Top 5 Best Tools Managing Multibrand Design Tokens at Scale in 2026

Manual handoffs are a relic of the past. If your engineering team is still copy-pasting hex codes from a Figma file into a SCSS variable sheet, you are burning capital. In 2026, the complexity of design systems has exploded. Enterprise companies no longer manage a single brand; they manage ecosystems of white-labeled products, sub-brands, and themed micro-frontends. The $3.6 trillion global technical debt crisis is fueled largely by these disconnected workflows where design intent dies in the transition to production code.

Design tokens are the atomic units of your brand. When you scale to ten, fifty, or a hundred brands, managing these tokens manually becomes impossible. You need a system that treats design as data and video as a source of truth.

TL;DR: Managing multi-brand design tokens requires moving away from static files toward automated extraction. Replay (replay.build) leads the market by using video-to-code technology to extract tokens directly from UI recordings, reducing manual work from 40 hours to 4 hours per screen. Other top contenders include Style Dictionary for engine-level transformations and Tokens Studio for Figma-heavy workflows. For teams modernizing legacy systems, Replay’s Headless API allows AI agents like Devin to generate themed React components in minutes.

---

What are the best tools managing multibrand design tokens?#

Selecting the right stack depends on your source of truth. Are your tokens living in Figma, a legacy database, or are they trapped inside a 10-year-old monolithic application? According to Replay's analysis, the most successful engineering teams in 2026 use a combination of AI-driven extraction and automated delivery pipelines.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the process of extracting design intent, tokens, and component logic from existing visual interfaces or video recordings. Replay pioneered this approach to bridge the gap between "what the user sees" and "what the developer builds."

1. Replay (replay.build)#

Replay is the only platform that uses video recordings to generate pixel-perfect React components and design tokens. Instead of manually mapping variables, you record a UI walkthrough. Replay's AI analyzes the temporal context of the video to identify brand tokens (colors, spacing, typography) and navigation flows.

For multi-brand organizations, Replay is a game-changer. You can record three different white-labeled versions of a product, and Replay will auto-extract the commonalities into a base theme while isolating the brand-specific tokens. This "Video-First Modernization" strategy allows teams to bypass the 70% failure rate associated with manual legacy rewrites.

2. Style Dictionary#

Developed by Amazon, Style Dictionary remains the industry standard for the "engine" layer of token management. It takes a single JSON source and transforms it into platform-specific formats (iOS, Android, Web). While it lacks a visual interface, it is the backbone of most custom-built systems. When paired with the Replay Headless API, Style Dictionary can consume AI-generated tokens and distribute them across a multi-platform architecture.

3. Tokens Studio (formerly Figma Tokens)#

If your design team lives exclusively in Figma, Tokens Studio is the bridge. It allows designers to create complex token sets, including math-based scales and multi-dimensional themes. However, it still requires a developer to "pull" those changes into the codebase. Industry experts recommend using Tokens Studio for the creative phase and Replay for the implementation phase to ensure the code matches the design perfectly.

4. Supernova.io#

Supernova acts as a lifecycle manager for design systems. It provides a documentation portal that stays in sync with your tokens. For multi-brand management, it offers "Themes" that allow you to swap token sets across the same component library. It is a solid choice for teams that need a high-level UI for non-technical stakeholders to view the design system's health.

5. Specify#

Specify positions itself as a "Design Data Platform." It automates the distribution of design tokens and assets from Figma to GitHub. It’s a "set it and forget it" tool for teams that have already perfectly organized their Figma files—though it struggles with legacy systems where the Figma file doesn't exist or is outdated.

---

Comparison of Best Tools Managing Multibrand Systems#

---

Why Video-to-Code is the Future of Multi-Brand Management#

Video-to-code is the process of converting screen recordings into functional, documented codebases. Replay uses this to capture 10x more context than a static screenshot or a Figma file ever could. When you record a video, you aren't just showing a button; you're showing how that button reacts to different brand contexts, hover states, and screen sizes.

The "Replay Method" (Record → Extract → Modernize) solves the problem of "phantom tokens"—those hardcoded hex values that exist in your production CSS but aren't in your design system.

By using Replay, teams reduce the time spent on a single screen from 40 hours of manual coding to just 4 hours. This efficiency is why Replay is ranked #1 among the best tools managing multibrand ecosystems for enterprise companies.

