The CPG Guys Podcast: Incremental Growth for CPG Brands with DoorDash Ads' Toby Espinosa

Episode Date: August 27, 2025
Guests: Toby Espinosa (VP of Ads & Growth Services, DoorDash)
Hosts: Sri Rajagopalan & Peter V.S. Bond

Overview

This episode delves into how DoorDash Ads is transforming the landscape for CPG brands seeking incremental and rapid growth through digital delivery and advertising innovations. Toby Espinosa discusses DoorDash’s evolution, unique position as a high-intent commerce platform, key strategies for CPG advertisers, and the metrics that matter most when measuring campaign success on DoorDash.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. DoorDash's Evolution and Value Proposition (04:51–07:05)

• DoorDash’s Growth: Started as a U.S.-only restaurant delivery service, now operates in 30+ countries and five major business units (restaurants, grocery/retail, white-label commerce, global commercial, and ads).
• Ads Ecosystem: The ads business empowers brands—large and small—to reach high-intent consumers using DoorDash’s data, both within and increasingly outside its ecosystem.
• High-Intent Audience: DoorDash serves users seeking immediate fulfillment—“a hole we fill,” especially for impulse needs (e.g., craving snacks, allergy medicine, or even mulch for gardening).

Memorable Quote:
“If you digitize every store on Main Street and you have a logistics capability...then, go forward 10 years and imagine a world where the touch points between your local neighborhood and consumers, powered by DoorDash, are just getting greater and greater.” (Toby, 08:34)

2. DoorDash Ads vs. Traditional Retail Media Networks (07:05–09:36)

• Impulse & Intent: Differentiates from traditional RMNs by focusing on “very, very focused consumers” and moments of immediate need rather than routine shopping.
• New-to-Brand Success: Campaigns often see over 60% “new to brand” customers for advertisers, beating industry norms.
• Speed & Coverage: DoorDash is positioned for same-day or sub-hour delivery, radically changing consumer expectations and shopping frequency.

3. Vertical & Category Performance for CPG Brands (10:10–14:39)

• Winning Categories: Snacks, beverages, alcohol, and health & wellness excel on DoorDash, backed by consumers’ need for speed and convenience.
• Changing Baskets: “Decompartmentalization” of grocery baskets—consumers increasingly “top up” by ordering smaller sets of items more frequently, rather than large, infrequent trips.
• Incrementality Across Dayparts: Expanding beyond peak lunch/dinner supports incremental growth and opportunity for advertisers.

Memorable Quote:
“Maybe I come onto the platform for allergy season. But because you saved me in this moment, now I’m going to say, ‘Oh, I can also order this top up’... you start building the basket that way.” (Toby, 13:07)

4. Last Mile Delivery Partnerships & Grocery Expansion (14:13–14:39)

• DoorDash is partnering with major grocery retailers (Safeway, Albertsons, Sprouts, etc.) to offer last mile logistics, integrating more traditionally basket-driven grocery trips.

5. Campaign Best Practices and Partnership Examples (15:13–17:00)

• Onboarding: Begins with understanding each brand’s definition of success, followed by personalized campaign design.
• Targeting: Sophisticated “daypart” targeting and category focus for tailored, incremental growth—exemplified by Unilever’s partnership, which began with ice cream and expanded.
• Incrementality Focus: Brands benefit from unique targeting and high-intent DoorDash audiences who are less saturated than with RMNs.

Memorable Quote:
“We have incredible consumers in this very incremental moment…where we like to focus is new to brand metrics and better targeting over time.” (Toby, 15:44)

6. DoorDash's Place in the Retail Media Landscape & Technology Investments (17:59–20:33)

• Scale: “If one has to play anywhere, you have to play on us. We are at scale.”
• Growth Rates: Some product categories (e.g., soup) are growing “multitudes faster” on DoorDash than elsewhere.
• Tech Innovation: Acquired Symbiosis AI to enable offsite activation (Meta, TikTok, YouTube, etc.), driving full-funnel reach and “new to brand” success.

