Instacart Purchases Unata
Online grocery delivery service Instacart has acquired Unata, a provider of one-to-one digital solutions for grocers. The combined companies plan to steer the future of online grocery shopping, merging their teams, cultures and products to speed the process.
The acquisition, which joins Unata’s comprehensive white-label digital grocery platform with Instacart’s established technology and scale, aims to create a one-stop shop for brick-and-mortar retailers to effectively compete in an increasingly online world.
“Instacart’s mission has always been to be an independent partner to retailers and enable them to give their customers the best experiences using the best technology,” said Apoorva Mehta, founder and CEO of the San Francisco-based service. “This acquisition allows us to take that commitment to the next level. It represents a landmark win for retailers, who will benefit from Instacart’s scale, Unata’s highly configurable technology, and the deep grocery industry integrations this acquisition will enable.”
“Unata and Instacart have long shared a vision of innovating the grocery industry and building the online grocery shopping experience of the future,” noted Chris Bryson, CEO of Toronto-based Unata. “By combining the power of our teams and technologies, we can achieve this vision faster and for the first time ever offer a fully comprehensive, configurable digital solution for grocery retailers of all sizes.”
Under the deal, Unata, which will remain in Toronto, becomes an independent subsidiary of Instacart, maintaining its name and brand. Instacart will continue to invest in innovation and resources for both companies as they merge into a single platform. Bryson will stay on in his current role, reporting to Instacart Chief Business Officer Nilam Ganenthiran.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
Instacart, which grew from 30 to more than 190 markets last year, expressed confidence “that Unata is the ideal partner to complement and expand its technology as the company looks to continue its blistering growth in 2018.”