Published on October 8th, 2021 📆 | 3970 Views ⚑
0Instacart Acquires FoodStorm, Order-Ahead and Catering Technology
With this acquisition, Instacart is expanding its enterprise technology portfolio to further support its retail partnersâ ecommerce needs, investing in more innovative technology solutions that help retailers.
Instacart, an online grocery platform in North America, announced its acquisition of FoodStorm, a SaaS order management system (OMS) that powers end-to-end order-ahead and catering experiences for grocery retailers. With this acquisition, Instacart is expanding its enterprise technology portfolio to further support its retail partnersâ ecommerce needs, investing in more innovative technology solutions that help retailers grow, compete and better meet the evolving needs of their customers.
FoodStorm has developed a comprehensive SaaS offering that covers multi-channel ordering â ecommerce, phone or in-store kiosk â order management, and payment and fulfillment. Its technology also integrates easily with a large variety of third-party systems including point of sale systems (POS) and offers customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities that help grocers collect feedback, market their offerings and leverage promotional features.
FoodStorm was founded 14 years ago and has developed strong partnerships with a number of Instacartâs existing retail partners, including Albertsons Companies banners Balducciâs and Kings Food Markets, as well as Bi-Rite Market, Mollie Stoneâs Markets, Uncle Giuseppeâs and Roche Brothers Supermarkets. Looking ahead, Instacart will make FoodStormâs technology available to more retailers through Instacartâs enterprise technology offering. In addition to acquiring FoodStormâs technology and tools, Instacart is also excited to welcome the talented FoodStorm team, which is based in the U.S. and Melbourne, Australia, to Instacart.
âAs a retailer enablement platform, Instacart is focused on growing our partnersâ businesses by investing in innovative new technologies and services that deliver significant value to them and their customers,â said Mark Schaaf, chief technology officer of Instacart. âOur goal is to help our retail partners increase their sales and ensure more of their customersâ everyday meals come from the grocery store. Thatâs why weâre excited to welcome the talented FoodStorm team to Instacart and integrate their end-to-end order-ahead and catering platform into Instacartâs leading enterprise offering. For retailers, this new enterprise solution helps them bring even more of their inventory online, enhance their ecommerce capabilities, grow their business and meet the evolving needs of their customers. And, for customers, this unlocks a healthier, more affordable alternative to restaurant delivery â creating an easier way for people to order prepared foods online directly from their favorite grocers.â
Order-ahead technology solutions provide grocery retailers with a significant growth opportunity. On the Instacart platform, customers who purchase prepared foods and catering items like hot and cold side dishes, cakes and sushi from the grocery store have significantly larger baskets and shop more frequently than those customers who do not. For retailers, order-ahead items and prepared foods are also typically more profitable than traditional groceries like produce and package goods.
âIâm incredibly proud of what the FoodStorm team has achieved for our partners. Weâve 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 weâve seen increased demand for our products as more customers are searching for seamless online and in-store ordering capabilities,â said Rob Hill, FoodStorm CEO. âGrocery 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. Weâre 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.â
Instacartâs enterprise technology today powers the comprehensive ecommerce platforms of more than 175 local, regional and national grocers across North America, including Costco Canada, Heinenâs, Sprouts, The Fresh Market and Wegmans. Instacart first began offering enterprise technology to grocery partners in 2017. Since then, the company has continued to make significant investments in its enterprise business, scaling its engineering team and developing new technologies for grocers.
Instacart shoppers offer same-day delivery and pickup services to bring fresh groceries and everyday essentials to busy people and families across the U.S. and Canada. Instacart has partnered with more than 600 national, regional and local retailers, including unique brand names, to deliver from nearly 55,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America.
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