George Nott

London

Technology Editor at The Grocer

Technology Editor @TheGrocer // previously @CIO_Australia, @ComputerworldAU

Articles

Health kicks, advertising laws and the fresh food revolution

4 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | George Nott |Jacqui Parr

Super-waif Diet Coke fan Kate Moss once said: “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” – much to the delight of teenaged girls everywhere (and the horror of their appropriate adults). It’s a phrase we all thought was safely consigned to the 1990s, along with platform trainers and Beanie Baby collections.
ChatGPT: the next major shift in online grocery shopping

1 week ago | thegrocer.co.uk | George Nott

In a single update, ChatGPT stands to completely change how consumers discover food brands and do their grocery shoppingSupermarket shopping has arrived on ChatGPT, with OpenAI introducing product recommendations and purchasing options to its AI chatbot. So how significant is the move? What does it entail? And how should brands and retailers respond? In a single update, ChatGPT stands to completely change how consumers discover food brands and do their grocery shopping.
Ocado switches customers over to new app and website to ‘enhance the experience’

1 week ago | thegrocer.co.uk | George Nott

Ocado is switching customers across the UK over to a new website and app, which it says will “enhance the Ocado experience”. The online grocer is running two websites and apps concurrently, and is moving customers on to the new platform in stages, by delivery area. “Updating our website and app marks an important next step in helping us deliver our ambitious plans for the future, allowing us to enhance the Ocado experience with new features and functionality,” a spokeswoman told The Grocer.
ChAI launches price risk insurance for fmcg companies

1 week ago | thegrocer.co.uk | George Nott

AI-powered raw material market intelligence company ChAI has launched a first-of-its-kind insurance product to protect fmcg companies from commodity-based pricing risk at a fraction of the cost of normal hedging mechanisms. ChAI Protect offered food manufacturers and grocery brands price risk protection “at a time of unprecedented commodity pricing volatility” said company co-founder and CEO Tristan Fletcher, when “cost-base uncertainty can be existential for businesses”.
Tesco’s self-checkout ‘VAR’ trial mocked by shoppers

1 week ago | thegrocer.co.uk | George Nott

Tesco shoppers have compared its trial of self-checkouts that instantly play back footage of mis-scanned items to football’s video assistant referees. “VAR decision – tuna disallowed,” one user commented on an Instagram post demonstrating the tech. Another suggested after mis-scanning two yellow labels “you’re off”.
Big Brother Watch lodges complaint over Asda’s facial recognition trial

1 week ago | thegrocer.co.uk | George Nott

Source: Big Brother Watch Privacy rights group Big Brother Watch has filed a complaint with the Information Commissioner over Asda’s live facial recognition trial. The complaint argues Asda is “infringing the data rights” of shoppers, and the FaiceTech system is processing “data with a high degree of risk to data subjects’ rights”. Asda announced a facial recognition tech trial at five of its Greater Manchester stores in March.
Why Zoe should be happy to live and die by the UPF sword

1 week ago | thegrocer.co.uk | George Nott

“Nothing short of disgraceful.” The co-founder of nutrition brand Zoe, Professor Tim Spector, pulled no punches last week when the Advertising Standards Authority handed down its judgment that a social media ad claiming Zoe’s Daily30+ supplement was “just real food” was misleading. Spector bristled that the ruling “only adds to the confusion in a food system already plagued by misleading information”, and that it “risks misleading the public”.
Nestlé, FareShare, Zest pilot AI solution to redistribute 700 tonnes of surplus food

1 week ago | thegrocer.co.uk | George Nott

Nestlé is trialling an AI solution that promises to redistribute the equivalent of up to 1.5 million surplus meals in edible food waste to UK charities. The manufacturer is part of a pilot involving Nestlé UK&I, Zest (formerly The Wonki Collective), Bristol Superlight, FareShare, FuturePlus, Google Cloud and Howard Tenens Logistics – brought together by Sustainable Ventures – which applies Zest’s AI to its York confectionery manufacturing facility’s operations.
Asda Rewards: shoppers bemoan 'all but dead' loyalty scheme

2 weeks ago | thegrocer.co.uk | George Nott

Asda has defended its Asda Rewards loyalty app as shoppers vent online about how hard it has become to earn cashback and coupons. Consumers have taken to multiple online forums in recent months to complain about the stinginess of the rewards scheme offers compared with previous years. One shopper posting on Mumsnet said they “used to earn at least a few pounds a week” through weekly and top-up shops. But “these days it’s rubbish”, they added.
Deliveroo COO French bids adieu after four years

2 weeks ago | thegrocer.co.uk | George Nott

The chief operating officer of Deliveroo is departing from the company after four years to relocate to the US. This week is Eric French’s last at the company, after he posted on LinkedIn he was leaving the aggregator app to “explore my next chapter”. His successor in the COO role is yet to be announced. The move comes just weeks after US food delivery giant DoorDash bid to acquire Deliveroo for £2.9bn, was approved by the boards of both companies.