Memorable Quote:
“We bring capabilities that allow those brands to do things that are differentiated...you can leverage our data in a bunch of different touch points and drive that consumer back full funnel.” (Toby, 19:18)

7. Advertiser Experience & Platform Tools (21:24–25:42)

• Service Models: Brands can use managed service via DoorDash team or self-serve tools (including APIs and integration partners like Flywheel).
• Aligning with Client KPIs: Campaigns tailored to internal metrics and “referees”—even up to the CFO or board level.
• Campaign Deployment: Tools include CPG Brand Manager, catalog overlay, sponsored products/branded placements, and banner ads.
• Data Complexity: Catalog alignment across multiple retailers and precise out-of-stock tracking are ongoing tech focuses for improving partnership value.

8. Metrics, KPIs & Demonstrating Incrementality (27:27–31:05)

• Foundational Metrics: Baseline sales numbers by SKU begin the conversation.
• Key Performance Indicators: “New-to-brand” and “incrementality” are crucial, with DoorDash recognized for driving outsized results in these areas.
• Custom Definitions of Success: Large brands (e.g., General Mills, Kraft, Mondelez) have unique success metrics, sometimes set by their CFO, requiring DoorDash to tailor its reporting and story.
• Optimization in Action: Real-time data allows for campaign tweaks and maximizes growth, reaching even the most financially driven decision makers.

Memorable Quote:
“The referee in many cases...is ultimately the CFO’s desk, and they’re making the call. So describing both the metric they care about and in a way that they care about...that’s really where we are today.” (Toby, 30:25)

9. Advice for CPG Brands Entering DoorDash Ads (32:09–34:17)

• Trend Toward On-Demand: Encourages advertisers to “ask yourself and your family if you’re using on-demand more now than two years ago”—the answer is almost always yes.
• Easy to Start: Contact DoorDash Ads to get a baseline, understand trends, or run a pilot—DoorDash will match their services to client needs.
• Long-Term View: DoorDash sees partnerships as “decades long” and is committed to continuously adding value and proving incremental growth.

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On DoorDash's Value Prop:
  • “It is a place with super high intent users looking for products…that is kind of the hole that we fill.” (07:13 – Toby Espinosa)
• On Changing Consumer Behavior:
  • “The traditional model…has radically changed...the decompartmentalization of the grocery basket.” (10:50 – Toby)
• On Advertising Differentiation:
  • “DoorDash makes it look like soup was just introduced to the world for the first time.” (18:58 – Toby)
• On Measurement & Attribution:
  • “If we don’t align to [client’s internal metrics], we’re not going to be successful and neither are you.” (22:18 – Toby)
• On New Tech:
  • “About two months ago, we announced an acquisition of a company called Symbiosis AI…that powers offsite for a bunch of retail media networks.” (19:18 – Toby)
• On Board-Level Decision Making:
  • “It is moved up, frankly, even beyond the desk of the CMO or VP of advertising.” (31:23 – Peter V.S. Bond)
• On Getting Started:
  • “If you use [DoorDash] every day, then you know, you should probably show up here.” (32:25 – Toby)

Host Takeaways

• Peter (35:24):
  “At DoorDash, their ability to leverage high impulse category opportunities across multiple verticals from groceries to DIY is resulting in tremendous growth faster than what the market is experiencing. And that brings to brand advertisers a very valuable audience: the new to brand consumer.”

• Sri (36:41):
  “Frequency of use is up…if you’re representing one of the largest brands in the world…at least get curious, ask, get to know, and you can decide if it’s right for you or not.”

Conclusion

This episode underscores DoorDash’s emergence as a powerhouse in CPG and retail media—distinct from traditional retailers and media networks by virtue of its high-intent, on-demand audience, and technical agility. Brands looking for incremental, measurable growth—and the ability to reach new-to-brand consumers with speed and precision—should strongly consider DoorDash as an essential platform in their marketing mix.

For more on DoorDash Ads or to connect with Toby:

• Contact: toby@door-.com
• LinkedIn and DoorDash Ads links available in episode notes.