Dive Brief:

• Supervalu has signed an exclusive multiyear deal with Instacart to provide updated e-commerce sites for its four retail banners, according to a news release. 
• The retailer/wholesaler, which has partnered with Instacart since 2015, will feature branded "Powered by Instacart" websites for its Cub Foods, Shop 'n Save, Farm Fresh Food and Pharmacy and Shoppers Food and Pharmacy. The sites will eventually integrate digital coupons, loyalty rewards and other innovations.
• Supervalu will also soon begin offering click and collect through Instacart, according to the release. A spokeswoman for Instacart declined to specify where and when this rollout would take place.

Dive Insight:

Supervalu does most of its business through its wholesaling division, but it's also focused on improving sales at its nearly 300 retail stores.

The company recently promoted former Target executive Anne Dament, who oversaw a wave of private label launches and the rollout of the company's new Quick & Easy Meals this year, to head up its retail division. In the Twin Cities, where Supervalu's Cub Foods banner is under pressure from a host of competitors, including Target and Hy-Vee, the company has focused on updating its stores, with recent remodels adding foodie touches like juice bars, burrito stands and make-your-own trail mix stations.

With its updated Instacart agreement, Supervalu addresses a key concern for retailers that partner with third-party services: branding. Through Instacart's "Power by" service, grocers build a standalone site and custom URL that emphasizes their company logo and other elements.

For instance, Kroger's QFC banner, which just inked a similar deal with Instacart, features a "delivery" tab on its main page that links shoppers to the retailer’s custom ordering site.

For Instacart, this comes as yet another retailer partnership in what's been a banner year for the company. In the wake of Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods, Instacart capitalized on grocers' e-commerce anxiety, signing dozens of deals that took it from just 30 markets at the beginning of this year to more than 150.

"The acquisition was a wake-up call to all grocers that having an e-commerce strategy is critical," Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta recently wrote in an email to Food Dive.

Supervalu, on the other hand, is under significant pressure to improve its retail sales. Investment fund Blackwells Capital, which owns a 3.6% stake in the company, recently sent a letter to Supervalu leadership asking them to sell roughly one-third of their stores and add new members to its board and management team, including a new CFO. Supervalu's stock price currently sits just below $20, and has steadily declined from a high of $83.30 in April 2015.