Salad Bar, Consider This Your Warning

Salad Bar, Consider This Your Warning: Picadeli Tackles Retail Shrink with AI and Digimarc Partnership

Picadeli, the Swedish tech company known for its AI-powered salad bars, is taking a stand against the growing issue of retail shrink and food fraud with a new partnership aimed at enhancing product verification. On Tuesday, the company announced it will integrate Digimarc Corporation’s digital watermark technology into its packaging. This move will help ensure pricing accuracy at self-checkout and address the rising problem of PLU fraud at self-checkout stations, particularly in produce, deli counters, and salad bars.

Operating in over 2,000 locations across the U.S. and Europe, Picadeli’s smart salad bars have become an integral part of grocery shopping in select stores such as Albertsons, Safeway, ACME, Ahold Delhaize, and Schnuck Markets. However, the company has noticed that PLU fraud—the practice of manually entering incorrect product codes to cheat the checkout system—has been a growing challenge. The fraud rate in salad bars, deli counters, and produce is nearly double the industry average, approaching 4%, according to Picadeli.

To address these issues, Picadeli is leveraging Digimarc’s watermark technology, which works by embedding weight-based variable product codes into packaging. These codes can automatically trigger overrides when incorrect codes are scanned at checkout, helping to prevent fraud. Unlike traditional barcodes, which can be manipulated or obscured, Digimarc’s watermark ensures that checkout accuracy is maintained without compromising the design or operational efficiency of the packaging.

Patrik Hellstrand, CEO of Picadeli US, emphasized the company’s commitment to eliminating shrink and providing a smoother shopping experience. “Our collaboration with Digimarc addresses key challenges like PLU fraud to ensure profitable store operations and a frictionless consumer shopping experience,” Hellstrand stated. He also noted that this partnership is part of Picadeli’s ongoing mission to innovate and disrupt the fresh food market using cutting-edge technologies.

As retailers continue to combat fraud and shrink in the fresh food sector, Picadeli’s new initiative represents a forward-thinking approach to maintaining profitability and operational efficiency while keeping the consumer experience seamless.