Instacart ad program highlights Black-owned CPG brands

Instacart has kicked off a $1 million advertising drive to spotlight Black-owned consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands in its online marketplace.

Under the effort, announced Thursday, San Francisco-based Instacart said it will offer Black-owned CPG brands prominent ad placement in the Instacart marketplace’s “digital aisles.” The on-demand delivery giant noted that the initiative will extend the reach of these brands to a wider audience, with exposure among millions of items available from its 600-plus national, regional and local retailer partners, spanning grocery, convenience and other retail categories.

Instacart said the program marks its first initiative to support emerging Black-owned brands directly within the Instacart marketplace by leveraging its advertising products and services, including Instacart Ads.

“As the largest online grocery platform in North America, our marketplace features millions of products for customers to discover while they shop online from their favorite retailers. As our service grows, we believe Instacart has a unique opportunity to further amplify Black-owned and Black-led brand partners in the digital aisles,” commented Seth Dallaire, chief revenue officer at Instacart. “We want Instacart Ads to make a lasting impact on the CPG ecosystem by equipping emerging Black-owned brands with the tools, resources and investment needed to excel in online grocery. This is just a first step as we continue to focus on delivering equitable outcomes for historically underrepresented entrepreneurs and brands and create more opportunities for more companies to flourish.”

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Currently, Instacart Ads offers self-service and managed ad services for over 2,500 CPG brands, helping companies of all sizes connect with online grocery shoppers. Under the new program, eligible Black-owned brands will receive Instacart Ads credits to use with the company’s flagship Featured Products offering throughout 2021.

Instacart is establishing new resources for Black-owned brands, including a designated team focused on supporting participating brands and a monthly training series aimed at helping brands maximize the impact of their ad campaigns.

“I am excited to build upon our partnership with Instacart through this initiative,” Denise Woodard, founder and CEO of Partake Foods, said in a statement. “To create systemic diversity, equity and inclusiveness within the CPG food and beverage space, it’s imperative that more companies show this kind of action-oriented support to underrepresented founders. I'm grateful that Instacart is taking this step and hope it inspires even more companies with similar platforms to follow.”

Instacart said it’s also establishing new resources for brands, including a designated team focused on supporting participating brands and a monthly training series aimed at helping brands maximize the impact of their ad campaigns.

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“It’s encouraging to see companies within the grocery industry invest in Black-owned brands at scale. As a founder, I know that it can be extremely costly to start a CPG business, especially in the world of distilling, and initiatives like Instacart’s can help reduce systemic barriers to entry for brands to grow new audiences and thrive online,” stated Fawn Weaver, founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest. “At a company level, Uncle Nearest consistently invests in the entrepreneurial community, and we’re looking forward to joining a group of BIPOC-owned brands to reach more people in Instacart’s digital aisles.”

Under the new program, eligible Black-owned brands such as Capital City and A Dozen Cousins will receive Instacart Ads credits to use with the company’s flagship Featured Products offering throughout 2021.

The Instacart Ads suite serves up advertising products anchored by its Featured Product offering, including Delivery Promotions, Coupons and Hero Banners. The Featured Product, Instacart said, is designed to give brand partners premium digital shelf space with browse, discovery and search placements in high-visibility areas across its marketplace.

With Featured Product, advertisers can lift sales, boost trial and awareness, grow category share and manage campaigns in a self-service portal, according to Instacart. 

“Food is an integral part of culture and identity, and part of our mission with Capital City is to share a taste of Washington, D.C. with consumers across America,” Arsha Jones, founder of Capital City, said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to partnering with Instacart to broaden our reach and engage with even more people in the digital aisles. We’re excited to see this investment to amplify the innovative work Black-owned brands are doing in the CPG food industry.”

North America’s largest third-party online grocery platform, Instacart offers delivery and pickup from nearly 55,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities. Its delivery service reaches 85% of U.S. households and 70% of Canadian households.

“We’re always looking for partners that align with our mission to inspire families of all backgrounds to eat better food and live longer, more vibrant lives. It’s important for us to connect and engage with customers in various ways – especially in the digital grocery aisles,” commented Ibraheem Basir, founder and CEO of A Dozen Cousins. “We’re proud to partner on this new advertising initiative and see Instacart investing in a community of brands transforming the grocery industry.”