Tesco has become the latest supermarket chain to make a permanent change to its shelves, joining Morrisons, ASDA, and Sainsbury's in adopting electronic shelf labels (ESL). The retailer will introduce ESLs to four UK locations, including one Express store and three major supermarkets.
Rollout Plans
The new technology will eventually be rolled out to approximately 3,000 Tesco sites across the UK. Kevin Tindall, Tesco's UK operations managing director, told Retail Week: "Moving to a digital system will not only support our sustainability ambitions by significantly reducing paper use across the Tesco estate, but it will also mean that our colleagues can focus on what matters most – serving our customers."
Partnership and Industry Context
Liangyan Li, senior vice president and head of global sales at Hanshow, added: "This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to improving store efficiency." Morrisons became the first UK supermarket to trial the labels in October last year. Tesco confirmed it views scaling innovation as a vital step in helping to protect British farmers from future shocks and strengthen food security.
Sustainability and Farming Innovations
Innovations such as UK-produced, low-carbon fertilisers trialled on Tesco's Low Carbon Concept Farm have proven to reduce carbon emissions of potatoes by more than 50% compared to traditional farming methods. Trials on the Tesco Low Carbon Concept Farm in Lincolnshire have already delivered promising results. Using a combination of low carbon growing techniques, locking in CO2 as part of the process, Tesco's potato supplier Branston recorded a 50% reduction in carbon emissions with no effect on yield or quality. The resulting 500 tonnes of potatoes went on sale in Tesco stores earlier this year.
Call for Industry Action
Drawing on this experience, Tesco is calling on others across the food industry to scale low carbon fertiliser production and availability, so products can move from small-scale or pilot use into mainstream adoption. Tesco has also relaunched its worldwide innovation competition, the Tesco Agri-tech Challenge, to help accelerate the development of innovation on farms.
