Uber boosts US regional grocery and alcohol selection with Stater Bros., Kowalski’s, Big Red Liquors
Uber has announced new regional additions in the US to the Uber and Uber Eats apps with Stater Bros. Markets, Kowalski’s Markets, and Big Red Liquors this month. This will serve customers in Southern California, Minnesota, and the Midwest.
“Our goal is to make it effortless for customers to get everything they need from the stores they already love,” says Hashim Amin, Head of Grocery & Retail for North America at Uber.
“As we close out 2025, we’re especially proud of the progress we’ve made in growing our selection of regional grocery and alcohol partners, because these are the brands that truly define their communities.”
UK
In the UK, meanwhile, Uber Eats and Starship Technologies are launching autonomous robot deliveries in Leeds.
A fleet of green robots will help to deliver winter warmer meals and festive essentials for locals in the Headingley, Burley and Hyde Park areas of the city in December and beyond.
“It’s brilliant to see autonomous innovation supporting one of our busiest times of year,” says Saskia de Jongh, EMEA General Manager at Uber.
“It’s so exciting that our new global partnership with Starship Technologies will first launch in Leeds, meaning we can offer local customers a fast new way to get what they need delivered - whether that’s a piping hot Pad Thai or party food essentials.”
Starship’s battery powered robots travel mainly on pavements. They have saved over 700 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere in Europe so far, according to Starship, with the average delivery using as little energy as it takes to boil a kettle for a cup of tea.
“We’re incredibly excited to be one of the first restaurants in Leeds to use Starship’s innovative delivery robots with Uber Eats, yet another exciting new adventure in the twenty years we’ve been running our restaurant,” says Mark Burnard, Co-owner of Jino's Thai Cafe in Leeds.
“It’s a fantastic way to keep up with the demand for our much loved dishes, especially our classic Pad Thai and any festive specials we roll out this winter. This cutting-edge technology will help us keep delivering more fresh, hot meals to our loyal customers.”
2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS
On demand delivery was a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.
We received a record number of entries and many fantastic examples of the continued resilience and dynamism of the retail space during hugely challenging times.
For a full rundown of all of the shortlisted entries, click here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC in Central London on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
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