Retail media for CPG operators
Practical frameworks built on real account work — covering Instacart ROAS, Amazon Ads, and retail media waste diagnostics for CPG operators who run their own programs.
Three Farmers: How Three Saskatchewan Farming Families Built a National Pulse Snack Brand (Maple Made #009)
Three Farmers Foods is a Saskatoon-based snack brand built by three prairie farming families and led by sister CEOs Natasha and Elysia Vandenhurk. Roasted Crunchy Little Peas, lentils, and Camelina Oil — stocked at Sobeys, Loblaws, Save-On-Foods, Walmart Canada, and on Instacart Canada.
Acid League: How Two Guelph Food Scientists Turned Vinegar Into a 3,000-Store Pantry Brand (Maple Made #008)
Acid League is a Toronto pantry brand making living vinegars, non-alcoholic Wine Proxy, hot sauces, and shrubs. Co-founder Cole Pearsall made Forbes 30 Under 30. Stocked in 3,000+ stores across Canada and the US, including Loblaws, Whole Foods, Walmart, and Instacart Canada.
Get the next guide before it ships.
The Folk Memo: one operator note, every Tuesday. Real numbers from real CPG accounts.
No spam. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy Policy.
Evive Nutrition: The Quebec Frozen Smoothie Cube Brand That Won All Five Dragons (Maple Made #007)
Evive Nutrition makes frozen smoothie cubes sold in 5,000+ stores across Canada, including Instacart, Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Metro, and Sobeys.
Comeback Snacks: The Hamilton Popcorn Brand Born Inside a Prison Cell (Maple Made #006)
Comeback Snacks is a Hamilton, Ontario specialty popcorn brand founded by Emily O'Brien after her release from prison in 2018. Mission-driven, Instacart-native, available at Loblaws, Walmart, and Sobeys across Canada. 2025 Sobeys Diversity Award winner.
Sushi Pocket: Inside the Canadian Frozen Brand That Cracked Sushi for the Grocery Aisle (Maple Made #005)
Sushi Pocket by Goodwave Technology is a Canadian frozen sushi brand — Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards finalist, available at Loblaws, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, and Instacart Canada.
Benny: Inside the BC Energy Drink That Made Forbes 30 Under 30 and Hit 500+ Canadian Stores (Maple Made #004)
Benny is a BC energy drink made with yerba mate and adaptogens by two UVic grads. Forbes 30 Under 30 2026. In 500+ Canadian stores and on Instacart Canada.
Brand Breakdown: Sobrii 0-Gin
Canada's first distilled non-alcoholic spirit launched in 2017 before the category existed at scale. How Sobrii built first-mover advantage in a market growing 24% year over year -- and what the retail media path looks like from here.
Brand Breakdown: Okazu by Abokichi
Canada's only authentic Taberu Rayu started as a farmers' market side dish and became a Gold Award-winning condiment. What makes Abokichi a compelling retail media story -- and what scaling into mainstream grocery actually requires.
Dose Juice: How a Montreal Couple Built Canada's Female-Founded Organic Cold-Pressed Juice Brand (Maple Made #003)
A Montreal couple cold-pressing in their Old-Port kitchen turned Dose Juice into a certified-organic brand stocked at Costco, Walmart, Metro, Whole Foods, IGA, and across roughly 18 SKUs on Instacart Canada.
Triple X.O.G.: Inside Canada's First Canned Cognac Green Tea Cocktail (Maple Made #001)
Canada's first ready-to-drink canned cocktail made from cognac, jasmine green tea, and Canadian honey. Inside the Vancouver brand: the founders, the Dragons' Den deal, and where to buy it.
Maple 3: Inside the Quebec Maple Water Brand Selling in 10 Countries (Maple Made #002)
A fourth-generation maple producer turned a single Quebec sugar bush into a beverage brand stocked in IGA, Metro, Whole Foods, Costco US, and ten countries, without a venture round.
How to Measure Blended ROAS Across Instacart, Meta, and Google
Blended ROAS is total attributed revenue divided by total ad spend across Instacart, Meta, and Google. How CPG brands should calculate it, avoid common mistakes, and use it for weekly budget decisions.
Retail Media Reporting Template for CPG Founders
A weekly retail media reporting template for founder-led CPG brands spending on Instacart, Amazon, Walmart Connect, or Loblaw Advance. Track spend, revenue, ROAS, NTB percent, and CPC in one view.
How to Track New-to-Brand on Instacart
New-to-Brand on Instacart shows whether your ads are reaching shoppers who have not recently bought your brand. How founder-led CPG brands should read NTB in Ads Manager and use it with ROAS.
Signs Your Retail Media Budget Is Being Wasted
Most retail media waste is structural, not dramatic. Too many campaigns, fragmented budgets, and dashboards that hide more than they reveal. A 10-minute self-audit for CPG founders.
What Is a Good Instacart ROAS for CPG Brands?
A practical operating ladder for CPG brands: under 2x means fix the system, 2x–3x is workable, 3x–4x is healthy, and 4x+ is strong enough to protect before scaling.
How to Improve Instacart ROAS for Founder-Led CPG Brands
Most stuck accounts fail in three boring places: structure, budget allocation, and reporting. A 30-day recovery framework for founder-led brands.
Instacart Advertising for Snack Brands
Snack brands underperform on Instacart when they spread budget across too many products. How to pick hero SKUs, set budget rules, and avoid early-stage over-diversification.
Instacart Advertising for Beverage Brands
For beverage brands, Instacart works best when media and promotions move together. How to coordinate spend, product focus, and promo timing for better efficiency.
Instacart vs Amazon Ads for Emerging CPG Brands
If your CPG brand is already stocked in grocery, Instacart usually gives a cleaner demand signal than Amazon. A framework for deciding where to put your first paid media budget.
From the community
Curated weekly from r/InstacartAds, r/Google_Ads, and r/DigitalMarketing.
CPG digital ad recommendations
Marketers sharing channel recommendations for CPG brands — where to spend, what benchmarks to target, and which platforms deliver real retail lift.
Open thread →r/Google_AdsHow is CPC 10x less on Google-generated ads?
Discussion on why AI-generated Google ads can show dramatically lower CPCs and whether the quality of traffic actually holds up for conversion campaigns.
Open thread →r/InstacartAdsI tested Instacart Acquire (New-to-Brand) with optimized bidding
Real-world test results from running Instacart's Acquire NTB campaign type with optimized bidding — including ROAS, NTB rate, and spend efficiency findings.
Open thread →r/InstacartAdsDoes optimized or autobidding on Instacart actually work?
Operators comparing manual bidding vs. autobid on Instacart campaigns — sharing spend data and whether ceding bid control improves or hurts efficiency.
Open thread →Want a second opinion on your retail media program?
Book a free audit and Grocer Folk will review your Instacart, Meta, or Google setup and tell you where ROAS is leaking.
Book a Free Audit