Australian-Chinese online grocery platform Umall has become one of the few grocery e-commerce players globally to achieve sustained profitability. Leveraging artificial intelligence and robotics, the company has maintained 12 consecutive months of profit and recorded 175% year-on-year sales growth, with 2025 annual revenue forecast to exceed AUD $100 million, according to the retailer.
Technology-driven profitability
From procurement and customer service to dispatch and warehouse management, Umall has embedded AI and automation across its operations. This technology-first approach has reduced per-order costs, improved gross margins, and increased productivity while delivering a better customer experience.
- AI procurement forecasting: Uses sales history, seasonal demand and weather patterns to predict needs, cutting fresh produce wastage to below 1%.
- AI customer service: Automates over 80% of customer inquiries, reducing labour costs while improving response times.
- AI dispatch optimisation: Continuously refines delivery routes and departure schedules in real time, ensuring on-time fulfilment even during peak demand.
- Robotic sorting systems: Significantly increase sorting efficiency, reduce error rates, and make large-scale same-day delivery possible.
Umall CTO Roc Zhang.
“These technologies are not gimmicks — they are the deciding factor in whether grocery e-commerce can survive and grow,” says Roc Zhang, CTO of Umall. “Because our systems are trained on over three years of proprietary fulfilment and consumer behaviour data, they deliver accuracy and efficiency that off-the-shelf solutions simply can’t match.”
Connecting local producers with multicultural communities
As the only Chinese-founded fresh grocery e-commerce platform with warehouses in both Sydney and Melbourne, Umall is capable of large-scale same-day delivery across both cities. Beyond its own profitability, the company is helping connect Australian farmers and food producers with the country’s diverse communities.
Umall Founder and CEO Jimmy Zhu.
“Umall has always been about more than running a profitable business,” says Jimmy Zhu, Founder and CEO of Umall. “By giving local producers direct access to multicultural consumers – many of whom are underserved by mainstream retailers – we create opportunities on both sides. Producers grow their markets, and communities gain better access to fresh, high-quality local goods.”
Market context
According to Roy Morgan’s latest available figures, Australia’s fresh food market exceeds USD $40 billion (AUD $61 billion), with the broader food and beverage sector worth more than USD $147 billion (AUD $220 billion). Yet pure-play e-commerce in fresh food remains underdeveloped, leaving significant growth opportunities for leaders such as Umall.
Looking ahead
“Umall has already established itself as a leader in efficiency and quality within Australian retail,” Mr Zhu said. “Our vision is to take this AI- and robotics-driven, customer-first model beyond the Chinese community and help raise the standard of retail for the entire country.”
About Umall
Founded in Sydney, Umall is Australia’s “leading” AI-driven online grocery platform, specialising in fresh produce, same-day delivery, and premium Asian and global brands. With fulfilment centres in both Sydney and Melbourne, Umall serves more than one million Chinese Australians and continues to grow its presence across the wider market.
