Spar showcases new food and drinks products at Spar Innovation Event
Spar Ireland has showcased its latest food and beverage concepts at a Spar Innovation Event.
These includes concepts such as Háo Chi Bar, The Local Tea Company, Popsicle, Pazza @ Home and I-Scream, the exclusive ice cream offering.
Hundreds of retailers from across Ireland gathered at the business forum to learn about the latest thinking in retailing trends, along with new technologies and other solutions to support retailers’ businesses which are due to roll out over the next 12 months.
The event, which took place at the Mount Wolseley Hotel in Carlow, included guest contributions from Olympic Gold Medallist and Spar Brand Ambassador, Kellie Harrington, TV and Radio’s Baz Ashmawy, Social Media strategist Greg Fry and managing director of the Meagher’s Pharmacy group, Oonagh O’Hagan.
Spar and BWG Foods management delivered presentations on the continued development and expansion of the SPAR retail network across Ireland, and plans to launch new products including an expanded Spar Own Brand Range.
Among the new solutions showcased was BWG Foods’ new predictive AI stock management system, ShopLink Pro, which leverages hundreds of complex data points to predict consumer demand for in-store products, allowing for smarter forecasting of stock requirements.
The system also makes use of business promotions and category management to deliver 21-day, 14-day and 7-day sales forecasts. BWG also unveiled an new HR Support service.
Colin Donnelly, sales director, Spar, said: “Our network of Spar retailers is very much a tight-knit community of likeminded businesspeople, so it was fantastic to gather socially and to share conversations regarding the future of our business, our offerings and our iconic brand. Spar has always been at the very forefront of retail innovation in Ireland and across the world, and this meeting was the perfect platform to share ideas and to present our exciting plans.”
