US grocery delivery company Instacart has acquired Unata, a Toronto-based start-up that makes digital coupons and offers an all-in-one platform for grocery retailers.
Instacart, which expanded from 30 to over 190 markets last year, said it is confident that Unata is the “ideal partner to complement and expand its technology as the company looks to continue blistering growth in 2018”.
Founded in 2009, Unata offers a cloud-based platform which allows grocers to sell their products online. Following completion of the deal, it will remain headquartered in Toronto and will become an independent subsidiary of Instacart, maintaining its name and brand.
Chris Bryson, Unata’s CEO, will remain in his current role, and will report to Instacart’s chief business officer Nilam Ganenthiran.
Instacart said it will continue to invest in innovation and resources for both Unata and Instacart as the companies merge into a single platform.
The companies said that the deal will bridge “Unata’s comprehensive white-label digital grocery platform with Instacart’s established technology and scale and create a one-stop shop for brick-and-mortar retailers to effectively compete in an increasingly online world”.
Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta said: “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.
“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 CEO Chris Bryson added: “Unata and Instacart have long shared a vision of innovating the grocery industry and building the online grocery shopping experience of the future.
“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.”
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