SanLucar wins reta award 2021 in the category Best AI & Robotics

For the past 14 years, the EHI Retail Institute has annually recognized the best implementations of innovative IT solutions with the reta award. This year, SanLucar wins the award in the new category Best AI & Robotics with its intelligent "Fresh Cut Refrigerator", which optimizes the quality of the popular convenience products and ensures a natural taste experience.

Each product at SanLucar is grown and processed with tradition and dedication, as well as the popular Fresh-Cut products packaged by SanLucar Austria in Vienna. This step of the product processing presents some challenges: in order to guarantee freshness and quality, on the one hand the product must be continuously cooled and on the other hand adequate quantities of goods must be available without producing surpluses. The Managing Director of SanLucar Austria, Alexander Thaller, was looking for a solution to prevent food waste and at the same time fulfil the SanLucar philosophy "to provide all people with the most natural, fresh and tastiest fruit and vegetables and in a way we can be proud of".

With the help of the digital company Barcotec, SanLucar developed the smart fridge, for which Barcotec receives the EHI Top Supplier Retail Award 2021. The fridge collects real-time information about the condition of the goods in the grocery store and thereby minimizes overproduction and food wastage. Special scanners based on micro-chip technology enable the fridge to record and control the quantity as well as the expiration dates of the products. Hence, no human interaction is required, in order to transmit the data to the SanLucar headquarters in Vienna. With the help of this real-time data, on demand product planning is possible and leads to an enormous reduction of food waste. The smart "Fresh-Cut" fridge registers every time something is taken out and every time something is put back in the fridge. This allows a precise analysis of which type of product is most popular on which days. So, it also reveals in which regions certain products are in high demand, and therefore enables further optimization of the product range. The self-sufficient system of the refrigerator can help to relieve employees so they can focus on other tasks instead of constantly checking the best-before dates.

Read more:

First international marketing campaign underway for Dulcis™

4 November 2024

With over 600 tonnes of top-quality fruit produced across 300 hectares of land – expected to expand to 500 hectares by 2025 – Dulcis™ is poised to repeat last year’s success in Italy and also find itself in the shopping trolleys of consumers in several new international markets. This unique kiwi variety was developed by specialist bio-science enterprise New Plant of Forlì in collaboration with the University of Udine and the University of Bologna. »

Future Trends in Fresh Produce Supply

3 November 2024

The latest FRUIT LOGISTICA Trend Report is now available for download. Annual report’s in-depth information and expert analysis help industry representatives understand how fruit and vegetable supply is changing across the globe. FRUIT LOGISTICA’s latest annual trend report provides the fruit and vegetable sector with free and valuable information about the future of the global fresh produce trade. Entitled ‘Future trends in fresh produce supply’, this year’s report highlights the emerging supply chains, new sources of supply, and market trends »

25th FOOD & KITCHEN Africa 2024 | 20 - 22 November | International Trade Exhibition | Nairobi, Kenya

31 October 2024

The 25th FOOD & KITCHEN opens up a new world of opportunities for export oriented companies. With a GDP of $95 billion, Kenya recently reached lower-middle income status, and has successfully established a diverse and dynamic economy. It also serves as the point of entry to the larger East African market. Kenya’s Economy is distinguished from most African countries by the fact that it is one of the most diversified and advanced. »