From Restaurant to Partner: Coca-Cola Franchises in the US Food Delivery Market

Coca-Cola stands not merely as a brand but as a cultural phenomenon embedded into the collective memory. In the modern landscape, its dynamic logo and vibrant red colour palette stand as a universally identifiable symbol, captivating the attention of consumers in the global food and beverage market. Notably, in the year 2022,  Coca-Cola’s brand value surged by 7%, reclaiming its status as the world's most valuable soft drink brand with an impressive valuation of USD 35.4 billion^[1]. Today, more than a dozen major franchises, including McDonald’s, Subway, and Domino’s, are forming partnerships with Coca-Cola. These strategic alliances yield mutual benefits, granting the beverage giant access to previously untapped market segments while concurrently reinforcing its brand recognition on a broader scale.

The spectrum of Coca-Cola's offerings extends across a range of packaging and pricing options within franchises. This calls for an examination of the franchises that prominently feature Coca-Cola products. Through an analytical lens, this article unveils the differences in Coca-Cola's presence and packaging insights on food delivery.

According to Dashmote’s data, among franchises selling products from the Coca-Cola Company in the United States, Subway clearly leads the way with an impressive number of 12.5K digital storefronts on food delivery platforms. McDonald's closely follows with 11K digital storefronts, while Burger King and Wendy's trail behind with each over 5K digital storefronts listing Coca-Cola on US food delivery platforms. Each of these franchises offer an excellent avenue for effectively listing the diverse range of Coca-Cola products to captive and engage customers.

It is worth noting that Domino's, despite being a major franchise selling Coca-Cola products in the US, operates its own delivery system and, as a result, is not featured on food-service aggregators like Uber Eats or Doordash. Consequently, it is not included in the current analysis.

When looking into smaller Franchises, The Cheesecake Factory and Sonic Drive-in exhibit a lower presence on US food delivery platforms listing Coca-Cola beverages, with approximately 200 digital storefronts each. 

The digital nature of food delivery platforms provides a treasure trove of data. For Coca-Cola, harnessing this data holds great potential in identifying high-performing restaurants and franchises across the United States, enabling the development of targeted and effective marketing strategies. Through rigorous data analysis, Coca-Cola strategically positions itself by aligning with specific occasions, demographics, and consumption patterns, allowing for optimised outreach and customer engagement.

Dashmote's data revealed that among the 12 main franchises that partner with Coca-Cola in the US, not all provide size selections (S/M/L) for customers when ordering Coca-Cola through food delivery. Amongst these are The Cheesecake Factory, Five Guys, Subway, Domino’s, and Jimmy John’s. And even for the franchises that do offer size selections, there is very limited specification of the exact amount in millilitres (ML).

It is advisable for franchises to consider offering Coca-Cola products in diverse sizes for a multitude of compelling reasons. The availability of a variety of drink sizes empowers customers to select portions that align with their occasion and social context, ultimately resulting in heightened customer satisfaction. This practice also accommodates health-conscious individuals seeking smaller portions to manage their calorie intake or to opt for more moderate servings. Moreover, adopting varying size options contributes to effective portion control and the reduction of food waste.

Dashmote's data also provides intriguing insights into the packaging of Coca-Cola offerings listed across various franchises on US food delivery platforms. Specifically, 5 out of 12 franchises offer their Coca-Cola products in bottles: The Cheesecake Factory, Five Guys, Subway, Domino’s, and Jimmy John’s. The other 7 offer fountain drinks: TGI Fridays, Sonic Drive-In, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Arby’s, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s.

Dashmote is dedicated to assisting enterprises in overcoming obstacles and achieving success in the digital market space. As the foremost provider of big data and AI analytics solutions in the food and beverage (F&B) sector, we enable companies to make informed strategic choices by offering thorough analysis and invaluable insights into the food delivery market and F&B trends. Interested in taking your online business to the next level? Feel free to reach out to our team at contact@dashmote.com. Together, we can establish a robust online footprint for your Food & Beverage enterprise.

If you find this article valuable, you may also be interested to check out more of our blog articles on Coca-Cola, such as the battle between Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the UK or local VS. global cola in India.

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