Glossary
Foodservice and on-premise data glossary
This glossary defines the words food and drink brands, distributors and sales teams use for outlets, channels, products and delivery apps, and shows where they mean different things: the same bar is an outlet to a rep, an account in the CRM, a door to a category manager, a POC to a brewer and three storefronts to an eCommerce team. Each entry gives a short definition, who uses which word, and how Dashmote counts it.
20M+
venues tracked
100+
data points per outlet
The trusted intelligence layer for teams selling to Hospitality & Retail
One concept, many words the translation matrix
The same thing has a different name in every region. Read across a row to translate a brief, a CRM field or a report.
| Concept | UK and Ireland | US and Canada | Continental Europe | Latin America | Asia Pacific, Middle East | Dashmote says |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One place that sells or serves | Outlet, site, account | Account, door, location, unit | Outlet, point de vente (FR), horeca outlet (NL) | PDV, POC, cliente | Outlet, store | Venue or outlet |
| Consumed where it is bought | On-trade | On-premise | HoReCa, CHR (FR), Gastronomie (DE) | On-premise, HoReCa | On-premise, HoReCa | On-trade |
| Bought to take away | Off-trade, off-licence | Off-premise | Retail, GMS (FR), LEH (DE) | Canal moderno and canal tradicional | Modern trade and general trade | Off-trade |
| Everything eaten and drunk out | Out of home (OOH), AFH | Foodservice, food away from home | AFH, RHD (FR), Außer-Haus-Markt (DE) | AFH | AFH, HoReCa | Away from home |
| The POS system | EPOS | Register, POS system | Kassa, Kasse, caisse | Caja, POS | POS | POS system |
| Branded kit in the outlet | POS, POS kit, POSM | POP, displays | POS material, PLV (FR) | Material POP | POSM | POS material, PMV |
| The product code | EAN, barcode, SKU | UPC, SKU | EAN, article number | EAN, SKU | EAN, SKU | GTIN |
| One outlet on one delivery app | Listing, store, DSF | Storefront, store, merchant, DSF | Listing, store | Tienda, loja | Store, merchant | Digital storefront (DSF) |
| Kitchen with no dining room | Dark kitchen | Ghost kitchen | Dark kitchen, ghost kitchen | Dark kitchen | Cloud kitchen | Ghost kitchen |
| Fast, counter-service food | QSR, fast food, food to go | QSR, limited service, fast casual | QSR, restauration rapide (FR), Systemgastronomie (DE) | Comida rápida, QSR | QSR | Quick service |
| Who moves the stock | Wholesaler, cash and carry | Distributor (three-tier for alcohol), broadline | Wholesaler, Getränkefachgroßhandel (DE) | Distribuidor, bottler | Distributor, stockist | Distributor |
| The visit plan | Call frequency, journey plan | Call cycle, route | Call frequency, Tourenplan (DE) | Ruta, preventa | Beat plan (India), route | Call frequency |
Same word, different meaning by role
Inside one company, each team uses the same word for its own unit. Read down a column to see what a colleague means.
| Concept | eCommerce manager | Field sales rep | Category manager | Distributor | POS-system vendor | Market researcher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The place | Storefront | Outlet, account | Door, store | Customer, delivery point | Site, location | Outlet |
| POS | Order integration | Outlet, or branded kit | Checkout scan data | Points of sale in a contract | Hardware and software | EPOS sales data |
| Distribution | Share of storefronts listing it | Doors won | Weighted distribution, %ACV | Its delivery network | Not used | Numeric and weighted, on a stated universe |
| Listing | A product on a delivery menu | A product accepted by an outlet | A product accepted by a chain's head office | An item in its catalogue | A POS button | A product in the measured range |
| The channel | Delivery, quick commerce | On-trade, off-trade | Retail vs AFH | Foodservice vs retail | Hospitality vs retail | A channel and sub-channel tree |
| Availability | In stock on the app at the time of the check | On the shelf or behind the bar | On-shelf availability | Fill rate on orders | Item not switched off | Share of checks in stock |
Which terms define outlets and territories?
- Outlet, account, door or POC?: an outlet is one physical place that sells or serves to consumers, counted once; account, door, venue, POC and store are business views of it.
- Away from home vs foodservice: AFH is food and drink consumed outside the home; OOH, foodservice, HoReCa and on-trade overlap with it but cover different sets.
- QSR vs FSR vs fast casual: quick service has no table service, full service does, fast casual sits between.
- Distributor vs wholesaler vs cash and carry: who buys, delivers and sells into outlets, and how that differs by region.
- Outlet universe: the complete, deduplicated list of every point of sale in a territory where your product could be sold.
- On-trade vs off-trade: on-trade is bought to consume on the premises, off-trade is bought to take away. The US says on-premise and off-premise.
