Retail media for CPG operators
Practical frameworks built on real account work — covering Instacart ROAS, Amazon Ads, and retail media waste diagnostics for CPG operators who run their own programs.
24 posts for “Instacart” — clear
RISE Kombucha: How Two Montreal Friends Brewed Canada's #1 Kombucha From a Vegan Restaurant (Maple Made #020)
RISE Kombucha is the Montreal brand that started in 2008 as Crudessence Kombucha, brewed by friends Mathieu Gallant and David Côté for their vegan restaurant. The face-to-face restaurant start, the first one-litre kombucha bottle in North America, the certified organic and unpasteurized recipe, the 2012 rebrand to RISE, and the climb to Canada's best-selling kombucha. Sold at Loblaws, Walmart, Sobeys, and on Instacart Canada.
Nonna Pia's: How a Whistler Chef Turned a Trip to Italy Into a Costco-Famous Balsamic Glaze (Maple Made #019)
Nonna Pia's is the Whistler, BC brand founded in 2010 by Red Seal chef Norm Strim and his wife Natasha. The trip-to-Italy origin, the farmers'-market start, the slow-simmered true reduction made from IGP balsamic from Modena, the Dragons' Den pitch, and the climb to a national Costco staple. Sold at Costco, Walmart Canada, and on Instacart.
Nature's Path: How a Vancouver Restaurant Founder Built North America's Largest Family-Owned Organic Cereal Company (Maple Made #018)
Nature's Path is the Richmond, BC organic breakfast brand founded in 1985 by Arran and Ratana Stephens, who started with one loaf of Manna Bread. The vegetarian-restaurant origin, the ancient-grain Heritage Flakes, the climb to North America's #1 organic breakfast company, the owned organic farmland, the 40 years still family-owned, and where to buy it. Sold at Loblaws, Costco, Whole Foods, and on Instacart Canada.
Blume: How a Vancouver Real Estate Manager Bootstrapped a Superfood Latte Brand Into 1,500+ Stores (Maple Made #016)
Blume is the Vancouver superfood latte brand founded in 2017 by Karen Danudjaja, who quit commercial real estate to sell powdered, low-sugar latte blends. The café-jitters origin, the bootstrapped run to millions in sales, the $2M raise that closed in five weeks, the Whole Foods and Loblaws rollout, the move into Target, and where to buy it. On Instacart Canada.
Partake Brewing: How a Crohn's Diagnosis Led to Canada's Leading Non-Alcoholic Craft Beer (Maple Made #015)
Partake Brewing is the Calgary-founded non-alcoholic craft beer brand started in 2017 by Ted Fleming after Crohn's disease forced him to quit alcohol. The 10-calorie IPA, the World Beer Awards wins, the B Corp mission, and where to buy it. Sold at Sobeys, Loblaws, Whole Foods, Walmart, and on Instacart Canada.
Peace by Chocolate: The Syrian Refugee Family That Rebuilt a Chocolate Factory in Nova Scotia (Maple Made #014)
Peace by Chocolate is the Antigonish, Nova Scotia chocolate brand founded in 2016 by the Hadhad family after fleeing Syria. The bombed Damascus factory, the Antigonish welcome, the Trudeau UN speech, the 2021 film, and where to buy it. Sold at Sobeys, Loblaws, 1,000+ stores, and on Instacart Canada.
Sapsucker: How a Farm Family Turned Maple Sap Into Sparkling Tree Water (Maple Made #013)
Sapsucker is an organic sparkling tree water made from Canadian maple sap, founded in 2015 in Flesherton, Ontario by Nancy and Paul Chapman. No added sugar, backed by Arlene Dickinson's District Ventures Capital, and sold at Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, Whole Foods, Costco, and on Instacart Canada.
MadeGood: How a Canadian Family Built an Allergen-Free Organic Snack Brand for Every Lunchbox (Maple Made #011)
MadeGood is a Greater Toronto Area organic snack brand founded in 2013 by Nima Fotovat with his wife Ladan and his sisters Sahba and Salma. Certified Organic, Non-GMO, school-safe, and made in a dedicated nut-free facility. Sold at Walmart Canada, Loblaws, Sobeys, Whole Foods, Costco, and on Instacart Canada.
Mid-Day Squares: How Three Siblings Built a Montreal Chocolate Brand by Documenting Every Day in Public (Maple Made #010)
Mid-Day Squares is a Montreal refrigerated functional chocolate brand founded by siblings Jake Karls and Lezlie Karls with co-founder Nick Saltarelli. Vertically integrated, founder-led, and sold across Canada at Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, Whole Foods, Walmart Canada, and on Instacart Canada.
Three Farmers: How Three Saskatchewan Farming Families Built a National Pulse Snack Brand (Maple Made #009)
Three Farmers Foods is a Saskatoon-based snack brand built by three prairie farming families and led by sister CEOs Natasha and Elysia Vandenhurk. Roasted Crunchy Little Peas, lentils, and Camelina Oil — stocked at Sobeys, Loblaws, Save-On-Foods, Walmart Canada, and on Instacart Canada.
