73: Can AI Save You Money at the Grocery Store? Meet the Founder Building the 'Expedia for Groceries Andy Elwood

73: Can AI Save You Money at the Grocery Store? Meet the Founder Building the 'Expedia for Groceries Andy Ellwood

Episode Details

Summary:

Can AI save money at the grocery store? One third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted. Grocery inflation in the United States has exceeded 30% since the pandemic. And yet, most shoppers still walk into their nearest store with a handwritten list and no idea whether they are getting a fair price.

Anastassia sits down with Andy Ellwood, Co-Founder and CEO of Stretch — a company on a mission to become the "Expedia for groceries." Stretch is an AI-powered smart grocery shopping list that compares prices across all local stores in real time, accounts for brand equivalencies and loyalty programs, and learns each shopper's personal preferences over time to surface the best possible deal for every weekly shop.

The conversation spans Andy's entrepreneurial origin story, the surprisingly complex data engineering problem behind grocery price comparison, the emerging role of agentic AI in consumer commerce, the cybersecurity challenges of working with Fortune 100 retailers, and the macro forces — from geopolitics to fertiliser supply chains — that make Stretch's mission more urgent by the day.

Andy Ellwoodis a serial entrepreneur, mentor, and community builder deeply rooted in the American startup ecosystem. He started his first business at age 12. Over his career, he has worked on teams whose companies were acquired by Facebook and Google (Waze), and has founded multiple companies of his own.

Dr. Anastassia Lauterbach is an AI thought leader, educator, author, and podcast host based in Basel, Switzerland. She is the author of the Romy & Roby AI literacy book series for families and the founder of AI Edutainment GmbH. A former CEO of Qualcomm Europe, SVP of Deutsche Telekom, and board member with Dun&Bradstreet, easyJet PLC and Star Alliance, she now mentors CXOs and founders on AI strategy, responsible AI adoption and leadership in the age of smart machines. Anastassia’s company AI Edutainment brings knowledge and understanding of AI and robotics into one million families and 100,000 companies.

Key Takeaways:

The "Expedia for Groceries" gap is real — and it is huge;

The hard problem is data normalisation, not data access;

The data exhaust may be more valuable than the app;

Grocery price inflation is a real problem for families;

Agentic commerce is the next frontier for grocery;

AI-first corporate culture means rewarding failure, not just success;

AI should be a thought partner, not a search engine.

Chapters:

00:04 Introduction to Grocery Shopping Challenges

01:42 Andy Elwood's Entrepreneurial Journey

03:27 The Grocery Shopping Problem and AI Solutions