Bachan’s + Instacart — A Growing Partnership

In this success story about working with Instacart Ads, we spotlight Bachan’s approach combining traditional recipes with online marketing

Bachan’s was founded in 2019 by Justin Gill to take his family’s multi-generational recipes for Japanese barbecue sauce to market. Their barbecue sauce was originally brewed in batches by his family to give out to clients of their landscaping business. But Justin saw the potential for more and started Bachan’s to bring the sauce to market at scale while sticking to the integrity of the recipe and making sauces that represented his family’s heritage.

All their sauces are cold-filled, using just ten simple ingredients, with no preservatives or artificial flavors, so the bold, fresh, umami flavor shines through in every bite. This approach has resonated with their customers and initially made Bachan’s a successful direct-to-consumer business, before the company set additional goals for itself. 

“We knew a lot of our customers shopped online and so a lot of our advertising dollars were invested online,” said Chase Novelich, Director of eCommerce, Bachan’s. “Instacart fits in seamlessly but with the added benefit of being right at the point of purchase. We can hit the customers as they’re making a purchase decision.” 

While it’s some of our largest brand partners who often generate the most talked about campaigns, like Michelob Ultra did with this shoppable TV commercial, it can be the less heralded, hard-working brands like Bachan’s who are generating the more dramatic transformations for their businesses.

When you consider the story arc of Bachan’s, their success is remarkable. The recipes originated with the founder’s grandmother, who passed down the family recipe to her grandson, Justin, forming the foundation for his successful business.

“We went all-in on advertising with Instacart and it has paid off in a big way. We have seen major, profitable growth month-over-month for over a year now,” said Chase. “This has been super important for us. We don’t see slowing down with Instacart.” 

It’s important for Bachan’s that they grow profitably and not just seek growth for growth’s sake, and the reporting and insights Instacart provides gives them the confidence to do so, scaling their investments month over month. And with the ease of use of Ads Manager, Instacart’s self-service portal to manage ad campaigns, they can easily adjust and manage their campaigns on the fly. 

Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Looking to advertise with Instacart? Get started here. 

Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce is used as a marinade, dip, or finishing sauce and comes in 3 flavors – Original, Hot & Spicy, and Yuzu. They also produce a Gluten-Free version of their Original To learn more, visit bachans.com.

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Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.