Natasha’s Law

The food and information amendment (Natasha’s Law) will come into effect in October 2021.

It will require businesses to provide a full list of ingredients and allergen labelling on prepacked food for direct sale.

This new law is being introduced to protect allergy suffers. You may have read about PPDS (Prepacked for Direct Sale) before, these items will need to clearly show the name of the food along with the full ingredients.

All allergenic ingredients will need to be emphasised (bold, italic or a different colour). PPDS foods are foods which have been packed on site before being offered for sale. Items such as sandwiches, baguettes, prepared salads, items from a deli counter that have been prepacked and items such as sausages and burgers sold from your butcher counter.

You will need to make sure that your existing labelling hardware/software is capable of listing the ingredients and highlighting the allergies.

You may already have the correct hardware/software but you may need to look at ordering larger label stock to support the extra text.

Open Retail Solutions are authorised partners of both Avery Berkel and Bizerba and as such can offer help and guidance on the scales and put you in touch with the right people to help further.

Avery Berkel Logo

Bizerba Logo

Open Retail Solutions EPOS system has the option to print to zebra desktop printers.

Each of these can print multiple label formats so you can be sure that we can help you find the best suitable printer for the job.

Our software allows you the highlight text bold so all allergens can be highlighted correctly.

Once you are happy that you have carried out a review of your hardware/software you will need to make sure that your staff have been fully trained on the list of allergies so that they can offer guidance to your consumers.

Below are the 14 allergens that must be highlighted on your food labels.

Further information on Natasha’s Law can be found here https://natashas-law.com/

Will new shopping habits continue?

Vegetables

Will new shopping habits continue?

The Farm Retail Association (FRA) has released a press statement discussing the future of Farm Shop trading after the recent surge due to the Corona Virus pandemic.

With retailers investing money is new systems and retraining staff, I’m sure they would love it to continue, but the questions are, will Farm Shops retain their new customers? And how will new and old customers shop in the future?

Will farm shops retain their new customers?

My feeling to this question is a resounding yes. To what degree is less clear.

Why would you not return to a shop which is supporting the local economy, has given great customer service, products you cannot find in supermarkets and the big winner, great tasting produce.

Maybe it won’t be a weekly shop, or even a monthly visit, but I think a large percentage of new Corona Virus customers will be returning to the small local retailers who helped them massively during a time of crisis, even if just for a special occasion shop.

The mere fact that (in some cases) swaths of new customers now know these stores exist and have visited, means it is one more pleasurable place to visit and get an experience rather than a weekly chore.

Will customers continue to shop via phone or Ecommerce?

For new customers who have only given custom via phone orders, Ecommerce or click and collect, I think the retention will be lower than the instore retention figures, but still a significant increase from pre-pandemic levels.

The key question is, are more people going to move from convenience to conscious shopping, caring more about the product and its journey from ground to plate.

The pandemic has given everyone a chance to reflect and re-evaluate what is important, and highlighted issues with global supply chains. I’m confident once some sort of normality has resumed the public would like to follow this course of action, but the proof will be in where they spend their pounds.

Farm Shops can continue to help make this decision easier by continuing to stock items not traditionally sold in Farm Shops, but have been during the pandemic such as toilet roll and detergent. This added convenience for customers is another reason to stay away from supermarkets, and continue with their local Farm Shop.

Will new shopping habits continue? The battle is there to be won, and independent retailers have a great chance of continued long term growth.

Farm retailers hope new shopping habits will stick (Press Release)

Farm retailers nationwide are hopeful that shopping habits forged as a reaction to coronavirus will last long beyond the pandemic, following an unprecedented surge in new customers.

Providing reliable access to abundant fresh seasonal produce, sourced with low food miles directly from local family-run farms at fair prices, the country’s huge network of independent farm shops has become a more attractive option to shoppers than ever before, according to research by the Farm Retail Association (FRA).

Some 92 per cent of farm retailers surveyed by the FRA reported a “significant” rise in new customers since lockdown rules began in March. Quick to adapt from the very start, farm shops have offered continually replenished shelves to establish themselves as quality local alternatives to under-pressure supermarkets.

Crucially, farm shops provide calm environments with easy to follow social distancing measures that allow shoppers to feel safe, whilst communities are also benefitting from a raft of new services that were not available before.  

