Podcast Summary: Omni Talk Retail – "The One And Only Groceryshop Must-See Tech Preview"

Date: September 25, 2025
Hosts: Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga
Featured Guests: Michael Waldrop (Grocery Deals), Bharat Pulgam (Buncha), Russ Fant (FinTech), Michael Gabbay (GAIN), Ellie Finkelstein (Constructor), Nicole Scandaleato (Juke)

Episode Overview

This special Groceryshop Tech Preview episode spotlights six innovative companies changing the landscape of grocery retail. Omni Talk’s Chris and Anne curate conversations with founders and executives on cutting-edge technologies designed to optimize grocery pricing and transparency, last-mile delivery, inventory management, procurement with AI, digital discovery, and in-store audio advertising. The episode aims to offer Groceryshop attendees (and the retail industry at large) a practical must-see guide and a lens into grocery’s near future.

Key Segments & Insights

1. Grocery Deals: Empowering Shoppers Through Price Transparency

Guest: Michael Waldrop, CEO & Co-Founder
Timestamps: 00:59–10:42

Main Points

• Grocery Deals is a grocery comparison marketplace enabling users to compare prices across local grocery stores, find the most affordable options, and seamlessly plan their weekly shopping.
• The platform is live in Texas, soon expanding nationally, featuring both large chains (Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons) and smaller players.
• Data is primarily sourced via a third-party, but there are ongoing efforts to establish direct retailer feeds for real-time updates.
• Shoppers can build lists, compare national brands and store brands, optimize substitutions, and even split purchases between retailers for maximum savings.
• The long-term vision is full retailer participation, driving both new and existing customer engagement, and supporting grocers in refining their value proposition beyond pricing (e.g., delivery speed, loyalty).

Notable Quotes

• "We are the gas buddy for groceries." – Anne Mezzenga [01:19]
• “I started looking up to see if there’s any grocery comparison apps...there wasn’t. And in true entrepreneurial spirit, I decided to just create it myself.” – Michael Waldrop [03:34]
• “We can make you more money and make customers more aware of what you have to offer them.” – Michael Waldrop [09:33]

2. Buncha: Revolutionizing Affordable, Neighborhood-Based Delivery

Guest: Bharat Pulgam, CEO & Founder
Timestamps: 11:12–23:36

Main Points

• Buncha originated from neighborhood group trips to Costco during the pandemic, creating a “milkman-style” delivery route for groceries.
• The core offering is batch, scheduled deliveries, lowering costs by aggregating neighborhood orders and using refrigerated trucks with W2 drivers—strengthening the community connection.
• Buncha offers both a consumer marketplace and a new "white label" service (Buncha Connect) letting retailers use Buncha's infrastructure for branded delivery.
• The model addresses grocers’ pain points: escalating delivery costs, customer experience, and competition with aggressive players like Amazon.
• Their system maintains high customer satisfaction (NPS 82 in Detroit), reliable brand representation (drivers become familiar faces at local stores), and is expanding to more US markets.

Notable Quotes

• “We like calling it milkman style deliveries.” – Bharat Pulgam [12:46]
• “If Amazon makes this [grocery delivery] free with Prime, how do we compete with that?... How can we get very aggressive on pricing?” – Bharat Pulgam [18:17]
• “Same driver, same shopper in your neighborhood, serving the same customers...that just kind of extra cherry on top really goes a long way for making it very easy for stores to work with us.” [16:50]

3. FinTech: Unlocking Cashflow & Efficiency with Scan-Based Trading

Guest: Russ Fant, VP of Sales
Timestamps: 23:52–36:55

Main Points

• FinTech is the leader in scan-based trading (SBT), helping grocers shift inventory costs off their balance sheets by paying suppliers only at point of sale.
• Originally applied in greeting cards, SBT now covers major DSD (Direct Store Delivery) categories like bread, dairy, bakery, propane, and ice; the next frontier is warehouse and distribution center categories.
• FinTech acts as a “hub” between retailers and suppliers—handling price changes, data integration, and payments—making SBT adoption and expansion simpler and less resource-intensive.
• The SBT approach delivers hard cost savings, operational efficiency (less inventory handling, invoice chasing), shrink reduction, and better supplier partnerships.
• An emerging trend: “Pay on Ship,” a model moving inventory ownership at the warehouse level, beneficial for low-turn/third-tier items.

