Uber Eats expands advertising for CPG brands

Uber Eats customers will soon begin seeing more consumer packaged goods brands on their screens when they place an order through the delivery service.  

The San Francisco-based company said Thursday that it has expanded  advertising to CPGs with a new suite of advertising opportunities aimed at "increasing discoverability of relevant products and brands, while driving value for both Uber Eats and its brand partners.”

Described as an evolution in its advertising capabilities, Uber Eats said the new ads will solidify the company as an e-commerce leader in the grocery and convenience retail industry. The ads are currently available in the United States and Canada. Plans call for the service to be expanded internationally by the end of the year. 

“Uber is uniquely positioned to connect brands with consumers at every stage along the path to purchase," said Travis Colvin, general manager of new vertical ads at Uber, in a statement. “As investment behind commerce media continues to accelerate in 2023 and beyond, we’re focused on broadening our capabilities to enable CPG brands to unlock the full potential of Uber’s advertising platform. We look forward to expanding the portfolio of products we’re making available to our CPG partners in the months ahead.” 

Uber Eats noted that PepsiCo has operated as the company’s “exclusive beverage alpha partner” for the Sponsored Items ad space, which increased the visibility of its portfolio of product brands, such as Pepsi, Gatorade, Doritos and others. 

"We are always testing, learning and experimenting with new platforms to become even more savvy and effective across our e-commerce business,” stated Alison Dempsey, head of e-commerce customer marketing at PepsiCo. “As a consumer-centric CPG company, we are always focused on reaching people with the right product, in the right place, at the right time. Sponsored Items allows us to connect with Uber customers at the point of purchase, driving awareness and conversion of our brands.” 

The new ad availability was made possible through a partnership with commerce media company Criteo, which implemented its Commerce Media Platform to enable the Sponsored Items capability.   

“Delivery is no longer restaurant-based—it’s all-things commerce—and Uber is paving the way for the industry by developing advertising solutions that integrate commerce moments into consumers’ daily lives,” according to Brian Gleason, chief revenue officer of Criteo. “We’re thrilled to be selected by Uber to bring the best commerce experience to their users, brands and agencies globally.” 

The new advertising strategy by the Uber Eats is its most recent effort to expand into the grocery delivery market. In mid-2022, Uber Eats updated its app to strengthen its technology for grocery shoppers. That entailed live order tracking and enabling shoppers to place their orders even when the store is not open, among other services.