Ocado: The Automated Online Grocery Gateway for Pet Brands

Ocado has rebuilt grocery around fulfilment technology, and pet products are a natural fit for a virtual shelf that remembers what a household buys.

Ocado: Automated Online Grocery

Founded: 2000, originally as L.M. Solutions in Hatfield.
Founders: Tim Steiner, Jason Gissing and Jonathan Faiman (former Goldman Sachs bankers).
Headquarters: Buildings One & Two, Trident Place, Mosquito Way, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9UL, United Kingdom.
Ownership: Public company, listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker OCDO); Ocado Retail is a joint venture with M&S (M&S took operational control from April 2025).
Scale / Revenue: FY2025 group revenue of £1.36 billion (up 12.1%); Ocado Retail revenue grew above 10% to roughly £2.8-3.1 billion depending on accounting basis.
Stores: No physical shops; fulfilment via automated customer-fulfilment centres (CFCs) and, through the Ocado Smart Platform, licensed to retailers worldwide.
Workforce: Approximately 21,000 employees (2024).
Customers: Ocado Retail passed one million active UK customers; M&S products were about 30.3% of Ocado volumes in 2024/25.
Chief Executive: Tim Steiner.

The Fulfilment-First Model

Ocado’s model has two engines. First, Ocado Retail, the UK online supermarket (now overwhelmingly M&S Food products) that picks and delivers groceries from automated CFCs using swarms of robots on a grid. Second, the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP), a licensed end-to-end e-commerce, fulfilment and last-mile technology sold to international retailers. Buying for Ocado Retail is conducted jointly with M&S Food’s buying organisation, but the digital shelf, search and fulfilment logic differ sharply from bricks-and-mortar: products must be algorithm-friendly, robust to automated handling, and supported by strong imagery and content because the shopper cannot physically inspect them.

For pet suppliers, the implication is that success depends less on shelf facing and more on digital discovery, subscription potential and fulfilment resilience. Pet food, litter and treats are heavy, bulky and ideal for the planned, delivered basket, and Ocado’s customers are affluent and convenience-driven — a strong fit for premium pet nutrition and auto-replenishment.

Pet on the Virtual Shelf

Pet products are a natural fit for online grocery: they are heavy, recurring and well suited to subscription and bulk buying, and Ocado’s customer base has both the disposable income and the delivery habit to support premium pet lines. Ocado Retail carries dog and cat food, treats, litter and accessories spanning M&S own-label and branded suppliers, and the platform’s recommendation and repeat-order mechanics reward pet SKUs with high repurchase rates.

For exporters, the opportunity is to supply pet food, treats and accessories into the Ocado Retail range (via the M&S/Ocado buying teams) and to position products for auto-replenishment and multi-buy. Because Ocado is tech-led, suppliers who provide rich product data, compelling imagery, clear dietary and ingredient information, and the ability to support promotional mechanics online will gain visibility. The OSP also means that, indirectly, a supplier listed with Ocado could gain exposure to international Ocado-powered retailers, widening export reach.

Supplier and Data Requirements

Operationally, supplying Ocado Retail means satisfying both M&S’s food and responsible-sourcing standards and Ocado’s digital-merchandising and fulfilment logic. Suppliers should prepare rich, accurate product content (ingredients, feeding guidelines, imagery, dietary claims) because the online shopper cannot inspect the product physically and discovery depends on search and recommendation algorithms. Packaging must be engineered for automated CFCs: dimensions and weights must be accurate for robotic grid storage, outer cases must protect primary packs through automated handling, and barcodes must scan cleanly at every touchpoint. Subscription and multi-buy formats are actively encouraged given pet’s repeat-purchase nature, so suppliers should design pet SKUs that support auto-replenishment and bundle economics. Because Ocado ended retail-exclusivity in most markets after 2025, a supplier approved for the UK Ocado Retail range may find a pathway to international Ocado-powered retailers through the OSP, making platform-ready content and consistent specification a strategic asset rather than a mere compliance step.

Pet-food suppliers must meet UK Feed Law and pet-food composition and labelling regulations, with APHA (or equivalent) registration where animal by-products are used, and certification to BRCGS, IFS or FSSC 22000. Because products move through automated CFCs, packaging must withstand robotics handling and stacking without damage, and barcodes/labelling must be scannable and consistent for the automated picking system. Full traceability, claim substantiation and a recall protocol are required.

Non-food pet items must satisfy UK GPSR, UK REACH and product-safety and labelling rules, with English-language instructions and country-of-origin marking; packaging resilience and recyclability matter both for automation and for Ocado’s sustainability commitments. Suppliers should be prepared for M&S’s technical and responsible-sourcing standards (Plan A) given the JV, plus Ocado’s own content and data requirements for the digital shelf. MOQs follow the M&S Retail estate scale; suppliers should be able to support promotional and subscription volumes. Approaching via the Ocado Retail/M&S Food buying and digital-merchandising teams with a digitally optimised, compliant pet range is the right entry point.

2024-2026 Automation Push

In FY2024 Ocado Group reported total revenue up 14.1% to £3.2 billion and narrowed statutory pre-tax losses to £374.5 million, with Ocado Retail growing 13.9% and passing one million active customers for the first time; retail underlying EBITDA more than quadrupled to £44.6 million. A notable feature of the year was the dispute with M&S over a final £190.7 million performance payment owed under the 2019 JV agreement, which Ocado wrote down to zero while continuing negotiations.

In FY2025 (52 weeks to 30 November 2025) group revenue rose 12.1% to £1.36 billion and adjusted EBITDA grew to £178 million; Ocado Retail order growth remained strong (around 13% in the year) and the group migrated its webshop, supply chain and last mile onto the Ocado Smart Platform. Critically, from 6 April 2025 M&S took operational control of Ocado Retail, consolidating the JV, and Ocado ended retail-exclusivity arrangements in most markets, reopening the door to new international partnerships. The group expects to turn cash-flow positive in FY2026. For pet suppliers, these shifts mean a more M&S-shaped, increasingly profitable online grocery channel with global technology upside.

A Digital-First Pet Path

Optimise for digital: Rich content, imagery, ingredient clarity and subscription-friendly formats win on the online shelf.
Design for automation: Packaging must survive robotic CFC handling and scan cleanly.
Push auto-replenishment: Pet’s high repurchase rate suits Ocado’s repeat-order mechanics; propose subscription bundles.
Align with M&S standards: The JV means Plan A sustainability and food-safety rigour are prerequisites.
Think international: OSP licensing means today’s Ocado listing can expose a brand to global online-grocery partners.