Couche-Tard Circles Żabka, Kroger’s Ecom Plans & Did Someone Say Just Eat? | GrocerTalk

Welcome to GrocerTalk! In this launch episode, sponsored by Instacart Enterprise, Portager, and Vusion, Ben Miller is joined by Omni Talk President & CEO Chris Walton to unpack the news stories from global grocery this week that we believe are worth paying attention to. This week, they discuss: • Couche-Tard’s US$8.7bn bid for Żabka, and what it signals about the future of convenience retail: https://www.reuters.com/business/alimentation-couche-tard-buy-polish-retailer-zabka-87-billion-2026-07-31/ • Kroger combining grocery and prescription deliveries, with Instacart, and what’s next for Kroger’s ecommerce strategy: https://progressivegrocer.com/kroger-bundles-grocery-and-prescription-delivery • Schnucks’ new AI shopping assistant, and whether conversational commerce is becoming table stakes: https://www.grocerydive.com/news/schnucks-new-digital-tools-shoppers-artificial-intelligence/827758/ • Just Eat’s AI Voice Assistant, and what grocers can learn from how foodservice companies are adopting AI voice tools: https://newsroom.justeattakeaway.com/en-WW/269108-just-eat-takeaway-com-launches-ai-voice-assistant-across-europe-to-make-discovering-your-next-order-as-easy-as-having-a-conversation/ • Amazon’s agreement with AutoStore, and what it tells us about grocery fulfillment automation: https://retailtechinnovationhub.com/home/2026/8/13/autostore-announces-deal-with-amazon-to-supply-automation-technology-products-and-solutions Plus, GrocerTalk Grab & Go brings more stories to the table, including Walmart’s move into store-based micro-fulfillment, C&S’s Winn-Dixie ambitions, Ahold Delhaize’s savings kiosks, and Waitrose’s new AI assistant for store associates. GrocerTalk is a new weekly podcast from the Omni Talk Podcast Network covering the trends, innovations and technologies shaping global grocery. Episode 001. Welcome to GrocerTalk. P.S. Be sure to check out all our other podcasts from the past week here, too: https://omnitalk.blog/category/podcast/ Music by hooksounds.com.