Aramark launches first AI-powered Quick Eats store in Edinburgh

Contract caterer Aramark has launched its first artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Quick Eats shop in Scotland, allowing Aegon employees to buy meals and other essentials in a checkout-free on-site store.

Since the store opened on 1 February, the 1,300 workers at the financial services provider’s Edinburgh offices have been able to simply walk in and purchase their items without having to wait in lines or go through a cashier.

Shoppers scan a QR code on Aramark’s WorkXgo app on a digital turnstile to access the shop and then move through the aisles picking up food, drinks, and other essentials.

“Everything you’re picking up, everything you’re engaging with is automatically tallied up into your total,” said Thomas Ford, Aramark’s marketing and innovation director.

“That uses two types of technology; one is the cameras overhead and the other is sensors on the shelves. By using the technology in what we call a fusion technology approach, we get a really good understanding of exactly what is being taken from the store.

“Then that individual literally just walks out of the store. The gates will open as they approach them…and they'll be charged for the products they’ve taken.”

While the technology means customers no longer need to wait in line to be served by a cashier, Ford said employees previously working these jobs had been retained.

“They’re still working in that space but they’re more of a host for that environment and focus on keeping it as clean as possible, again, to improve the guest experience as they walk through the store.”

Aramark describes the store as a “living lab”. Data around product sales will be used to help the company understand what works, what doesn’t, and to improve their retail offer.

The range currently includes coffee, grab and go sandwiches and salads as well as snacking options and cold drinks.

The flagship Quick Eats store is part of ‘Aramark Connected’; an initiative from the American food service, facilities, and uniform services provider, that aims to connect technologies to deliver a frictionless user experience.

It is the third Quick Eats store to deploy the technology worldwide, with the first two having opened in Germany and Chile.

Ford said the development had been “really well received” on site, adding that there had been a “considerable” uplift in use of the space compared to when it was a traditional store.

Aramark plans to expand its use of the technology wherever it could add value to the customer experience, Ford said.

“We definitely see autonomous frictionless technology as a way forward in a variety of settings, whether that be the [business and industry] spaces, entertainment spaces or some of our defence locations as well.”