Uber Technologies Inc. is holding talks with several European supermarket chains to add a grocery delivery service to its platform.

Bloomberg broke the news today and Uber confirmed the report in a statement. A spokesperson for the ride-hailing giant said that “we’re currently speaking with a number of major supermarkets around Europe” but stopped short of naming any prospective partners.

Other, anonymous Uber sources were more forthcoming. J Sainsbury Plc, the United Kingdom’s second largest supermarket chain, is said to be among the companies that have taken part in the talks. Sainsbury’s earlier this week announced a partnership with London-based food delivery startup Deliveroo to launch pizza deliveries in four U.K. cities.

Uber hasn’t made a secret of its plans to enter the grocery deliveries market. The company’s Uber Eats business is already a major force over in the restaurant delivery market, with gross bookings having more than doubled last quarter to $3.07 billion. Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in October that he sees an expansion into grocery delivery as a “fundamental” part of the unit’s growth roadmap.

Putting that plan into practice has proven tricky for the company so far. Early last year, Uber teamed up with Walmart Inc. to pilot a grocery delivery service in several U.S. cities, but the retailer pulled the plug just three months later. 

The setback Uber experienced in North America may have contributed to its decision to turn its attention to Europe. However, the ride-hailing giant can expect to face fierce competition across the pond. It would have to take on not only Deliveroo, which recently raised a $575 million funding round led by Amazon.com Inc., but also other players such as Just Eat Plc.

In the long term, Uber might seek to gain an edge by bringing its self-driving vehicles into the fold. Other players have already started looking in this direction. Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous driving division, is piloting a delivery service with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that uses its artificial intelligence-powered vehicles to make grocery runs.

Photo: Uber