Background
Everyone at Sainsbury’s is passionate about the food we sell, and this includes not only our 148,000 colleagues up and down the country, but our suppliers, farmers and fishing partners too. Yet we recognise that it can sometimes be difficult for customers to have the time, money or inspiration to access the joy that good food can bring. This is why we are committed to providing good food for all customers, whatever their budget, tastes or dietary requirements, and however busy their daily lives. We want to bring back the spark to mealtimes by providing the widest choice of quality food and pricing its food accessibly and competitively.
Theft, both accidental and targeted, is on the up across retail in the UK. Currently the technology used to deter this, is fairly old and isn’t working! We would like to adopt a solution that means that it is obvious to all, if a food product has been stolen delivering a similar outcome to clothing tags that leak when you remove them rendering the garment stained and often unwearable.
Challenge
Sainsbury’s is looking for technologies and solutions to reduce accidental and targeted theft of food from their stores. The primary aim for this solution is to deter customers from leaving stores without paying for items.
They are interested in food-safe options that ideally could be applicable across food. They should also be efficient and easy to use. Importantly, the solution should be applicable to pack formats of multiple sizes and in different formats.
Proposed solutions must be food safe and scalable.
Solutions that could be of interest are: those that offer a similar outcome to clothing tags, where the products are rendered unusable (e.g. stained, dyed) following the theft of the item.
Opportunity to prioritise categories such as MFP (Meat, Fish and Poultry).
What's in it for you?
Opportunity to work with a leading retailer and their long term partner suppliers to deliver a step change in how they approach theft from their stores. The technology could have wide commercial impact both in the UK and globally.
Pitching sessions will be held with applications of interest.