Instacart’s FoodStorm solution streamlines personalized ordering

Instacart is enabling direct omnichannel fulfillment of made-to-order items via its FoodStorm order management system.

The grocery technology company is adding new capabilities to FoodStorm, the order management system (OMS) it purchased in October 2021. New functionality is designed to simplify the process of selling, managing, and fulfilling personalized made-to-order items.

As a result, Instacart intends to allow retailers utilizing FoodStorm to expand their online assortment and provide a seamless order management process for their employees. 

In addition, customers can now communicate their requests and personalize their orders directly through the FoodStorm platform, both online and in-store. For example, if a customer is placing a custom birthday cake order, they can select the flavor, frosting and add personalized messages via FoodStorm, reducing the need for associates to manually add separate notes to the order. 

his level of customization has already been a game-changer for businesses like Joseph’s Classic Market. While they have long offered a menu of sandwiches for digital ordering, the new features now empower their customers to take personalization to the next level – choosing specific types of bread, toppings, and more. 

“Ordering custom-made items at the grocery store has been a longstanding challenge for both retailers and customers, Rob Hill, GM, order ahead, Instacart and former CEO of FoodStorm, said in a corporate blog post. “The reliance on pen and paper, manual tracking of changes, and associated delays have presented difficulties for the industry over the years. 

FoodStorm technology streamlines the manual process of customers calling in or placing in-store orders for prepared food by enabling multi-channel order (e-commerce, phone or in-store kiosk) management payment and fulfillment.

The solution also integrates with a large variety of third-party systems, including POS solutions, and offers CRM capabilities that help grocers collect feedback, market their offerings, and leverage promotional features.  Instacart made FoodStorm a part of Connected Stores — a bundle of new and existing Instacart Platform technologies intended to help grocers build a unified, seamless and personalized experience —  online and in-store, in September 2022.

In February 2023, FoodStorm began supporting items sold by weight, including all fresh food and prepared items typically found at deli and meat counters. With this expansion, grocers can now support order management and offer digital ordering, pickup and delivery of their deli and meat departments through a single, connected platform.

Instacart partners with more than 1,000 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 75,000 stores across North America