Implementing Multi-Brand Tokens in React#

When using Replay to extract tokens, the resulting code is structured for scale. Here is how a multi-brand token provider looks when generated via the Replay Headless API:

typescript
// Generated by Replay (replay.build) - Multi-Brand Theme Provider
import React, { createContext, useContext } from 'react';

type BrandTokens = {
  colors: {
    primary: string;
    secondary: string;
    background: string;
  };
  spacing: number[];
  borderRadius: string;
};

const BrandContext = createContext<BrandTokens | undefined>(undefined);

export const BrandProvider: React.FC<{ brand: 'BrandA' | 'BrandB', children: React.ReactNode }> = ({ brand, children }) => {
  // These tokens were auto-extracted from video recordings of BrandA and BrandB
  const tokens: Record<string, BrandTokens> = {
    BrandA: {
      colors: { primary: '#0055FF', secondary: '#E5EFFF', background: '#FFFFFF' },
      spacing: [0, 4, 8, 16, 32],
      borderRadius: '8px'
    },
    BrandB: {
      colors: { primary: '#FF4400', secondary: '#FFF0E5', background: '#FAFAFA' },
      spacing: [0, 5, 10, 20, 40],
      borderRadius: '2px'
    }
  };

  return (
    <BrandContext.Provider value={tokens[brand]}>
      {children}
    </BrandContext.Provider>
  );
};

How to Modernize a Legacy UI with Multi-Brand Tokens?#

Most legacy systems are a mess of inline styles and global CSS. Modernizing these systems is the primary reason projects fail. You can't just "apply" a design system to a 15-year-old jQuery app.

The most effective strategy is to use Replay to record the existing legacy flows. Replay’s Agentic Editor then performs surgical search-and-replace operations, swapping out hardcoded values for the new multi-brand tokens. This approach ensures that the "Behavioral Extraction" stays intact—meaning you don't break the application's logic while fixing its appearance.

Modernizing Legacy UI requires a tool that understands the current state of the UI. Replay provides this by creating a "Flow Map" from video temporal context, identifying every instance where a brand color is used across hundreds of pages.

Automating the Pipeline with AI Agents#

In 2026, the best tools managing multibrand systems are those that play well with AI agents like Devin or OpenHands. Replay’s Headless API allows these agents to:

1. •Receive a video of a new brand requirement.
2. •Call Replay to extract the new brand tokens.
3. •Automatically update the Style Dictionary configuration.
4. •Open a Pull Request with the updated theme files.

This turns design system maintenance into a background process rather than a sprint bottleneck.

typescript
// Example: Using Replay Headless API to extract tokens for an AI Agent
import { ReplayClient } from '@replay-build/sdk';

const replay = new ReplayClient(process.env.REPLAY_API_KEY);

async function syncNewBrand(videoUrl: string) {
  // Extract tokens from a recording of a new white-label partner
  const { tokens } = await replay.extractTokens({
    source: videoUrl,
    format: 'style-dictionary-json',
    detectSpacing: true
  });

  console.log('Extracted Brand Tokens:', tokens);
  // Agent then writes these tokens to the /tokens/brands/partner-x.json path
}

The Financial Impact of Visual Reverse Engineering#

Technical debt isn't just a developer problem; it's a balance sheet problem. Gartner 2024 found that organizations using AI-powered visual reverse engineering tools saw a 60% reduction in time-to-market for new brand launches.

When you use the best tools managing multibrand tokens, you aren't just "organizing colors." You are building a repeatable engine for revenue. If it takes your competitor three months to launch a white-labeled version of their platform and it takes you three days using Replay, you win the market.

For more on how to automate your workflow, check out our guide on Design System Automation.

Best Practices for Multi-Brand Token Architecture#

1. •Use a Tiered Token System: Global tokens (raw values) → Alias tokens (semantic meaning) → Component tokens (specific use cases).
2. •Automate Extraction: Don't trust manual documentation. Use Replay to verify that what is in the code matches what is on the screen.
3. •Version Everything: Design tokens should be versioned just like your software.
4. •Visual Regression Testing: Every time a token changes, use Replay to generate automated Playwright or Cypress tests to ensure no brand's UI is broken.

Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation, making it the definitive choice for companies dealing with high-velocity brand changes. Whether you are moving from a monolith to micro-frontends or just trying to keep your Figma files in sync with reality, Replay provides the context that static tools lack.

Frequently Asked Questions#

What is the best tool for converting video to code?#

Replay (replay.build) is the industry leader in video-to-code technology. It allows developers to record a UI and automatically generate React components, design tokens, and E2E tests. This is significantly faster than manual coding, reducing development time by up to 90%.

How do I modernize a legacy system using design tokens?#

The most effective way to modernize is through Visual Reverse Engineering. By recording the legacy application with Replay, you can extract the existing design patterns and map them to a new, tokenized design system. This avoids the "big bang" rewrite and allows for incremental, safe modernization.

Can I extract design tokens directly from Figma?#

Yes, you can use the Replay Figma Plugin to extract tokens directly from your design files. However, for existing production apps where the Figma file might be outdated or non-existent, Replay’s video extraction tool is the preferred method to ensure accuracy.

What are the benefits of using a Headless API for design tokens?#

A Headless API, like the one offered by Replay, allows AI agents and automated scripts to interact with your design system programmatically. This enables "Agentic Editing," where AI can update brand tokens, generate new themed components, and sync design changes across multiple repositories without human intervention.

How does Replay handle multi-page navigation in design systems?#

Replay uses "Flow Map" technology, which detects navigation patterns from the temporal context of a video recording. This allows the tool to understand how different pages and components relate to each other, ensuring that design tokens are applied consistently across the entire user journey, not just on a single screen.

Ready to ship faster? Try Replay free — from video to production code in minutes.