Grocery Delivery Digest

April 20, 2021

Peter Cook, Publisher

Kroger is front and center in the news this week with the opening of their first automated warehouse facility in Monroe, Ohio. The 375,000 sq. ft. warehouse was built in partnership with British technology company Ocado. More news on that below. Other partnerships that developed this week were Walmart’s partnership with Cruise and Farmstead’s partnership with DoorDash. In both cases, these companies are strategizing new ways to optimize their delivery.

In case you have not heard, we are happy to announce The Grocery Delivery Update this May 26 in San Antonio. It promises to be a great event and provide some key insights into the road ahead for grocery delivery. Please email contact@ontrendconcepts.com for more info, or click on the banner below.

As we segway into Spring, we hope you are finding time to enjoy better weather, a change of scenery. Next time you sit down for a breath of fresh air, enjoy it with your Grocery Delivery Digest.

Issue #52

Walmart Invests in Autonomous Vehicle Startup Cruise

As speedy delivery continues to be a point of differentiation for retailers, Walmart has invested an undisclosed sum into Cruise, the San Francisco-based autonomous vehicle company, according to a Thursday announcement.


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Farmstead Partners with DoorDash To Offer Grocery Delivery Service

Online grocer Farmstead has partnered with DoorDash to provide one-hour delivery in all markets where the online grocery retailer currently operates or intends to provide service, according to a Tuesday press release.


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Inside Look at Kroger’s First Ocado Robotic Warehouse

The Kroger Co. introduced its first Ocado automated online grocery warehouse this week in Monroe, Ohio, one of 20 planned in the United States with the U.K.-based e-grocery specialist.


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Kroger Is Using a Robot Army To Take On Amazon, Walmart

[Video] Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen is betting big on robots. He's using them in a key 375,000-square-foot warehouse in Monroe, Ohio.


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Kroger's New Ocado Centers Are Powerful. But Can They Deliver?

The companies' execs stressed the flexibility and interconnectedness of the new automated facilities, but questions remain around execution and serving same-day demand.


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Ocado and Oxbotica in Deal To Develop Robot Grocery Deliveries

Robotic-delivered groceries got here a step nearer to changing into mainstream on Friday as on-line grocery platform Ocado introduced a £10m funding in Oxbotica, the autonomous driving startup.


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Gopuff Shutters Its Ship-to-Home Service

Convenience delivery company Gopuff, which recently rebranded from goPuff, has discontinued its ship-to-home service, the company confirmed Tuesday.


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Cleveron Unveils Remote Delivery Vehicle

Cleveron, the Estonian tech company that has developed products built to store and robotically distribute e-commerce orders for customer pickup, has now developed a product to autonomously deliver them.


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HDS Raises $3M As It Gears Up To Launch Its Robot-Run Grocery and General Merchandise Play

The online grocery market is poised to get a little more crowded in the next several months, with the launch of a startup led by a veteran founder who has taken big hits from Amazon in the past, but now hopes to come back swinging with the help of an army of robots.


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NYC E-Cargo Bikes Lay Groundwork for Future of Grocery Delivery

The URB-E fleet vehicles tow cargo carts holding up to 800 pounds in New York and Pasadena, CA, with more cities in sight.


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S.F. Company Imperfect Foods To Contest Drivers’ Vote To Unionize

Drivers at San Francisco grocery delivery company Imperfect Foods have voted to unionize, but the company is contesting the results of the election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.


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Why Instacart Might Deliver an Unusual IPO

Rumor has it that Instacart may snub a traditional IPO for a direct listing. How it goes public will have major implications on initial stock price, dilution, and lockup periods, impacting both new and existing investors.


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London’s On-Demand Grocery Delivery Weezy Partners with a Startup That’s More Accurate Than a Postcode

A couple of weeks back, Weezy — the hyperlocal delivery startup, launched its service in Bristol. And now, the company has announced a partnership with what3words to make locations easier to find and every Weezy delivery seamless.


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UK On-Demand Grocery Startup Beelivery Bags £4.5M To Accelerate Business

UK-based on-demand grocery delivery business, Beelivery, bagged £4.5 million investment to further strengthen its position as a leader in the grocery delivery market segment.


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Sainsbury's To Deliver Groceries Via Deliveroo and Uber Eats from 100 UK Stores

Sainsbury's is extending its partnerships with both Deliveroo and Uber Eats, making it possible for more customers to order their Sainsbury's groceries easily by using the apps. Groceries will be delivered straight to shoppers' doors in as little as 30 minutes.


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Russia's Yandex Expands eGrocery to Paris and London

Yandex, the Russian internet giant, will roll out its online grocery delivery in Paris in the second quarter of the year and London in the third quarter, U.S. News reported.


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Meituan Seeks $10 Billion To Fight Alibaba in Grocery Arena

Chinese delivery giant Meituan is seeking about $10 billion from the sale of new stock and convertible bonds as it doubles down on efforts to fight the likes of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in newer areas such as online groceries.


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Cairo-Based Grocery Delivery Startup, Appetito Raises $450k Seed Investment

Appetito, a Cairo-based grocery startup, has announced a raise of $450k seed round of financing. The Startup operates through dark stores model, where products are sourced from manufacturers, stored in mini fulfilment centres then delivered to household customers.


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Dubai Startup Yeepeey Seeks To Transform E-Grocery Experiences

E-grocery mobile app, Yeepeey, is looking to tap the opportunity wherein its users can shop from neighbourhood grocery stores, supermarkets & hypermarkets from the comfort of their homes or offices.


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The Calculus of the Batch

From the quick-twitch viewpoint of the contract-based delivery driver, not all gigs—nor retailers—are created equal.


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Grocery E-Commerce Returns To Record Level in March

Online grocery sales in the United States returned to a record level in March, rising by $1.3 billion to $9.3 billion after recording a decline in February, according to figures published Thursday by Brick Meets Click.


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Shoppers Click-and-Pick To Record Grocery Tally

Having largely addressed many of the issues that interfered with the potential to meet surging demand a year ago and improved flexibility behind expanded local pickup options, online grocery merchants saw record-tying monthly sales in March and much improved intent to continue shopping this way.


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Catch Them If You Can: the $14B Rise of Rapid Grocery Delivery Services

Dominique Locher, a veteran of online grocery services in Europe, realised the potential of a rapid delivery app at a board meeting of a Turkish supermarket chain in 2018.


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Will We See In-Store Grocery Shopping Disappear?

Grocers in the U.S. have been rolling out grocer specific e-commerce grocery shopping or teaming up with partners such as Shipt and Instacart to have fresh groceries delivered to your door, but the annual sales were not proving to be as large as they projected.


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