- White space analysis: finding the outlets or areas that fit your brand but do not stock it yet.
- Key account: a key account is a customer, usually a group of outlets, that gets its own manager, its own plan and its own terms because of its size, influence or strategic value.
- Sales territory: a sales territory is the set of customers and prospects, usually defined by geography, that one rep or team is responsible for, together with the targets and visit plan that go with it.
- Independent vs chain outlets: an independent outlet is a bar, restaurant, cafe or hotel run as a single site or a very small group, where the owner or manager decides the range on site, while a chain outlet is one of many locations trading under the same name, where the range is usually decided centrally.
- Franchisee: a franchisee is a business or person that owns and runs one outlet or several under another company's brand, menu and operating system, paying fees to the franchisor in return.
- Free house vs tied and managed pubs: a free house is a pub whose operator has no supply tie to a brewer or pub company, so it can buy its beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks from any supplier it chooses.
- HoReCa: HoReCa (also Horeca or HORECA) is the food service sector made up of hotels, restaurants and cafes, and by extension bars, pubs and other places where food and drink are prepared and consumed away from home.
- Foodservice operator: a foodservice operator is a business that prepares and serves food or drink to people away from home and runs the outlets where that happens, such as a restaurant owner, a pub company, a hotel group, a contract caterer running canteens or a franchisee.
- Outlet segmentation: outlet segmentation is the grouping of the outlets in a market into segments that share the attributes that matter to your sales model, such as channel, venue type, price level, size, ownership or what is on the menu, so each segment gets its own range, service level and sales approach.
- Channel mapping: channel mapping is the assignment of each outlet in a market to one channel from a fixed list, such as restaurant, bar or pub, cafe, hotel or quick service, so that outlets from different sources and countries can be counted, compared and targeted on the same basis.
- Lead score: a lead score is a number given to a prospective customer that estimates how likely it is to buy, or how closely it fits the customers you already win, so a sales team can decide who to contact first.
Which metrics describe delivery apps?
- Ghost kitchen vs dark kitchen vs virtual brand: kitchens that cook only for delivery, and delivery-only menus that can make one kitchen look like several restaurants.
- Food delivery aggregator vs 1P and 3P: the apps that list many restaurants, and why 1P and 3P mean something else in retail.
- Delivery storefront: a delivery storefront is one outlet's listing on one delivery app: its page with name, menu, prices, images, opening hours, ratings and fees.
- Dark store: a dark store is a retail site closed to walk-in shoppers that stocks groceries and everyday goods only to fill online orders, usually for quick commerce apps that promise delivery in minutes.
- Out-of-stock rate on delivery apps: on delivery apps, out-of-stock rate is the share of checks in which a product that a storefront lists cannot be ordered, and availability rate is the rest (100% minus the out-of-stock rate).
- First-party ordering channel: a first-party ordering channel is an ordering app or website that a restaurant, chain or brand owns and runs itself, as opposed to a third-party delivery app that lists many restaurants side by side.
- Combo attach rate: combo attach rate is the share of combos, meal deals and bundles in a defined set of delivery menus that include a given product, brand or category.
- Menu price index: a menu price index compares what a set of outlets charges for an item or a basket with a reference price that is set to 100, so 112 means 12% more expensive than the reference.
- GMV on delivery apps: gross merchandise value (GMV) on a delivery app is the total value of the orders placed through it over a period, at the prices customers pay, before the app's commission and usually before refunds.
- Digital shelf: the digital shelf is every place a shopper can see and choose a product online: delivery app menus, quick commerce and grocery assortments, in-app search results, product pages and meal deals.
Which terms shape a field sales week?
- Call frequency in sales: call frequency is how often a sales rep visits, or otherwise contacts, a given account in a set period, such as every week, every two weeks or once a month, and it is usually set per account tier.
- Drop size: drop size is the amount of product delivered to one customer in one delivery, measured in cases, units, kilos, litres or invoice value depending on the business.
- Strike rate in sales: in field sales, strike rate is the share of sales calls or visits that end in an order or a win, so 30 orders from 100 calls is a strike rate of 30%.
- Cost to serve: cost to serve is the full cost of supplying and supporting one outlet or account over a period, including sales visits, delivery drops, trade investment such as equipment and discounts, and admin.
- Outlet tiering: outlet tiering is the sorting of outlets into a few bands, usually A, B and C, by how much they are worth or could be worth to a brand, with a service rule attached to each band: how often it is visited, how much is invested and who owns it.
- Route to market (RTM): route to market (RTM) is the way a product gets from the manufacturer to the outlets and consumers that buy it: which channels it is sold through, who sells to each outlet, who delivers, and who holds the customer relationship.
