1.7M members, a curated shelf, ads built in Instacart

Thrive Market Retail Media Network: Ad Formats & Agency Support

By , Senior New Business DirectorReviewed

Thrive Market runs sponsored products and display through Instacart Carrot Ads; RMIQ confirms your assortment and access before launch.

The Thrive Market retail media network is the retail media network Thrive Market announced in September 2024 on Instacart's Carrot Ads. Brands run sponsored product and display ads on Thrive's website and app, reaching more than 1.7 million members who shop a curated organic and non-GMO catalog.

Book a demo See the shelf-first checks

Earn the shelf, then win the member

Three checks that come before the first Thrive Market ad

Every Thrive Market ad promotes a product from what Thrive calls "a hyper-curated catalog of organic and non-GMO products." RMIQ checks each gate before it plans spend.

  1. A place on Thrive's shelf

    Sponsored products and display

    Thrive accepts "only brands and products that meet our industry-leading quality standards, including 100% non-GMO products and 1,000+ restricted ingredients," and looks for "mission-driven brands." Brand owners apply through Thrive's Brand Partners page, and the ads then promote the products Thrive carries.

  2. Listings members can filter to

    Sponsored products

    Members narrow the catalog with "90+ filters and values," so RMIQ checks that each product to be promoted shows up under the diets and values its buyers pick.

  3. A seat in Instacart Ads Manager

    Thrive-only campaigns

    Thrive campaigns are set up in Instacart Ads Manager, the self-service tool brands use to "set up and manage their ad campaigns," so your team needs access there before a Thrive budget can go live.

Two units, placed while members fill a basket

Sponsored products and display on Thrive Market's site and app

  • Sponsored products

    • Where: Search results and category pages

    Sponsored product ads "help brands drive sales throughout the shopping experience," and Carrot Ads places promoted products "in search results and category pages."

  • Display

    • Where: Creative units across the storefront

    Display ads "allow brands to showcase engaging creative, driving product discovery as consumers are actively building their baskets."

One Ads Manager, two ways onto Thrive

A Thrive-only campaign and the Instacart reach that already lands there

Both ways onto Thrive Market run in Instacart's self-service tools, with optimized bidding toward goals like acquisition and sales; Instacart Ads campaigns run on budgets and cost-per-click bids.

  1. Thrive-only Carrot Ads campaigns

    Brands can "target specific campaigns to consumers shopping on Thrive Market's website." Mission Meats set up campaigns "to run specifically on Thrive Market."

  2. Your Instacart Ads, carried onto Thrive

    Instacart Ads campaigns a brand already runs extend their reach to Thrive Market's ecommerce experience automatically. Thrive-only money goes to the Carrot Ads campaign.

Brand results on a membership audience

Attributed sales, ROAS and new-to-brand share from Thrive campaigns

Thrive advertisers get "attributed sales, return on ad spend (ROAS), and more." Since November 2025, impressions, clicks, click-through rate and viewable impressions on sponsored product and display ads have been MRC-accredited across Carrot Ads partners.

Rip Van

Instacart published in March 2025 that Rip Van saw "a sales increase of over 15%" on Thrive "with an average ROAS of 3x."

Mission Meats

Mission Meats, on sponsored product ads, reported "a new-to-brand sales percentage that is 2x higher than other equivalent sales channels for the same products and keyword types."

Ingredient list, mission fit, one member base

What trips up brands between Thrive's shelf and a live campaign

  1. One reformulated SKU can drop off

    Thrive's list runs to 1,000+ restricted ingredients, so a single changed recipe can take a promoted product out of the catalog and out of the ad plan.

  2. A product missing from members' filters goes unseen

    A listing missing from the diet filter its buyers pick never reaches them.

  3. Thrive-only spend lands on members your Instacart Ads may already reach

    Your Instacart Ads run on Thrive's site and app, so RMIQ gives the Thrive-only campaign one job, winning members new to your brand.

Assortment checked, then campaigns built

RMIQ as your Thrive Market advertising agency, from shelf check to SKU bids

RMIQ supports Thrive Market and starts every plan with your assortment: what Thrive carries decides what gets bid on.

Book a demo See the organic brand case

  • Shelf map

    RMIQ maps which of your products Thrive carries and which are still under review.

  • Bids for the carried SKUs

    RMIQ uses agents to "continuously optimize each product's keywords, bids, and budgets," so each carried Thrive SKU is bid and budgeted on its own.

