Instacart Ads Initiative: Our Continued Commitment to Underrepresented Brands in 2024

Amplifying CPG brands nationwide

With the launch of the Instacart Ads Initiative in 2021, we committed $1 million to support digital advertising for emerging Black-owned brands on Instacart. We expanded on that commitment in 2022, pledging an additional $1 million to CPG brands owned by women. In 2024, we’re relaunching the Ads Initiative to support a new cohort of 250 underrepresented brands. 

The Instacart Ads Initiative builds on our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Belonging. At Instacart, Diversity, Equity and Belonging encompasses increasing representation, fostering career development and opportunities, and supporting social impact initiatives that uplift our communities, and ensuring we design products that are accessible to everyone. 

Two brands that have used the Ads Initiative are Golden Krust and Twrl Milk Tea. With the ads credit available through the Ads Initiative, Golden Krust and Twrl Milk Tea reached new customers, drove business results, and amplified their products across the Instacart Marketplace.

Golden Krust expanded their customer base

Golden Krust, the largest Caribbean restaurant chain in the United States, sells ready-to-eat Jamaican patties in more than 21,000 grocery stores nationwide. The brand joined the Ads Initiative in 2022 to access the ad credit for underrepresented grocery retail brands — and attract new customers.

By leveraging Instacart’s scale and resources from the Ads Initiative, Golden Krust designed ads that increased visibility on the Instacart Marketplace, drove new customer trial periods, and helped convert trials to routine purchase behaviors. 

As a result, Golden Krust reported a sales lift on Instacart and continues to pursue their goal of sharing authentic, cherished flavors of the Caribbean with customers nationwide.

“The Ads Initiative program has allowed us to expand our customer base and bring the taste of the Caribbean to the world.” — Steven Clarke, Vice President of Marketing, Golden Krust

Twrl Milk Tea drove ROAS

Twrl Milk Tea creates cafe-style, grab-and-go teas with sustainable ingredients that authentically represent Chinese and Taiwanese culture. They joined the Ads Initiative in 2022 to leverage the ad credit for underrepresented grocery retail brands. 

Along the way, Twrl Milk Tea connected with an Instacart Ads account manager who empowered them to differentiate their brand in market. They worked with that manager to launch a buy 3, get $1 off campaign on the Instacart Marketplace. The resulting engagement drove up Twrl Milk Tea’s sales — and increased their ROAS to 1.6.

Twrl Milk Tea used resources from the Ads Initiative to scale their beverage brand with a growing consumer base — and emphasize the cultural significance of food. 

“We ourselves are Instacart customers, so we know the value of convenience and find the shopping experience wonderful. Advertising on Instacart is a key part of our strategy to reach consumers.” — Olivia Chen, Co-founder, Twrl Milk Tea

Our commitment to amplifying brands

Both Golden Krust and Twrl Milk Tea’s success stories demonstrate the power that ad credits have to amplify underrepresented grocery retail brands with customers nationwide. This amplification is the primary goal of the Ads Initiative, and we’re proud to continue this effort with our latest cohort of brands.

The Instacart Ads Initiative empowers brands with an advertising credit they can use on Instacart Ads products up to 12 months after receipt. Brands like Golden Krust and Twrl Milk Tea see powerful results from the Initiative, and often continue using Instacart Ads in their marketing strategies. 

Instacart Ads offers CPG brands of all sizes an equal advertising opportunity with prominent placement among the millions of items available from Instacart’s more than 1,500 national, regional and local retailers. We’re committed to creating more equitable outcomes for emerging entrepreneurs in the CPG space by helping them drive growth on our platform. 

If your brand is eligible for the Instacart Ads Initiative, head to http://ads.instacart.com to sign up for an Ads Manager account and submit your interest. 

Save the Date! Ads Initiative 2024 Summer Virtual Summit

When: August 9, 2024

Time: 12-3 PM ET

Stay tuned for an email containing a registration link for all Ads Initiative participants. Not part of the program yet? No worries! There’s still time to join. Apply for the Ads Initiative 2024 cohort here!

About the Summit: 

Get ready for an engaging experience! On Friday, August 9th, Instacart is hosting a one-day summit webinar! Dive into a variety of exciting topics, including Instacart Ads 101, retailer insights, and unlocking possibilities using Instacart data. Spend the day with Instacart leadership and discover how we can partner to grow your CPG brand using the Instacart platform!

The Instacart Ads Initiative (“Program”) is open to the first 215 brands on a first come first serve submissions for Black-owned or women-owned, CPG brands who have not previously participated in the Program who sign up prior to Program annual Launch date of March 11, 2024 (“Brands”).  There will only be one cohort of Brands in the Program each calendar year.  The Program provides a one thousand dollar ($1,000) one-time ad credit redeemable for self-service advertising products only on Instacart.com.  Ad Credit is valid for one year from date of issuance (“Expiration Date”).  Unused balance of the Ad Credit will not roll over after the Expiration Date, or be redeemable for cash at any time.  Brands are responsible for payment of any ad spend on Instacart.com that exceeds the Ad Credit. Ad campaigns on Instacart.com are subject to the standard Instacart Advertising Terms & Conditions.  The Program may also provide additional benefits at Instacart’s sole discretion and are not guaranteed.  Terms of the Program are subject to change at Instacart’s sole discretion at any time.  

Instacart

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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.