John B Sanfilippo & Son Drives Holiday Success With Sponsored Recipes on Instacart

As the landscape of grocery shopping continues to evolve, JBSS—an industry leader in premium nut products—has found innovative ways to reach consumers and drive significant growth. By leveraging Instacart’s Sponsored Recipes, JBSS not only increased visibility but also achieved exceptional results during a critical retail season.

Inspiring Consumers With Sponsored Recipes

Recognizing the power of authentic meal inspiration, JBSS in partnership with Advantage Marketing Partners launched a targeted campaign on Instacart featuring a Sponsored Recipe showcasing its versatile product line. The campaign was strategically timed around the holiday season, a must-win period for snacking and cooking staples. With this ad format, JBSS aimed to connect with online grocery consumers at the point of meal planning and ingredient selection—embedding their products into seasonal celebrations.

“Sponsored Recipes offered us a unique opportunity to demonstrate how our products can be seamlessly integrated into holiday cooking and entertaining,” said Michael Wellner, JBSS Director of eCommerce. “By reaching consumers in moments of inspiration, we were able to build brand relevance and boost purchase intent at the exact point of decision-making.”

Distinct Advantages of Instacart Recipes

Recipes on Instacart go beyond traditional ad formats, allowing brands to actively participate in the meal solutions journey. Advantage Marketing Partners highlighted how this approach creates a direct bridge from inspiration to purchase—consumers can explore new uses for portfolio products and instantly add ingredients to their carts. This integration proved particularly valuable during periods when consumers are actively seeking recipes and new product ideas.

Measurable Results With Strategic Targeting

JBSS’s campaign was meticulously crafted with Advantage Marketing Partners to test timing, product lines, and audience targeting. The results speak for themselves: the Sponsored Recipe campaign achieved a return on ad spend (ROAS) of $3.12 and saw 67% of attributed sales coming from new-to-brand customers. These impressive outcomes validated recipes as a scalable format for both brand discovery and conversion.

Aligning Recipes With an Omnichannel Strategy

The success of the campaign reflects JBSS’s broader marketing strategy of meeting customers wherever and however they shop. By integrating premium products into the recipe inspiration process, JBSS reinforced brand equity while driving incremental sales through Instacart. This innovative approach is now seen as a core pillar in JBSS’s digital playbook.

Looking Ahead: Continued Innovation on Instacart

Building on this momentum, JBSS plans to further invest in recipe content across Instacart, exploring fresh ways to engage consumers and integrating recipes with additional advertising formats. The goal is to deliver more value to consumers seeking delicious, convenient meal ideas—while capturing even more occasions to put JBSS products at the center of consumers’ baskets.

As consumers embrace digital grocery solutions, JBSS’s success with Instacart’s Sponsored Recipes underscores the platform’s unique ability to blend inspiration with seamless commerce—helping brands win in the moments that matter most.

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Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.   

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