  • A new-to-brand goal for Thrive-only campaigns

    RMIQ sets Thrive-only campaigns to win new buyers, the goal that gave Mission Meats a new-to-brand sales share "2x higher than other equivalent sales channels."

Proof from a brand built for a non-GMO shelf

Smash Kitchen: organic pantry staples run end to end by RMIQ

Thrive's shelf is 100% non-GMO, and Smash Kitchen sells exactly that: "organic, non-GMO pantry staples." RMIQ launched and scaled its "Instacart and Sprouts campaigns" with "full, end-to-end execution."

  • Smash Kitchen

    Organic, non-GMO pantry staples
    • Instacart sales, quarter on quarter: 6.7x
    • Revenue share from new buyers: 84%+

    The brand needed "post-launch growth from new-to-brand customers" for staples "from ketchup to cooking oils."

    Read the Smash Kitchen story

Diet searches, scored keyword by keyword

Score the keywords members use to filter Thrive's catalog

RMIQ's audit page names Instacart, the account Thrive campaigns run from; your audit call settles whether Thrive joins the scope.

  • A continue, adjust spend or stop verdict on each keyword, including the diet and lifestyle terms members filter by.
  • The share of your portfolio that needs action, on a shelf Thrive limits to 100% non-GMO products.
  • The projected ROAS and sales upside, delivered in 3 business days.
Book your audit call About the keyword audit

See a sample RMIQ keyword audit

An anonymized RMIQ audit of one brand's paid search, with each keyword sorted into scale, rebid and pause lists.

RMIQ's keyword audit covers Walmart Connect, Target, Instacart and more; RMIQ agrees its scope with you after the audit call.

When you download, RMIQ receives your email and may contact you about an audit. Privacy policy

Built for brands members filter for

Brands that match how Thrive Market members shop

Members shop with "90+ filters and values" to match products to their diet and lifestyle, and Instacart calls Thrive "a valuable platform for emerging brands to grow awareness and inspire trial."

Thrive campaigns pay off for brands that

  • Sell organic, non-GMO or better-for-you products already on Thrive's shelf.
  • Want new customers: Rip Van and Mission Meats both pointed to new-customer gains on Thrive.

Asked before a first Thrive campaign

Thrive Market advertising agency FAQ

What is the Thrive Market retail media network?

It is the ad business Thrive Market, an online, membership-based grocer, announced with Instacart in September 2024. Built on Carrot Ads, it sells sponsored product and display ads on Thrive's website and app. Instacart still listed Thrive among its Carrot Ads partners in November 2025.

Do I need to be sold on Thrive Market to advertise?

Yes, in practice. Thrive ads promote products Thrive carries, and a brand only gets there by clearing Thrive's quality review, which bars GMOs and a long list of restricted ingredients. Thrive reviews each brand's application before products reach its shelf.

Why do Thrive Market ads run on Instacart's Carrot Ads?

Thrive Market chose Carrot Ads, Instacart's white-label retail media product, to bring Instacart's ad technology, analytics and demand to its own site and app. Instacart's Carrot Ads page lists Thrive among the partners it powers. More on RMIQ's Instacart page.

Can an agency run Thrive Market ads for my brand?

Yes. RMIQ lists Thrive Market among the networks it supports and runs Instacart campaigns end to end, and Thrive campaigns are built in Instacart Ads Manager. RMIQ maps your Thrive assortment first, then bids each carried SKU, with keyword audit verdicts for each keyword in scope.

Reading for a non-GMO shelf plan

Guides, tools and terms for a Thrive Market member campaign

Other grocers your members also shop

Thrive, Instacart, RMIQ3 sources

Each source is listed with the date it was published; pages that show no date are marked with the date they were read.

  1. Thrive Market, Climate Action Working Group release, April 8, 2026; Brand Partnerships page, about page and help center articles, no date shown, read November 1, 2026
  2. Instacart, Thrive Market announces new retail media network powered by Instacart, September 10, 2024; Rip Van and Mission Meats case studies, March 4 and 5, 2025; Carrot Ads MRC accreditation release, November 6, 2025; Instacart Ads Manager help pages on formats, updated August 12, 2026; Carrot Ads page and API documentation, no date shown, read November 1, 2026
  3. RMIQ, Smash Kitchen case study, February 3, 2026; homepage, retail media agency page and Instacart keyword tool, read October 2026; keyword audit page, read October 26, 2026

Contact RMIQ

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Petr Misek

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Petr Misek, Retail Media Expert

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