Dive Brief:

• Instacart unveiled a brand refresh designed to reflect the evolving nature of the company and match the speedy growth of the grocery delivery landscape, according to a press release.
• The redesign overhauls Instacart's look, with a modernized logo, typography and colors like "kale green" and "guava pink." The grocery delivery service retained its signature carrot logo, but tweaked its appearance to encompass a broader focus on non-grocery items the service delivers, such as cosmetics and office supplies.
• Instacart's rebrand also places a greater emphasis on its retail partnerships, with fresh creative calling attention to partners like CVS and Publix. The visual refresh comes as tensions between Instacart and its brand partners heighten, as many see the third-party grocery delivery service as a future competitor to retail.

Dive Insight:

So far in 2022, rebranding has become almost ubiquitous in a landscape that shows a glimmer of hope beyond the pandemic. As consumer habits change and pandemic-spurred behaviors continue to solidify, established brands are clamoring for renewed relevance. Instacart is the latest in a wave of brands across categories looking to modernize with fresh visual identities this year. Hugo Boss embraced more casual styles as the workplace became more relaxed, alcohol giant Anheuser-Busch overhauled its logo and M&M's controversially rebranded to reflect a changing, more socially conscious world.

As pandemic restrictions again ease and in-person shopping becomes commonplace again, Instacart is looking to hold onto the unprecedented growth it saw during the pandemic's early days. A crowding market of third-party grocery delivery — in addition to retailers' own pickup and delivery services — has placed additional pressure on early entrant Instacart to stand out, especially shortly after a worker strike over low pay in October 2021.

The new logo leans into bolder lettering in a deep green color. Only the top part of the orange carrot is shown, with the fronds done in a lighter green color, made to look like an arrow that allows for flexible usage across channels. Animation is used to show the fronds bouncing through Instacart's available products. Another piece of animated art has the fronds clicking through a series of major brand partners, of which Instacart currently has about 750.

The rebrand follows massive growth for Instacart and the broader grocery delivery market, spurred by the pandemic's onset. Instacart grew by more than $15 billion in 2020. Its dramatic growth put it behind only Amazon in CPG sales growth that year. Now, the potentially waning pandemic may signal a stark slowdown in that growth. However, the pandemic has changed habits for some consumers forever, potentially solidifying delivery's place in the modern grocery landscape as some folks continue to opt for convenient features like pickup and delivery in the long run.

Instacart's visual refresh and broader focus on retail partners and its expanded product offerings arrives as some consider the company's long-term plans. Some experts speculate that it's only a matter of time before Instacart cuts out the middleman. Instacart has already started cultivating relationships with manufacturers, and in order to maximize profits, it may eventually direct consumers away from third-party retailers.