Notable Quotes

• “The benefit there for retailers is really this inventory transition that happens on their balance sheet.” – Russ Fant [25:07]
• “Scan-based trading is a great way to reduce inventory and take that cost off the balance sheet and we are here to help with that.” [36:07]

4. GAIN: AI-Powered Supplier Negotiation & Procurement

Guest: Michael Gabbay, CEO
Timestamps: 37:06–47:20

Main Points

• GAIN aims to use AI “employees” (like category managers or tactical buyers) to automate analysis, negotiation, and communications between retailers, CPGs, and their long-tail suppliers.
• The platform helps retailers rediscover neglected supplier segments (typically 80–90% of vendors that represent only 10–20% of spend), uncovering real-dollar profitability opportunities.
• AI agents ("Natalie", "Bob", "Sophie") can autonomously negotiate, manage onboarding, and handle procurement tasks, freeing human category managers to focus strategically.
• Adoption is already underway with major retailers and CPGs; GAIN is announcing a substantial seed round at Groceryshop.
• The ethos: human merchants remain "in the loop" but are empowered by superfast AI tooling.

Notable Quotes

• “Today, 80-90% of their suppliers rely on 10-20% of total spend...they’re just neglecting those suppliers...there are billions of dollars retailers could save.” – Michael Gabbay [39:04]
• “For us, for the humans, it can take a week or two to analyze data. For [AI agents], it will take one minute.” – Michael Gabbay [41:19]

5. Constructor: AI-Driven Product Discovery and Retail Personalization

Guest: Ellie Finkelstein, CEO & Co-Founder
Timestamps: 48:33–61:14

Main Points

• Constructor enables e-commerce retailers to optimize on-site search, browse, and product recommendations using advanced AI models (Transformer tech) and rich clickstream data.
• Grocery is ideal for these tools: large baskets, frequent shops, and rich data help personalize results and directly move business metrics like conversion and average order value.
• Constructor's proof-of-value process uses retailers’ real data, running side-by-side tests against existing engines to measure revenue impact before full adoption.
• Innovations ahead: AI shopping agents (natural language assistants for list building), product insights agents (answering shopper questions in real time), and sophisticated, explainable personalization models.
• Retail media (ad-based monetization) is a major focus; Constructor’s AI balances ad bids with user experience to lift sponsored and organic sales together.

Notable Quotes

• “Our job...is to make sure that the products we return back to you are the ones most exciting for you, most attractive, most personalized, and optimize for what the business most cares about.” – Ellie Finkelstein [49:21]
• “You can literally measure in terms of how it’ll affect your business metrics.” – Ellie Finkelstein [50:22]
• “Retail audio is the last untapped channel, and Juki’s the one that’s going to unlock it for them.” – Nicole Scandaleato [70:26]

6. Juke: Transforming In-Store Audio into a Performance Channel

Guest: Nicole Scandaleato, Sales Director
Timestamps: 61:22–71:12

Main Points

• Juke is an AI-powered platform for creating, customizing, and delivering in-store audio ads in real time, turning store speakers into a revenue-generating, data-driven channel.
• Brands (or retailers) can generate scripts and jingles in multiple languages with just a few keywords, reducing production costs and enabling agile, hyper-targeted messaging (dayparting, product swaps, etc.).
• The system integrates easily with store audio, ensures uptime with sound sensors, and can be managed directly by brand teams.
• Early implementations (major European retail pharmacy) produced an average 27% sales lift on 700 SKUs, with peak campaigns reaching 35%.
• Audio is highlighted as grocery retail’s "last untapped channel," with dayparting and broad reach offering advantages over in-store screens.

Notable Quotes

• “We are using large language models...just by typing in a few keywords, we’re able to create a script—in different voices and languages.” – Nicole Scandaleato [62:44]
• “Retail audio is the last untapped channel, and Juke’s the one who’s going to unlock it.” [70:26]

Timestamps: Rapid Reference

• 00:59 – Grocery Deals: Price comparison marketplace
• 11:12 – Buncha: Neighborhood, batch delivery reimagined
• 23:52 – FinTech: Scan-based trading and inventory solutions
• 37:06 – GAIN: AI-powered procurement and supplier negotiation
• 48:33 – Constructor: Search/discovery optimization for grocery e-commerce
• 61:22 – Juke: AI-driven, dynamic in-store audio ads

Final Takeaways

• The future of grocery retail is being rapidly reimagined by AI, data, and platform innovations—from shopping list price engines (Grocery Deals), to affordable neighborhood delivery (Buncha), to inventory and cash flow liberation (FinTech), next-gen supplier negotiation (GAIN), personalized online discovery (Constructor), and performance-driven in-store audio (Juke).
• Competitive differentiation now often hinges on speed, data transparency, operational efficiency, and seamless omni-channel experience, with AI as the backbone—not just an industry buzzword.
• Each tech solution presented delivers measurable value—for shoppers (savings, personalization, convenience), for retailers (efficiency, new monetization, competitive edge), and for brands (better targeting, improved ROI).

For those headed to Groceryshop (or tracking retail tech), these six names—Grocery Deals, Buncha, FinTech, GAIN, Constructor, Juke—belong on your “must-see” list.

For guest contact details and next steps, visit company websites or reach out via LinkedIn as referenced throughout the episode.