Move over, Amazon, there's a new autonomous grocer in town

Amazon has made a name for itself in the world of brick-and-mortar retail with the launch of its Just Walk Out technology in 2016, which enables shoppers to pick up an item and simply leave the store and be charged automatically without the hassle of checking out.  

The innovative solution, still in its infancy, has the potential to solve a lot of problems for the retail giant, including everything from labor shortages to theft reduction. But the technological edge it gives them could be short-lived, as a new player has entered the autonomous grocery game.  

That challenge isn't coming from Walmart, Costco or Target, though. It’s a Black-owned independent grocery store with one location in Fayetteville, Georgia, (population approximately 20,000) that may soon be giving the multi-billion company a run for its money.  

Nourish Bloom Market, the brainchild of wife/husband team Jilea and Jamie Michael Hemmings, opened in suburban Atlanta in 2022. The high-tech entrepreneurs not only developed their own tech stack with the ability to support an autonomous boutique grocery store (the location is 1,482 square feet), they also incorporated delivery robots for their customers who order online. 

The couple’s crusade to make healthy eating convenient began when their first-born son of three was diagnosed with autism. Jilea told me in a recent phone interview that doctors said to make sure he had a “clean diet” free of junk foods. “Thirteen years ago, there were not a lot of healthy options on the go,” she explained.  

Related:Amazon's Just Walk Out tech headed to Loyola University in Maryland

The discovery led the entrepreneurial couple to develop their own line of meatless entrees for kids called Greenie Tots. It was their introduction to the world of food retail and the beginning of their move into the grocery business.

The Hemmings family moved to Fayetteville from Chicago in 2019. During their time in the Windy City, Jilea launched a broad range of startups at tech incubator 1871, including apps such as Best Tyme and Leaf Time for the pharmaceutical and cannabis industries, respectively, and a virtual coaching platform called Green Nyle, among others.

Jilea and Jamie Michael Hemmings / Submitted photo

The couple has worked with Aliso Viejo, California-based digital technology company UST to help develop portions of the tech needed for the Nourish Bloom, but creating the proprietary tech solution is theirs alone. 

And aside from Amazon, the only other competitor in the autonomous grocery space comes from Accel Robotics, which launched Valet Market in the San Diego luxury high-rise community Vantage Pointe in 2021. Similar to Nourish Bloom, Valet Market is open 24 hours, seven days a week.  

Related:SNAP goes digital with online purchases

"We're experiencing incredible momentum around delivering autonomous shopping solutions for enterprise customers across the retail sector," Brandon Maseda, CEO and co-founder of Accel Robotics, said in a statement when the location opened. "With Valet Market, we have the opportunity to showcase our next-generation, contactless shopping experience directly to consumers while providing our real estate partners with a cutting-edge, innovative tenant amenity." 

Nourish Bloom is somewhat different from Valet Market in that rather than catering to a specific community, the grocer is open to the public, and the Hemmingses are planning to scale rapidly across the country.  

Jilea said Nourish Bloom is poised to open three more locations in Atlanta, near the city’s popular Beltline trail, before the end of the year. And they plan to launch 10 more in 2024 under a franchise model. Jilea explained that they’re also working to become the first autonomous grocery store to accept SNAP EBT benefits as payment. “Our goal is to launch that before the end of the year,” she said.  

The stores will have some staff, particularly in the beginning to help guide new customers through the process of the frictionless checkout system, but they will primarily be staffed with employees to handle inventory.  

Related:Amazon’s Just Walk Out Technology Makes Waves

As the first Black-owned autonomous grocery store, Jilea told me their pursuit is mission-driven to not only provide healthy food, but also to inspire the next generation of Black and Brown entrepreneurs.  

“From a community perspective, it’s empowering to show what’s possible,” she told me. “We have a lot of black and brown people who come in here and want their kids to be excited about technology. It shows there are folks who look like them in the space.”