Why a 'Fake' Food Store Isn't News

A recent story by Business Insider contained 19 photos of a testing area loaded with fake foods like bananas – Instacart’s No. 1 item –  as well as different varieties of seafood. It was all part of a model mini supermarket that Instacart had built within its offices to train its engineers about service and efficiency. 

I’ve talked a lot about how Silicon Valley is changing the food world –  and the entire supply chain – in both retail and foodservice, and how its philosophy of "life hacking" will do much to improve the food world. But this story annoys me. On this last Friday in March, I need to remind people who run companies like Instacart and writers like Biz Carson at Business Insider that while something like building a store testing lab might be new to them, it's been a tool used both in CPG offices and retailers for many decades. 

We're living in an era in which people without any background or experience in food are building new food companies, and others are writing about food. Sometimes doing your homework is a good thing. 

I’ve also written before about how Instacart is at risk, mostly because of its employee morale, and that its customers are starting to add up just how much this convenience is costing them. And, how supermarkets' click-and-pickup services are growing, and how for many shoppers, this offers a much better alternative, without the possible addition of 10 percent to 25 percent. What Instacart should do with that additional $400 million of funding is focus on its customers and associates. 

Just because it's new to you doesn’t mean it's new to everyone else, or noteworthy.