25 years of Ocado Group from online grocer to global technology pioneer

From bold beginnings to global breakthroughs, Ocado Group has spent the last 25 years redefining what’s possible in online grocery fulfilment and logistics. We began as the UK’s first pureplay online grocer, looking to revolutionise online grocery retail with a winning customer proposition and unique business model. What started as a successful ecommerce business quickly became something more: a technology platform and solutions business with the power to transform online grocery, fulfilment and logistics.

As we mark this milestone, we’re celebrating the people, partnerships and innovations that shaped our journey and doubling down on the ambition, ingenuity and invention that will define our next 25 years.

Born to disrupt: Our early years (2000–2014)

When Ocado started in 2000, online grocery was in its infancy and gaining traction, but with its tight margins, delicate products, multiple temperature zones and short shelf lives, it remains one of the most complex challenges in retail. But we saw a growing opportunity where others saw difficulty. Rather than only optimising the bricks-and-mortar model, we reimagined how groceries could move from supplier to customer in a digital age: building an online grocery fulfilment model with efficiency and a standout customer experience at the centre.

By 2002, we were delivering to households across the UK from our first automated Customer Fulfilment Centre in Hatfield, laying the foundations for the technology-led approach that still defines us today.

Recognising early on that technology developed for other purposes could not meet our ambitions and the expectations of customers online, we began developing proprietary technology. There were significant challenges to solve: making the end-to-end supply chain more efficient and improving the customer experience. Crucially, unlike third-party vendors who didn’t operate grocery businesses with their technology, we built a technology designed for our needs, giving us control, visibility, and the ability to innovate at speed.

But what started as lessons learned in our own operations would evolve into the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP): configurable end-to-end ecommerce, fulfilment and logistics solution built to meet the unique demands of online grocery retail, that now powers some of the most innovative grocery businesses in the world.

By 2009, we’d launched the UK’s first transactional grocery app (Ocado on the Go). A year later, the organisation listed on the London Stock Exchange and was carrying out over 100,000 orders a week—proving that digital disruption in grocery wasn’t just possible, it was scalable.

In 2013, Morrisons were signed as our first strategic partner, and we were delivering their first orders by the following year.

Built to scale: a decade of global growth and innovation (2015–2025)

So we scaled up: not just in size, but in capability. OSP had begun as internal software but soon became a powerful commercial platform, one that would allow retailers around the world to transform their operations, enhance the customer experience and provide value throughout the entire grocery supply chain.

Ocado didn’t start with off-the-shelf solutions, we had to invent them. Nothing existed that could meet the complexity of online grocery at scale, so we engineered our own. We started with conveyor belts, cranes, shuttles and other automation to meet those early challenges. But to keep scaling, we had to think differently. Our first-generation robotic fulfilment centres introduced proprietary technology that dramatically improved efficiency, picking speeds and labour productivity. We kept innovating to develop the grid-and-bot system that powers our warehouses today. 

We didn’t just create breakthrough technology, we created a new approach to fulfilment. A 50-item basket could now be picked in minutes, not hours, and with far greater accuracy than traditional store-based systems.

Global retailers took notice. 

Between 2017 and 2021, we signed landmark partnerships with Bon Preu (Catalonia), Groupe Casino (France), ICA (Sweden), Kroger (US), Sobeys (Canada), AEON (Japan) and Coles (Australia). These partnerships brought AI-powered supply chain solutions and cutting-edge automation to some of the most competitive grocery markets in the world.

This was Ocado Group evolving from a single-country disruptor into a global partner of choice for the future of online grocery. In 2019, we announced a joint venture with Marks & Spencer, creating Ocado Retail Ltd and combining the strength of our proprietary technology with one of the UK’s most trusted grocery brands.

In 2022, we also entered into a commercial agreement with Lotte in South Korea (one of the world’s most advanced online grocery markets) adding to our growing portfolio of international partners.

That momentum continued into 2024, as we signed new agreements with Alcampo in Spain and Auchan Retail Poland, further strengthening our presence across Europe.

Around the same time, we expanded beyond grocery, as Ocado Intelligent Automation (OIA) announced its first partnership with McKesson Canada — bringing our proven fulfilment technology to the pharmaceutical sector. We also signed our 13th international partnership with Panda in Saudi Arabia and accelerated the development and roll-out of some of our Re:imagined innovations.

At home, Ocado Retail passed one million active customers for the first time in 2024—underscoring the resilience and appeal of our model in a fiercely competitive UK market.

As we continue expanding into new markets and new industries, we remain committed to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in online fulfilment and logistics.

Looking forward

Our future will be defined by the same principles that brought us here: invention, precision, and a deep understanding of what’s possible when software, hardware and a dedicated team work seamlessly together. At the heart of it all is a culture that values curiosity, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking... the kind of environment where breakthrough ideas become real-world systems, delivered at scale. Ocado will continue to lead, not by following trends, but by setting them.

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