The Hustle: Why Kroger’s $2.6B Automation Bet Failed
The Hustle is a digital media channel of the Hubspot Media Network of inbound media brands, producing insightful video essays and documentaries about major moves in business, tech and entrepreneurship.
In 2018, Kroger partnered with UK automation company Ocado to roll out a nationwide network of “robot warehouses” — the famous “hive” system. It looked like the perfect corporate tech story… until the economics collided with American geography and American delivery expectations. By late 2025, Kroger announced it would shut down multiple Ocado-powered automated fulfillment sites (including the Frederick, MD facility I visited in this video), take a $2.6B charge related to the network, and pay Ocado a one-time $350M settlement as it “optimizes” the partnership.
NODEHAUS handled the entire post-production for this piece — from ingesting, archival research, editing, motion-graphics animation, sound and color.
Original link: https://youtu.be/i-EaJiwTNtA
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Client: Hubspot - The Hustle
Production Co: NODEHAUS
Writer & Host: Caya
Producer, Editing Manager: Taryn Varricchio
Editor: Emily Mosier, Tran Hoang Calvin
Graphics: Emily Mosier, Triston Centretto, Tran Hoang Calvin
