While I’m working on a long-form piece on the Connected Vehicle rule, there’s plenty of interesting news this week on the EV, drone and delivery fronts. Before we get to that, I’m rerunning my recent Modern Delivery story on Instacart’s novel marketing push.
It was a hot summer evening, as a curious friend and I gathered at Chain’s Virgil Village studio. Founded by B.J. Novak in 2022, Chain quickly made a name for itself thanks to inventive food-focused pop-ups, collaborating with nostalgic names like Pizza Hut, Red Lobster and Jack in the Box. But this gathering was a bit different, as Chain had teamed up with Instacart, alongside Chef Frankie Gaw and a roster of CPG brands, to put together “Cart Classics” — a dinner party inside a faux grocery store, where the experience at the table seemed largely designed for later consumption on social media. Afterwards, I chatted with Jamie Baron, Director and Head of Instacart Ads Studio, to get all the details on the 3PD’s inventive marketing initiative.
Jonah Bliss: Let’s start with the pitch, what was the vision for the “Instacart & Chain: Cart Classics” campaign?
Jamie Baron: As economic uncertainty weighs on everyday life, people are reaching for comfort and familiarity, turning to the dishes that transport them back to a childhood kitchen table. But at the same time, we live in a modern world where social media, inspiration from creators, and convenience are all incredibly important. Cart Classics was built at the intersection of that tension. We asked ourselves how we could bring people the nostalgia and comfort they are craving but with a modern twist.
We tapped Chef Frankie Gaw, whose “Turning American Classics Asian” series sits squarely at that intersection, to reimagine five iconic comfort dishes using everyday CPG staples. The result is a shoppable content engine that meets consumers exactly where they are: craving something that feels like home, discovering it on their feed, and adding it to their cart in one tap. All five recipes are now live on Instacart, amplified across social, in-app, and email. One pop-up dinner in LA turned into an ongoing cultural moment for grocery brands, with Instacart delivering these recipes to customers’ front doors in as fast as an hour.
How did something like this come together? Who came up with the initial idea — Instacart, Chain, Chef Frankie Gaw?
It was collaborative. Chain, co-founded by B.J. Novak and award-winning chef Tim Hollingsworth, knows how to build a pop-up food experience better than anyone. Their relationships with talented chefs and deep network of culinary tastemakers and creators were something we couldn’t replicate on our own. On our end, the big question was: who’s the right chef and which CPGs would be a natural fit? Once Chain recommended Frankie and we saw his modern takes on culinary classics, we knew he was the right choice. Once Frankie was in, the concept locked: reimagine iconic comfort food using everyday CPG staples, make it feel elevated and a little unexpected, and make every recipe shoppable. We brought the new opportunity to our CPG partners and quickly engaged Belgian Boys, Maruchan, Siete, and Tabasco – they each came on for different reasons, but were excited about authentically incorporating their brands into this first-of-its-kind pop-up for Instacart.
Who was the campaign ultimately for: the people attending the dinner, Instacart shoppers that might see it all happen on social, or the CPG partners in your ecosystem? What behavior were you trying to impact?
The goal of this campaign was ultimately to make these recipes accessible for as many people as possible. We know that consumers are busy, so we thought about how we could bring them inspiration, fun and engaging content, easy to follow recipes, and the convenience of delivery all in one. The dinner served as a launch moment, with creators and VIPs sharing their experience with their followers. This was followed by social content from Chef Frankie and Instacart, in-app features, and emails straight to user’s inboxes. Our goal was to serve up inspiration from an amazing social-forward chef, but instead of just watching the content, we wanted to make people feel like it was possible to recreate at home with items they can easily find in a grocery store. The goal was to make the gap between “that looks amazing” and “I’m actually making it tonight” basically disappear. And for our CPG partners, this was a chance to show up somewhere completely new. We’re taking grocery staples people already know and love and putting them in an unexpected context. That’s an exciting story for a brand like Belgian Boys or Maruchan to tell.
This event brought together some interesting CPG brands — household names like Tabasco and up and comers like Belgian Boys — how did you get them involved?
