Brand and sub-brand tracking variant by variant, on every delivery menu
Delivery menu brand tracking is the detection of which brand, sub-brand and pack size each storefront lists on delivery apps, down to a cola's zero sugar variant in a 330 ml can versus the regular cola in a 500 ml bottle; DashONE matched 1,000+ beverage brands on delivery menus, as of October 2026. See where your zero sugar line or new pack is listed and where it is still missing, outlet by outlet, with its share of your brand's listings by city.
The trusted intelligence layer for teams selling to Hospitality & Retail
Which variant does each outlet list?
Knowing that an outlet sells your brand is the start. A brand team plans by variant and pack: the sugar-free line you are pushing, the large bottle that carries a better margin, the flavour launched last spring. On a delivery menu these show up as lines of text written by the outlet, and a single brand name can mean any of them.
Variant-level tracking answers the questions brand-level data cannot:
- Is our zero sugar variant listed next to the regular one, or instead of it?
- Which outlets list only the small can when the large bottle is in the core range?
- How far has the new flavour reached since launch, city by city?
- Is a competitor's sub-brand taking the slot our variant should hold?
This is the detection depth behind listing and availability tracking: the same outlets, read down to variant and pack.
What is detected per menu item
Each drink line on a tracked menu is tied, where it can be, to a brand, a variant and a pack:
| Field | Example | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Your brand | Whose product it is |
| Sub-brand or variant | The zero sugar line, the lemon flavour | Which line of the brand is listed |
| Pack size and format | 330 ml can, 500 ml bottle | So a can is never counted as a bottle |
| Menu text as written | 'Zero 33cl' | The outlet's own wording, kept for checking |
| Menu placement | Drinks section, combo, add-on | Where the shopper meets it |
| Date | First and last seen | When a variant arrived or left |
Lines too vague to tie to a brand, such as 'cola' or 'soft drink', are kept as unbranded rather than guessed. They are a list of their own: outlets selling the category without naming any brand.
Sub-brand share and launch reach
Three measures turn variant detection into numbers a brand team can plan with:
| KPI | Formula | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Sub-brand share | listings of a variant divided by all listings of the brand | How much of my brand's menu presence is this variant? |
| Variant distribution | outlets listing the variant divided by outlets listing the brand | Of the outlets that carry me, how many carry this line? |
| Launch reach | outlets listing a new variant, refresh by refresh | Is the launch spreading, and where has it stalled? |
The same counts against the whole category give your digital shelf share at variant level, so you can compare your zero sugar line with a competitor's directly.
Worked example: a zero sugar push in one city
Take a soft drink brand listed in 520 outlets in one city, with 1,200 listings across its range. Its plan says the Zero variant should sit next to the regular can wherever the brand is listed.
| Variant and pack | Listings | Sub-brand share | Outlets listing it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular, 330 ml can | 550 | 46% | 480 |
| Regular, 500 ml bottle | 250 | 21% | 230 |
| Zero, 330 ml can | 290 | 24% | 260 |
| Lemon, 330 ml can | 110 | 9% | 100 |
The Zero variant is in 260 of the 520 outlets, so its variant distribution is 50%. The gap is the 260 outlets that list the brand but not its Zero variant; in 90 of them a rival brand's zero sugar variant is listed instead.
Those 90 outlets become the priority list for the zero sugar push, sorted by app and outlet type.
Frequently asked questions
Can you tell a 330 ml can from a 500 ml bottle on a delivery menu?
Yes, where the menu states the pack. Pack size and format are recorded per listing, so a can and a bottle of the same brand are counted separately and never compared as one product.
What is sub-brand share?
Sub-brand share is the share of your brand's delivery listings that belong to one variant, for example your brand's Zero listings divided by all of your brand's listings. It shows how your menu presence splits across your range.
What happens when an outlet just writes 'cola'?
A line too vague to tie to a brand is kept as unbranded, not assigned to you or a competitor. Shares therefore count only listings that name a brand.
Which brands are tracked?
1,000+ beverage brands were matched on delivery menus as of October 2026. Your own range and your competitors' variants are set up for your workspace.
Can I track a new product launch on delivery apps?
Yes. Once the new variant is added to your range, its listings are counted from the next refresh, so you see its reach outlet by outlet, refresh by refresh.
How is this different from availability tracking?
Availability tracking tells you which outlets list your brand. Brand and sub-brand tracking reads those listings down to variant and pack, so you see which part of your range each outlet carries.
Related reading
The business case for your Head of eCommerce
If variant tracking needs a budget, these are the three points:
- Brand plans measured at the level they are made: variant and pack presence per city, not a brand total that hides the line you are pushing.
- Launches tracked from the first refresh: a new variant's reach is visible outlet by outlet, so a stalled launch is caught early.
- Direct competitor comparison: your zero sugar or premium line against the competitor's equivalent, in the same outlets, on the same dates.