Pack",
+        pool=pool,
+        top_n=3,
+        threshold=0.75,
+    )
+    ids = [item["ingredient_id"] for item in ranked]
+    assert ids[0] == "i1"
+    assert all(item["confidence"] >= 0.75 for item in ranked)
+
+
+def test_rank_candidates_drops_below_threshold() -> None:
+    pool = [("Pork Chops", "i3")]
+    ranked = rank_candidates(
+        target="Frosted Flakes Cereal 18oz",
+        pool=pool,
+        top_n=3,
+        threshold=0.75,
+    )
+    assert ranked == []