We let the concept do most of the selling. The brief was clear: nostalgic comfort food, modern culinary take, unexpected ingredient pairings. From there it was about finding brands that could tell an authentic story inside that frame and then we actually asked them what they were excited about rather than just assigning them a slot.
Maruchan, for instance, loves to tap into the foodie space, while Belgian Boys is a newer brand eager to find ways to reach consumers beyond their usual audience of parents. This was a real chance for them to show up in social and experiential in a bigger way. Instacart Ads Studio works with over 9,000 CPG brands, so creating moments where an emerging brand can stand next to a household name and hold its own is something we’re built to do.
From a logistical level — how long did it take to put something like this together, and what the scale of investment was like?
Less than three months, start to finish. A small but mighty cross functional team at Instacart that includes experts across events, social, influencer, CPG partnerships, and creative jumped in to work hand in hand with Chain to bring the physical dinner to life, and that partnership is really what made the pace possible. The oversized Instacart bag you walked through at the entrance, the grocery cart food delivery, the checkout belt dividers on the tables, the CPG brand gallery hallway. It all came together at a level of detail that made the whole night feel completely immersive. You don’t get there without a partner like Chain, who has deep pop-up expertise, and an internal team that knows how to execute flawlessly.
What we brought on the Instacart Ads Studio side was the CPG relationships, the ability to make every recipe shoppable across more than 2,200 retail banners and nearly 100,000 stores, and the marketing muscle to turn a one-night event into something that keeps running. In-app placements, social, CRM. That’s how a single dinner in LA becomes a program people engage with for weeks.
How do you measure success; what was the ROI for this activation?
We’re still learning – this is a newer space for us and I don’t want to pretend we have it all figured out. But the early signals are hard to ignore. The Cart Classics invite sold out in six minutes, which tells us that there’s a real appetite for events like this. The recipes are now live across the Instacart app and getting amplified over the coming weeks. Every attendee went home with a bag full of ingredients from our CPG partners so they could actually make the dishes and share that with their own followers. So the night itself was never really the end point. It was the kickoff. At its core, this is about bringing inspiration and commerce together, and what we’ve seen so far has been a success.
Any other interesting marketing campaigns that we can expect to see a bit further down the aisle?
We’re not done. Cart Classics was really a proof of concept. What happens when Instacart Ads Studio brings our CPG relationships, our shoppable platform, and the right creative partners together around something culturally relevant. The answer, it turns out, is something people actually want to be part of. The idea that you can discover a recipe from a creator you trust and have the ingredients on your doorstep in under an hour is new. There’s a lot of road ahead.
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Not quite flying lumber… Home improvement mega-chain Lowe’s just launched a partnership with Wing and DoorDash, allowing delivery of 2.5 lbs or less by drone (so, no 2x4s quite yet.) The initiative starts with a single store in North Carolina, which is not only the state where Lowe’s is HQed, but has proven to be fertile ground for aerial suburban deliveries. Drone delivery might truly be more efficient when your local street network looks like this!
A cart full of news: It was a big week for delivery news, with Instacart adding new retailers like Dollar General, while axing markups at others. On the distribution front, the company is expanding its deal with Airbnb, while integrating with Meta’s new AI assistant Muse. Last but not least, IC is bundling Gopuff into its ad network, while adding better in-store SKU visibility for brands and grocers.
And some dashing updates: DoorDash added a slightly spicier new retail partner, signing up two of Canada’s leading adult novelty chains. The company also released new research into the benefits of delivery for SNAP EBT recipients, while agreeing to a $131.5M settlement with NYC over courier payment issues. Keeping deliveries moving on smaller devices, DD finalized an agreement to expand Dot’s roll out in Sunnyvale, while also backing NYC’s Vision Zero Reimagined plan. And of course there are some new ad tools!
Das supereffizientesauto! VW just revealed the world’s most efficient near-production electric car, dubbed Mission Efficiency. Clocking in at 9 miles per kWH (nearly double what Americans can buy today,) the car was built using mostly existing tech seen in the OEM’s ID. Polo and ID. Cross. (H/T Reilly Brennan.)
