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Categories organize a menu into sections customers understand — appetizers, burgers, drinks, desserts, combos. They shape how the offer feels, not just what is technically for sale.

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Commercial role

AspectWhy it matters
Browse flowGood grouping increases basket size and reduces friction
MerchandisingHighlights, seasonal blocks, and promos often sit in named sections
Channel UXAggregators and your app may present categories differently; structure follows your composed menu per context
TestingCategory order and naming are common levers in menu experiments
Categories sync from your POS or RMS with the rest of the menu. Renaming or reordering in the operational system flows to channels through Fire spark.

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Categories vs products

  • Category — The shelf (for example “Salads”).
  • Product — What goes on the shelf (for example “Caesar salad”).
A product usually belongs to one or more categories depending on how your operation models the catalog.

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Availability by context

Categories carry a channels map. Each channel entry lists stores, and each store lists fulfillment types with an availability object:
FieldMeaning
statusACTIVE, INACTIVE, or HIDDEN for that channel/store/fulfillment combination
schedulesWeekly hour maps when the category is visible. null when there is no schedule restriction
inactive_untilOptional end time for a temporary inactive state
This lets you hide a category on one aggregator while keeping it visible on your owned app, or schedule seasonal sections without duplicating category records in your POS.

Menus

Full catalog customers see

Products

Items inside each category