Iceland Foods has partnered with Retail Insight, the AI-powered retail operations platform trusted by the world’s leading retailers, to deploy its AI-powered WasteInsight solution as part of the retailer’s continued focus on reducing food waste.
WasteInsight identifies the products that need intervention and recommends the optimised markdown that protects margin while still clearing the stock, so teams reduce waste without giving away more margin than they need to.
Rather than relying solely on manual processes or retrospective reporting, WasteInsight analyses multiple operational data points to prioritise products requiring intervention, helping colleagues focus attention where it can have the greatest commercial and environmental impact.
The deployment reflects a broader trend across grocery retail as organisations increasingly look to operationalise the large volumes of data generated across stores. By combining AI with operational expertise, retailers are moving beyond simply reporting on performance towards enabling earlier, more proactive decision-making.
Food waste remains one of the industry’s most significant operational and sustainability challenges. Retailers are increasingly recognising that reducing waste is not simply about improving markdown execution, but about ensuring the right decisions are made at the right time using connected, actionable operational data.
WasteInsight is designed to support this approach by identifying opportunities for intervention before products are lost to waste, helping store colleagues balance waste reduction, product availability and commercial performance.
General Manager of EMEA and APAC for Retail Insight, Martin Rigby said, “Retailers have access to more operational data than ever before, but data only creates value when it enables better decisions. The opportunity is to move from reporting what has already happened to identifying where action is needed before waste occurs.
“We are delighted to be working with Iceland to support its continued focus on reducing food waste. By combining AI with operational insight, WasteInsight helps surface the products and actions that matter most, enabling colleagues to intervene earlier and with greater confidence.”
Iceland Foods’ stores director, Steve Shirley said: “Reducing food waste remains an important priority for Iceland. We are continually looking at ways to improve how we use operational data to support our colleagues in making faster, better-informed decisions in stores.
“Working with Retail Insight will help us explore how AI-driven operational intelligence can support our waste reduction objectives while improving consistency across our store operations.”
The partnership reflects the increasing role AI is playing in grocery operations, not as a replacement for store colleagues but as a decision-support capability that helps retailers respond more effectively to changing demand, product life cycles and operational complexity.