SABRE rattling? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to push Iranian airlines out of all international airports. “If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets or you will be knocked out of the dollar system,” he said, while ignoring the countless folks that will be hurt by restricting access to medical supplies. (Anyone that gets the pun earns a free shoutout in next week’s newsletter!)
Catching a ride to debtors’ prison: European TNC Bolt just unveiled a new partnership with payment platform Klarna, now live in Sweden, Germany, Finland and Norway. For you non-fintech folks, Klarna popularized BNPL concepts like “pay in four,” meaning your rideshare trip to the bar can now be split into micro-payments that span a month. I guess the most charitable interpretation is this gives credit card like payment buffers to those with less credit history?
Tired truckers and angry allies! In a bid to combat sky-high diesel prices, Republicans have come up with a number of proposals that do nothing to address the root cause. First, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy announced a waiver that means fuel truck drivers can be on the road for more hours per day. Next, lawmakers are mulling plans to ban diesel exports. Diesel prices have nearly doubled since we attacked Iran. Meanwhile, UP reports more freight is shifting from truck to rail — so that’s a positive.
Lies, damned lies, and statistics: Streetlight Data released this year’s index of walking and biking activity across American cities. The top towns for two-wheelers were the urbanist meccas of NYC, Boise, NOLA, Jersey City and Irvine; the latter showing just how much you can achieve with a robust network of suburban bike trails. Then again, you may need to take the data with a grain of salt: the top walking city is Orlando, Florida. This must mean that all the people walking around Disney World (with their phones tracking them?) count in the numerator, but not the denominator…
Goodbye gadgetbahns: Speaking of Florida, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority is staring down a $39M budget deficit. To cut costs, the agency is turning off the Skyway, its downtown people mover. While the train itself was relatively ill-used, it is a heartwarming throwback to the optimism of 50ish years ago, from a program that also birthed Detroit and Miami’s li’l downtown choo choos. JTA is also pulling the plug on Navi, a supposedly autonomous downtown shuttle system, which actually still seems to require drivers and costs more to operate than regular vehicles.
Modern Delivery, summer break quick hits: Amazon adds new tools for off-site merchants, including free Prime delivery. PizzaExpress explores £500M sale. Deliveroo launches partnership with ALDI, expands pact with Tesco. REWE launches on Wolt. After planning to step down, Delivery Hero Co-Founder Niklas Östberg plans to stay on amid acquisition by Uber. Sam’s Club mines membership data for advertising relevancy. Zipline scales in Côte d’Ivoire. IFood Move conference unveils new AI tools for merchants. Zero-Emission Truck Shipper-Carrier Alliance Leading Electrification (ZET SCALE, lol) purchases 2,500 electric trucks.
A few good links: Canada’s Alto acquires first land as HSR project pushes ahead. Beep merges with Freebee. TDK Ventures invests in R3 Lithium. Waymo heads to Singapore. LA’s new bus lane enforcement cameras pulled in $42.8M in revenue last year. Monterrey, MX announces extension of Metrorrey (great name) Line 1. Congrats to my old compadres at Turo on the launch of vehicle delivery. Toronto improves Lines 6 LRT operating speeds, but still falls well short of goal. SoCal’s Metrolink appears to be on the precipice of severe service cuts — no local news coverage yet? Google officially transfers GTFS IP to MobilityData. Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Foxconn reveal incredibly stupid looking SUVs. Ningbo inaugurates metro Line 12, running 38 miles across a sea. Seoul to start construction on GTX-C express metro. UK starts planning for West London Orbital railway. LAX APM opening delayed again — of course! Chicago reveals renderings for spartan new Red Line stations; elevated extension along existing rail corridor to cost a whopping $1B/mi. Brightline nears Chapter 11. Uber adds new green features. CA passes AB1599, creating a statewide database of transit stops. SEPTA unveils plan to turn regional rail network into proper S-Bahn-style network of frequent trains, but of course lacks funding to implement.
See you in Austin!
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew