HOPWTR, the Los Angeles-based sparkling hop water brand on a mission to redefine what adult beverages can be, has made Instacart Ads a cornerstone of its retail media strategy — and the results speak for themselves. Since launching on the platform in late 2023, HOPWTR has grown into a top-5 non-alcoholic beer brand on Instacart, driven by a sharp consumer insight, a focused media mix, and a hands-on partnership with the Instacart team.

Turning trial into loyalty

HOPWTR didn't come to Instacart by chance. The brand had already built a strong presence through its DTC site and other online channels — but as they gained retailer footprint, Instacart became a key growth lever they couldn’t ignore. 

“We know that when people try HOPWTR they love it and come back, so the whole game is creating trial and turning curiosity into a regular basket item,” said Ryan Haggerty, VP of Marketing at HOPWTR. “Instacart is the best tool we’ve found to do that across a broad range of retailers, so we treat it as a critical part of our retail marketing strategy.”

Focused ad formats driving outsized growth

HOPWTR has concentrated its investment on mid- and low-funnel formats designed to drive accountable results: Sponsored Product ads (both national and retailer-specific), Shoppable Display, and Shoppable Video. The approach has generated growth that few emerging brands can match.

"Instacart straddles the line between building awareness and driving purchase — and it does both," Haggerty noted. "It converts digitally native consumers from online curiosity into trial and repeat, and it does it across a large retail universe."

In 2025, HOPWTR's Instacart sales grew 517% year over year. In 2026, the brand has continued that momentum, with sales up 123% year over year through May.

Accelerating growth

Last year, HOPWTR participated in Instacart's Accelerator Program, an initiative for eligible brands to supercharge growth. The 6-month program includes extended data and measurement, and more hands-on support, allowing brands to make more strategic decisions both online and offline. 

“The enhanced geographic-level data shaped how we allocated marketing spend and which tactics we ran where,” Haggerty said. “In regions where we were seeing success, we doubled down. In markets that were lagging, we used the data to re-evaluate and layer on additional tactics as needed. It made our spend a lot more deliberate, both on and off the platform.”

True partnership and enhanced measurement 

HOPWTR credits a significant part of its success to the quality of its relationship with the Instacart team. 

"The team has been genuinely hands-on, helping us manage and optimize our campaigns, bringing us new ideas, and actively finding opportunities to promote the brand," Haggerty said. "That's happened both inside Instacart — championing HOPWTR internally — and externally to consumers by giving us access to limited marketing opportunities on and off the platform. That level of involvement is rare and makes a real difference for a brand our size."

Ecommerce as a growth engine

For HOPWTR, Instacart isn't just a sales channel — it's a growth flywheel. The velocity the platform drives translates directly into leverage with retail partners, making the case for better shelf placement and expanded facings in physical stores.

"We drive measurable demand against our retail partners' existing inventory, acquire new households, and prove incrementality at the basket level without adding distribution complexity," Haggerty explained. "That demand shows up as real velocity in the same stores we're already in."

As more health-conscious consumers shift to online grocery shopping for convenience, HOPWTR expects Instacart to become an even more central part of how it reaches its audience.

What's Next for HOPWTR

Looking ahead, HOPWTR's focus is on expanding retail distribution and using targeted marketing to turn that broader presence into sustained velocity. Instacart remains central to that plan.

"Our focus right now is on growth at retail: getting HOPWTR into more places and onto more shelves, then layering focused marketing on top to boost awareness, drive trial, and capture the demand we create," said Haggerty. "Instacart is a key part of that flywheel."

HOPWTR's rise to a top-5 non-alcoholic beer brand on Instacart in just two years demonstrates what's possible when an emerging brand pairs a precise consumer insight with the right retail media platform — and a team genuinely invested in making it work.

^{Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.
This post contains third-party claims and advertisements. Instacart does not make any representation as to the accuracy or suitability of any of the information provided herein by our third party advertisers.}