- Perfect store: perfect store is a set of standards that describes what a brand's ideal execution looks like in an outlet, such as range, visibility, cooler, POS material, price and promotion, together with a score that measures each outlet against them.
- Trade marketing: trade marketing is the marketing a brand aims at the trade, meaning distributors, wholesalers, retailers and on-trade outlets, rather than at consumers, to win listings, visibility and execution where the product is sold.
- On-trade activation: an on-trade activation is a time-bound brand programme run inside bars, pubs, restaurants or hotels, such as a menu feature, a sampling night, a branded event or a serve promotion, designed to get guests to try or order a product at the venue.
Places, people and accounts short definitions
- Account (also customer account): A customer relationship in a CRM: one outlet, or a whole group under one contract. An account list holds only the outlets you sell to or have contacted, not the market. See outlet.
- Venue: One physical on-premise place, such as a bar, restaurant, cafe or hotel. Dashmote counts one venue per physical place, however many delivery storefronts it has. See outlet.
- Door (also doors): A physical store or outlet that carries a product, mostly US retail and consumer goods usage: "in 5,000 doors" means 5,000 locations stock it. See outlet.
- POC (point of consumption) (also point of consumption): An on-premise outlet where a drink is consumed, the usual word at brewers and many beverage companies. POC also means proof of concept and point of contact, so spell it out once. See outlet.
- Location, site, unit, store (also site, unit, store): One branch of a group: retail chains say store, pub groups say site, restaurant chains say location or unit. See outlet.
- Customer: Whoever is invoiced. For a bottler or distributor that is the outlet or the wholesaler it bills, not the consumer. See outlet.
- Field sales rep (also territory manager, business development manager, preventista, salesman): A salesperson who visits outlets in person in a territory. Also called territory manager or BDM in the UK, preventista (pre-seller) in Latin America, and salesman on a beat in India. See sales territory.
- Called on, not called on (also NCO): A CRM field that marks whether an outlet is visited by field sales, served by inside sales, or not called on (NCO) at all. See call frequency.
- Book of business: US sales term for the accounts a rep or company already sells to. See white space analysis.
POS and systems short definitions
- Register (also cash register): The machine or software at the counter that records each sale. US English says register, UK English says EPOS, and both increasingly mean a POS system. See point of sale.
- EPOS, ePOS (also electronic point of sale): Electronic point of sale: the UK word for a POS system. There is no technical difference from POS today. See point of sale.
- POS system: The hardware and software a venue uses to take orders and payments, often linked to delivery apps, bookings and loyalty. See restaurant POS data.
- PLU (also price look-up): Price look-up: the button or code for an item in a POS, set by the venue and usually not linked to a GTIN. See SKU vs GTIN.
Channels and segments short definitions
- Channel, sub-channel, trade (also sub-channel, trade channel): A fixed tree that sorts outlets: trade (for example on-trade, institutional, travel, off-trade), then channel (bars, restaurants), then sub-channel (cocktail bar, pizzeria). Each outlet sits in one leaf. See channel mapping.
- On-premise, off-premise (also on premise, off premise): US words for on-trade and off-trade: consumed where bought, or bought to take away. See on trade vs off trade.
- OOH (out of home) (also out of home): UK trade and panel word for eating and drinking out, close to AFH. In media, OOH means outdoor advertising. See away from home.
- Foodservice (also food service): Businesses that prepare and serve food and drink away from home, including non-commercial catering and, in US usage, the distributors that supply them. See away from home.
- CHR (also cafes hotels restaurants): Cafes, hotels, restaurants: the French name for the HoReCa sector, used in law and trade. See horeca.
- Modern trade, general trade (also traditional trade, canal tradicional, canal moderno): The off-trade split used in Asia, Africa and Latin America: chains and supermarkets (modern trade) vs small independent shops such as kiranas, warungs, sari-sari stores or tienditas (general or traditional trade). See on trade vs off trade.
- Casual dining, fine dining, fast casual (also fine dining, fast casual): Restaurant segments by service and price: fast casual is counter service with food made to order; casual dining and fine dining have table service at rising price levels. See QSR vs FSR.
- LSR (limited service restaurant) (also limited service): Another label for quick service; US statistics say limited service, some drinks companies say LSR. See QSR vs FSR.
- Non-commercial foodservice (also B&I, institutional): Catering where food is not the business: workplaces (business and industry, B&I), schools and universities, hospitals, prisons, the armed forces. See away from home.
Products and the shelf short definitions
- SKU (also stock keeping unit): A seller's own code for one sellable item. Field sales also use SKU to mean one product in range. See SKU vs GTIN.
- GTIN, EAN, UPC (also EAN, UPC, barcode): The GTIN is the global product number set under GS1 rules; EAN-13 and UPC-A are the barcodes that carry it. See SKU vs GTIN.
