Picadeli Reveals Partnership With Digimarc
Swedish AI-powered salad bar company Picadeli and Digimarc Corp., a global provider of digital watermarking technologies, have revealed a strategic partnership to address the increasing problem of retail shrink and food fraud in the fresh and prepared food categories. The partnership integrates Digimarc’s advanced digital watermarks into Picadeli’s branded packaging, enabling retailers to implement secure, automated product verification and ensure pricing accuracy at self-checkout. The solution’s aim is to reduce shrinkage while maintaining a seamless customer experience.
Retailers of all sizes are vulnerable to price lookup (PLU) fraud at self-checkout, particularly in such areas as produce, deli counters and salad bars. The fresh food category is particularly vulnerable to this type of fraud, affecting profitability.
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“As Picadeli scales fresh meals via its AI-powered salad bar across the U.S., we’re committed to helping our retail partners eliminate shrink,” noted Patrik Hellstrand, CEO of Los Angeles-based Picadeli US. “Our collaboration with Digimarc addresses key challenges like PLU fraud to ensure profitable store operations and a frictionless consumer shopping experience. It’s an extension of our mission to innovate and disrupt the fresh food market with cutting-edge technologies.”
Digimarc digital watermarks seamlessly integrate with weight-based and variable product codes, triggering automatic system overrides when the entered codes don’t accord with the digital watermark’s data. These invisible digital watermarks are embedded throughout Picadeli’s packaging for protection that’s resistant to tampering and ensures that product information remains intact during the self-checkout process. Unlike traditional barcodes that can be manipulated or obscured, Digimarc’s solution maintains checkout accuracy without adversely affecting packaging design or operational efficiency.
“As self-service and fresh food options continue to grow, so do the complexities in maintaining security and operational efficiency,” said Riley McCormack, president and CEO of Beaverton, Ore.-based Digimarc. “We’re excited to join forces with Picadeli to deliver innovative solutions that directly address these pain points. Together, we are not only reducing retail shrink, but also enhancing the overall self-checkout experience for both retailers and consumers. We are committed to providing industry-leading retail solutions to enhance the retail experience – increasing efficiency, preventing loss and combatting fraud.”
So far, Picadeli’s high-tech salad bars have been installed in more than 2,000 stores across Europe and the United States.
