NCR, a leading global technology solutions company, has today announced that prominent Australian retail food brand manager and franchisor, Retail Food Group Ltd, will deploy over 1,000 NCR RealPOS point-of-sale (POS) touch screen terminals. The high-tech terminals, which integrate NCR’s POS terminals with Task Retail Technology’s Xchangexec software suite, allow for the creation of “bounce back” vouchers by individual stores, customised in-store promotions, product ordering... ...Read more »
Over 70 of the most influential intellectuals and industry representatives in the food and pharmaceutical sectors converged on Melbourne’s Federation Square on Friday 27 June 2008 for the Pharmafood Forum organised by InnovationXchange. Speakers at the conference discussed a broad range of issues for the food and pharmaceutical industries and, in particular, the growing overlap between the two industries as consumers increase their demand for foods which serve a functional purpose. A... ...Read more »
The self-service revolution is upon us, as Australian consumers demand greater choice and retailers begin to understand the considerable benefits of the new technology. It is changing the way businesses operate and interact with consumers; with supermarkets, airlines and banks key symbols of the trend. The introduction of ATM’s some 40 years ago can be attributed to the growth of self-service options, but it has only been in the past 5-10 years that self-service technology has really taken... ...Read more »
The United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Mars, Incorporated, and IBM are combining their scientific resources to sequence and analyze the entire cocoa genome. Sequencing the cocoa genome is viewed by the organizations as a significant scientific step that may allow more directed breeding of cocoa plants and potentially enhance the quality of cocoa - the key ingredient in chocolate. The collaboration hopes to enable farmers to plant better quality... ...Read more »
US company Ikan is threatening to revolutionise the way consumers shop for groceries with the launch of a new product scanning device. The product, which costs $400, allows consumers to scan the barcodes of products they have just finished or are about to finish so that it can be added to their shopping list automatically. The Ikan device has a colour screen, laser scanner and a Wi-Fi antenna to enable connection to the consumer’s home network. Once a product is scanned the device will... ...Read more »
Woolworths has announced that they are to extend their HomeShop service to areas in the south of Queensland. Woolworths set-up their HomeShop business, which provides home delivery of groceries, in February 1998. At the moment the business only operates in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne but they are now extending to Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast before the end of the year. The news comes in the wake of a UK report by Verdict Research indicating that grocery retail is set to overtake... ...Read more »
DuPont science will help the world’s farmers increase their productivity and meet the growing global demand for grain, said William Niebur, DuPont vice president - DuPont Crop Genetics Research & Development, at an investors’ conference last week. “This is an extraordinary time in agriculture globally. It is critical that we use our best scientific tools to ensure global food security through sustainable increases in agricultural productivity,” Niebur said at the annual... ...Read more »
Food and grocery is set to overtake electricals as the number one sector in e-retail in the UK, according to retail experts Verdict Research. The news comes following research, commissioned by Australian consultancy firm Leading Edge, establishing that Australians are particularly concerned about buying fresh produce on-line due to the perception that quality will be compromised. Online retail in general has been experiencing rapid growth with figures from last year showing a 35% increase... ...Read more »
Checkpoint Systems and Sealed Air Cryovac have reportedly created the first integrated and automated anti-theft tagging system for direct contact with fresh food products. The combination of Checkpoint’s Food-Safe EAS labels, certified for direct contact with food, and Sealed Air Cryovac Smartpak vacuum shrink bags, is also anticipated to allow retailers to reduce inventory shrinkage of cheese and fresh products. According to Checkpoint Systems, the idea came from concerns about increasing... ...Read more »
A tree-bark extract to cure bad breath is part of a wave of new ingredient innovations that have been unveiled in recent times. The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company has given visitors to the All Candy Expo in America a first look at Eclipse gum and mints, which the company announced will be the first in the U.S. to include magnolia bark extract (MBE) - a natural ingredient proven to help kill the germs that cause bad breath. MBE has origins in traditional Chinese medicine and the introduction of... ...Read more »