- Listing (also range, assortment, slotting): A product accepted into a range: by a chain's head office in retail, by an outlet in the on-trade, or as a line on a delivery menu. A listing fee (slotting fee in the US) is what some retailers charge for it. See numeric distribution.
- Availability, OOS (also out of stock, OOS, on-shelf availability): Availability is the share of checks in which a listed product can be bought; OOS (out of stock) is the rest. On a delivery app a product can be listed and still switched off. See out of stock rate.
- DSF (digital storefront) (also digital store front, delivery storefront): Short for digital storefront: one outlet's store page on one delivery platform or ordering app. A restaurant or shop listed on three apps has three digital storefronts, and Dashmote matches them back to the one physical outlet they belong to. See delivery storefront.
- PMV (promotion material visibility) (also POSM visibility, POS material visibility): Whether a brand's promotional materials, such as umbrellas, coasters, branded menus, fridges and signs, can be seen at an outlet, and whose brand they show. See promotion material visibility.
Delivery and quick commerce short definitions
- Quick commerce (q-commerce) (also q-commerce): Delivery of groceries and everyday goods in minutes, usually picked from dark stores or nearby shops. See dark store.
- Dark kitchen, cloud kitchen, virtual brand (also cloud kitchen, virtual brand, virtual restaurant): A dark or cloud kitchen cooks only for delivery; a virtual brand is a delivery-only menu and name that can be cooked in any kitchen. See ghost kitchen.
- Marketplace: A platform where many sellers list and the platform takes the order. In restaurant delivery, marketplace orders are often the ones the restaurant delivers itself. See food delivery aggregator.
- 1P vs 3P (also first party, third party): In restaurants: own ordering channel (1P) vs delivery apps (3P). In retail: the platform sells its own stock (1P) vs other sellers list on it (3P). See food delivery aggregator.
- Super app: One app for food delivery, groceries, rides and payments, common in Asia and the Middle East. See food delivery aggregator.
Routes and the sales week short definitions
- Cash and carry: A wholesale depot where trade customers choose, pay and collect themselves. See distributor vs wholesaler.
- DSD (direct store delivery): A brand delivering to outlets with its own trucks and reps instead of through a distributor. See distributor vs wholesaler.
- Three-tier system: The US rule for beverage alcohol: suppliers sell to licensed distributors, who sell to retailers and on-premise accounts. See distributor vs wholesaler.
- Journey plan, call cycle, beat plan (also call cycle, beat plan, route): The fixed sequence of outlet visits a rep makes. Journey plan in the UK, call cycle or route in the US, beat plan in India. See call frequency.
- Win-back: An outlet that used to stock your product and has switched; the target list for a recovery campaign. See white space analysis.
- Tied house, managed pub (also managed pub, tied pub): In the UK, a pub that must buy drinks through its owner or landlord; in the US, tied-house laws limit what suppliers may own or give to retailers. See free house.
What does each metric answer? Pick the denominator first
| Question | Metric | Denominator |
|---|---|---|
| How many outlets could I sell to? | Outlet universe | Outlets in the territory that pass your fit criteria |
| Which outlets fit my brand but do not stock it yet? | White space analysis | Fitting outlets in the universe |
| Is this an on-premise or a take-away sale? | On-trade vs off-trade | Not a ratio: a split of the universe |
| How many menus list my category or brand? | Menu penetration | Outlets with a recent menu read |
| In how many outlets is my product listed? | Numeric vs weighted distribution | Outlets that sell the category (counted equally, or weighted by category sales) |
| How visible is my brand on the delivery app shelf? | Digital shelf share | Category listings on the chosen apps and storefronts |
How Dashmote counts
We use one word per unit and say which one a number counts. A venue (or outlet) is one physical place, counted once. A storefront is one venue on one delivery app, so one restaurant on three apps is 1 venue and 3 storefronts, and the two are never added together. Accounts, customers and doors are your words for the part of the market you sell to; we match them to venues so your list and the market share one key.
Every formula on these pages states its denominator, because most disagreements about a number are disagreements about what it was divided by. Worked examples use made-up round numbers to show the arithmetic; they are not market data. Dashmote counts 20M+ venues across 60+ countries, such as restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs, quick service and hotels.
Frequently asked questions
Who is this glossary for?
Field sales reps and managers selling into bars, restaurants and cafes, and eCommerce managers at food and beverage brands who manage their presence on delivery apps.
Are the numbers in the examples real?
No. Worked examples use generic brands, cities and round numbers to show the arithmetic. Real figures on this site are dated and sourced.
Can I suggest a term?
Yes. Tell us through the contact page which term your team argues about most and we will consider it for the next entry.