Dive Brief:

• Instacart has partnered with Pressed, a maker of cold-pressed juice and plant-based snacks, to provide e-commerce fulfillment for the brand in areas where it has stores, according to information in an emailed announcement last week and from an Instacart spokesperson.
• Pressed is now available for delivery in as fast as an hour through Instacart in Southern California and in Dallas, Houston and Austin, Texas, and plans to expand the partnership “in the coming months.”
• Instacart’s latest pilot comes at a time when the e-commerce company is looking to diversify the offerings on its platform.

Dive Insight:

Instacart’s latest digital storefront pilot builds on its work to diversify its fulfillment partnerships and boost brands’ ability to reach consumers.

Pressed’s selection on Instacart includes cold-pressed juices, smoothies, juice shots and cleanses, non-dairy beverages and plant-based snacks. A search on the storefront for customers in Dallas, Texas, reveals dark chocolate bars for $3.55, juice blend bottles for $7.25 and a six-juice cleanse for $43.

Instacart has been adding non-grocery retailers to its e-commerce marketplace in recent years, and now delivers from office supply, pet and home goods stores, among others. The company has also been adding standalone storefronts for food and beverage brands. In late 2020, Instacart launched The Wine Shop with wine bundles to shoppers in 39 states and Washington, D.C., with alcohol e-commerce platform Drinks. Last June, Instacart added a virtual storefront for online meat seller ButcherBox and then a few months later, brought subscription-free meal kits and ready-made meals from Sunbasket to its marketplace. 

In January, Instacart unveiled CPG brand pages that function as digital storefronts where shoppers can buy products from their most recently shopped retailer as part of its new advertising capabilities for brands.

The new storefronts are one of several new revenue streams for Instacart as it faces slowing growth and mounting competition from the likes of Uber and DoorDash. Instacart now offers services like customer data insights and dark store operations for retailers. It has also deepened its focus on selling digital ads to brands.

The new storefront broadens Pressed’s customer reach to users who find the brand on Instacart. Along with Instacart and the brand’s online shop, people can also buy Pressed products at its juiceries across the country, including locations in Hawaii, California and Texas. 

Brands that normally require a subscription, like Sunbasket, are also turning to Instacart and other e-commerce marketplaces to test out offerings and reach new customers and offer one-time purchases. Blue Apron, for example, recently announced its meal kits are now available without a subscription on Walmart.com.