SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Instacart has seen strong, continued growth since it began offering its enterprise technology to grocers back in 2017. Since then, the company has unveiled pivotal investments to scale its team and bring new technologies to the market for retailers. Continuing its growth strategy, Instacart has revealed the recent acquisition of FoodStorm, a SaaS order management system that provides retailers with end-to-end order-ahead and catering experiences.

“As a retailer enablement platform, Instacart is focused on growing our partners’ businesses by investing in innovative new technologies and services that deliver significant value to them and their customers,” said Mark Schaaf, Chief Technology Officer, Instacart. “Our goal is to help our retail partners increase their sales and ensure more of their customers’ everyday meals come from the grocery store. That’s why we’re excited to welcome the talented FoodStorm team to Instacart and integrate their end-to-end order-ahead and catering platform into Instacart’s leading enterprise offering.”

Through this acquisition, Instacart will be able to expand its enterprise technology portfolio to further support its retail partners’ e-commerce needs, as noted in a press release, and invest in more innovative technology solutions that help retailers grow, compete, and meet the evolving needs of their customers.

FoodStorm creates a seamless experience for consumers and retailers through its comprehensive SaaS offering, which covers multi-channel ordering such as phone, e-commerce, or in-store kiosk, as well as order management and payment and fulfillment. FoodStorm’s technology is easily integrated with a variety of third-party systems, including POS systems and customer relationship management capabilities to allow grocers to collect feedback, market their offerings, and announce promotional features.

“For retailers, this new enterprise solution helps them bring even more of their inventory online, enhance their e-commerce capabilities, grow their business, and meet the evolving needs of their customers,” Schaaf continued. “And, for customers, this unlocks a healthier, more affordable alternative to restaurant delivery—creating an easier way for people to order prepared foods online directly from their favorite grocers.”

Since its inception 14 years ago, FoodStorm has developed strong alliances with a number of Instacart’s existing retail partners, such as Albertsons Companies banners Balducci’s and Kings Food Markets, as well as Bi-Rite Market, Mollie Stone’s Markets, Uncle Giuseppe’s, and Roche Brothers Supermarkets. As a result of the acquisition, Instacart will work to make the company’s technology available to even more retailers. Instacart’s enterprise technology today powers the comprehensive e-commerce platforms of over 175 local, regional, and national grocers across North America, including Costco Canada, Heinen’s, Sprouts Farmers Market, The Fresh Market, Wegmans, and more.

In addition to the acquisition of the innovator’s tools and technology, Instacart has also welcomed the FoodStorm team, based in the U.S. and Melbourne, Australia, to the Instacart family.

“I’m incredibly proud of what the FoodStorm team has achieved for our partners. We’ve developed market-leading software that makes it easier for grocers to execute on prepared food and catering orders more efficiently, and track everything from one central location. This is a huge growth opportunity for grocers, and we’ve seen increased demand for our products as more customers are searching for seamless online and in-store ordering capabilities,” said FoodStorm Chief Executive Officer Rob Hill. “Grocery is an incredibly complex retail category, making the need for enterprise-grade solutions like FoodStorm and Instacart critical to the long-term success of the industry we all rely on to put food on our tables. We’re excited about this next chapter as we join the Instacart team and create new ways for retailers to serve the ever-changing needs of their businesses and customers.”

As Instacart continues to forge new strategies to boost retail success, keep an eye out for the latest updates from AndNowUKnow.

Instacart FoodStorm