Acid League: How Two Guelph Food Scientists Turned Vinegar Into a 3,000-Store Pantry Brand (Maple Made #008)
Acid League is a Toronto pantry brand making living vinegars, non-alcoholic Wine Proxy, hot sauces, and shrubs. Co-founder Cole Pearsall made Forbes 30 Under 30. Stocked in 3,000+ stores across Canada and the US, including Loblaws, Whole Foods, Walmart, and Instacart Canada.
Evive Nutrition: The Quebec Frozen Smoothie Cube Brand That Won All Five Dragons (Maple Made #007)
Evive Nutrition makes frozen smoothie cubes sold in 5,000+ stores across Canada, including Instacart, Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Metro, and Sobeys.
Comeback Snacks: The Hamilton Popcorn Brand Born Inside a Prison Cell (Maple Made #006)
Comeback Snacks is a Hamilton, Ontario specialty popcorn brand founded by Emily O'Brien after her release from prison in 2018. Mission-driven, Instacart-native, available at Loblaws, Walmart, and Sobeys across Canada. 2025 Sobeys Diversity Award winner.
Sushi Pocket: Inside the Canadian Frozen Brand That Cracked Sushi for the Grocery Aisle (Maple Made #005)
Sushi Pocket by Goodwave Technology is a Canadian frozen sushi brand — Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards finalist, available at Loblaws, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, and Instacart Canada.
Benny: Inside the BC Energy Drink That Made Forbes 30 Under 30 and Hit 500+ Canadian Stores (Maple Made #004)
Benny is a BC energy drink made with yerba mate and adaptogens by two UVic grads. Forbes 30 Under 30 2026. In 500+ Canadian stores and on Instacart Canada.
Dose Juice: How a Montreal Couple Built Canada's Female-Founded Organic Cold-Pressed Juice Brand (Maple Made #003)
A Montreal couple cold-pressing in their Old-Port kitchen turned Dose Juice into a certified-organic brand stocked at Costco, Walmart, Metro, Whole Foods, IGA, and across roughly 18 SKUs on Instacart Canada.
How to Measure Blended ROAS Across Instacart, Meta, and Google
Blended ROAS is total attributed revenue divided by total ad spend across Instacart, Meta, and Google. How CPG brands should calculate it, avoid common mistakes, and use it for weekly budget decisions.
Retail Media Reporting Template for CPG Founders
A weekly retail media reporting template for founder-led CPG brands spending on Instacart, Amazon, Walmart Connect, or Loblaw Advance. Track spend, revenue, ROAS, NTB percent, and CPC in one view.
How to Track New-to-Brand on Instacart
New-to-Brand on Instacart shows whether your ads are reaching shoppers who have not recently bought your brand. How founder-led CPG brands should read NTB in Ads Manager and use it with ROAS.
What Is a Good Instacart ROAS for CPG Brands?
A practical operating ladder for CPG brands: under 2x means fix the system, 2x–3x is workable, 3x–4x is healthy, and 4x+ is strong enough to protect before scaling.
How to Improve Instacart ROAS for Founder-Led CPG Brands
Most stuck accounts fail in three boring places: structure, budget allocation, and reporting. A 30-day recovery framework for founder-led brands.
Instacart Advertising for Snack Brands
Snack brands underperform on Instacart when they spread budget across too many products. How to pick hero SKUs, set budget rules, and avoid early-stage over-diversification.
Instacart Advertising for Beverage Brands
For beverage brands, Instacart works best when media and promotions move together. How to coordinate spend, product focus, and promo timing for better efficiency.
Instacart vs Amazon Ads for Emerging CPG Brands
If your CPG brand is already stocked in grocery, Instacart usually gives a cleaner demand signal than Amazon. A framework for deciding where to put your first paid media budget.
From the community
Curated weekly from r/InstacartAds, r/Google_Ads, and r/DigitalMarketing.
CPG digital ad recommendations
Marketers sharing channel recommendations for CPG brands — where to spend, what benchmarks to target, and which platforms deliver real retail lift.
Open thread →r/Google_AdsHow is CPC 10x less on Google-generated ads?
Discussion on why AI-generated Google ads can show dramatically lower CPCs and whether the quality of traffic actually holds up for conversion campaigns.
Open thread →r/InstacartAdsI tested Instacart Acquire (New-to-Brand) with optimized bidding
Real-world test results from running Instacart's Acquire NTB campaign type with optimized bidding — including ROAS, NTB rate, and spend efficiency findings.
Open thread →r/InstacartAdsDoes optimized or autobidding on Instacart actually work?
Operators comparing manual bidding vs. autobid on Instacart campaigns — sharing spend data and whether ceding bid control improves or hurts efficiency.
Open thread →Want a second opinion on your retail media program?
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