Salad bar bandits, you’re on notice

Swedish tech company Picadeli, which manufactures AI-powered salad bars, is taking on the issues of “retail shrink and food fraud” through a new partnership with technology firm Digimarc Corporation.

Picadeli announced on Tuesday that it will begin using Digimarc’s digital watermark technology on its packaging “to implement secure, automated product verification and ensure pricing accuracy at self-checkout.”

The company, which operates its high-tech salad bars at more than 2,000 stores in the U.S. and Europe, said PLU fraud at self-checkout stations has become increasingly challenging for produce, deli counters, and salad bars—nearly double the industry average at just under 4%, according to Picadeli. 

“The fresh foods category is especially vulnerable to this kind of fraud, impacting profitability,” the company said. 

The AI-powered smart salad bars, which can currently be found in select Albertsons, Safeway, ACME, Ahold Delhaize, and Schnuck Markets locations, enable grocers to track the freshness of items in the bar by scanning a QR code.

The Digimarc watermark tech will be integrated with weight-based variable product codes embedded throughout the packaging to trigger overrides when shoppers attempt to ring the product up with false codes, Picadeli said. 

“Unlike traditional barcodes that can be manipulated or obscured, Digimarc’s technology maintains checkout accuracy without compromising packaging design or operational efficiency,” the company said. 

Patrik Hellstrand, CEO of Picadeli US, said in the press release that the company is committed to helping retailers eliminate shrink. 

“Our collaboration with Digimarc addresses key challenges like PLU fraud to ensure profitable store operations and a frictionless consumer shopping experience,” Hellstrand said. “It’s an extension of our mission to innovate and disrupt the fresh food market with cutting-edge technologies.”