Instacart Expands Ready-Made Meals with New Hub & Faster Delivery

Instacart Launches Dedicated “Ready Meals” Hub

Instacart is introducing a new “Ready Meals” hub designed to streamline the discovery and ordering process for pre-made meals directly through its application. While the platform has offered these options since January 2020, their visibility within the app was limited. This new hub addresses that issue.

The launch of this dedicated in-app section also includes the addition of priority delivery for all ready-made meal orders. This enhancement promises delivery from participating grocery stores in as little as 30 minutes in some instances.

Grocery Store Availability

Customers can now conveniently order prepared foods from a variety of grocery chains via the Ready Meals hub. These include Publix, Giant, Food Lion, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Martin’s, and Kroger.

ShopRite’s ready-made meal selections will be integrated into the hub in the coming weeks, further expanding the available options.

The selection of prepared meals encompasses a diverse range of choices, such as salads, sandwiches, soups, sushi, and rotisserie chicken.

Instacart’s Vision for Retail Partnerships

“We are proud to support retailers by providing innovative solutions that enable them to better serve busy individuals and families across the United States,” stated Daniel Danker, Head of Product at Instacart. “This allows customers to shop efficiently, maintain healthy diets, and satisfy their cravings more quickly than ever before.”

Strategic Acquisitions and Future Expansion

This announcement follows Instacart’s recent acquisition of FoodStorm, a SaaS order management system (OMS). FoodStorm specializes in end-to-end order-ahead and catering solutions for grocery retailers.

Instacart intends to integrate FoodStorm’s technology with additional partners on the Instacart Marketplace. Furthermore, plans are in place to broaden the Ready Meals hub to include an even wider selection of grocers.

Complementary Hubs and Recent Growth

The rollout of the Ready Meals hub builds upon the success of the Convenience hub, launched in September 2021. This hub facilitates rapid delivery of frequently purchased convenience items and essentials.

Additionally, a new Dollar hub was recently introduced, allowing users to browse deals from over 13,000 dollar stores, including Dollar Tree, 99 Cents Only Store, Five Below, and Family Dollar.

Looking Ahead

Instacart reports a record-breaking year in 2021 and has set ambitious goals for the future. The company experienced unprecedented daily and weekly order volumes during the peak holiday season.

Order growth increased by 30% year-over-year, and the convenience business more than doubled since June. Instacart remains committed to developing new avenues for retailers to connect with customers on its platform.