Some 79 per cent of farm retailers polled by the FRA said they had introduced a click and collect service because of coronavirus, including in the form of completely contactless drive-thrus. Another 67 per cent said they had introduced home deliveries.

As a result, farm shops across the UK have processed an estimated 1.4 million-plus orders for home delivery or collection since the government’s lockdown measures began.

Such ingenuity means farm shops are protecting hundreds of jobs and income for thousands of farmer suppliers in otherwise tough economic circumstances. By adding new services for customers, some 73 per cent of farm retailers said they have either hired extra staff or furloughed fewer employees than they expected to.

The FRA’s Large Farm Shop of the Year, Strawberry Fields in Lifton, Devon, is a national exemplar of how quick-thinking farm retailers have effectively remodelled their businesses in a very short space of time.

To offset the damaging closure of Strawberry Fields’ popular restaurant, a first foray into online retail has led to the successful launch of click and collect and a seven-days-a-week delivery service.

New product lines such as washing powder and toilet rolls have been added to staple food and drink offerings, such as beef from the family farm’s herd of Ruby Red Devon cattle, homegrown fruit and veg, and bread freshly baked on-site.

Laura Mounce, manager of Strawberry Fields Farm Shop, said: “We have worked hard to adapt quickly to ensure our customers continue to have access to quality, fresh locally-produced food without disruption.

“The feedback we have received from new and returning customers has been hugely rewarding and gives me enormous hope that they will keep shopping with us, long after the coronavirus pandemic ends.”

Rob Copley, chairman of the FRA, acknowledges that the challenge for farm shops as life slowly returns to some form of normality over the coming months, is to ensure that customers keep coming back. However, he is adamant that farm shops are well worth such lasting loyalty. 

Mr Copley, who owns Farmer Copleys Farm Shop in Pontefract, said: “The last couple of months have clearly shown that farm retailers can react nimbly to customer demands because of their size, independence and direct relationships with local farmers.

“They have also shown that they are proactive, supportive members of their local communities. We have members who prepare and deliver ready meals to local community groups that support the most vulnerable members of society. Others are donating produce to local school hubs, frontline NHS staff and other key workers.

“As well as going above and beyond in this time of crisis, farm retailers are helping to keep the nation fed, offering easy access to fresh, nutritious and affordable British food. They are demonstrating that they are both caring neighbours and viable alternatives to the supermarkets, boasting shorter supply chains with lower carbon footprints.

“Run by local families for local families, supporting local farmers and local jobs, farm shops are at the beating heart of communities across the country. We just hope customers keep coming back to support them and local farmers for years to come.”

Farm retailers play a crucial role in the rural economy, providing welcome support for thousands of independent suppliers, from family farms to artisan makers.

The FRA estimates that the UK’s network of farm shops has a combined turnover of more than £1.5bn, including sales from farm shop cafés.

To search for your nearest farm shop, go to www.farmretail.co.uk

Rob Copley-Chairman of the Farm Retail-Association

How to keep your EPoS equipment clean during Coronavirus

Conronavirus Cleaning

How to keep your EPoS equipment clean – Manufacturer advice for cleaning your POS equipment during during Coronavirus.

Wiping with 75% alcohol on the aluminium chassis, plastics covers and display is effective to clean these surfaces with no problems to the POS materials.

We recommend you use the following method:

  • Turn off your POS system & Credit Card Terminal completely, including peripherals’ power, and unplug the power cables if possible.
  • Get your cleaning material, such as lint-free cloth or cotton swab, prepared with cleaning solutions (e.g. 75% isopropyl alcohol).
  • DO NOT use any cleaning solutions that contains Acetone, Nitric acid or Ammonia.
  • Apply cleaning solution only on the cleaning material.
  • Gently wipe the exterior surface and clean your POS system & Pin Pad in a well ventilated environment.

Thank you for reading How to keep your EPoS equipment clean.

We hope this helps.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Coronavirus Hand Washing

We would like to reassure our customers that we plan to operate as close to business as usual as possible during this time of crisis with the Coronavirus.

We will be following the ongoing advice from the Government as closely as we can and systems are already in place to allow our team to work remotely should this be required in the coming days.

We will continue to post updates on our social media channels if anything changes, so please check these regularly.

Our social media channels are as follows:

https://www.facebook.com/openretailsolutions/
https://twitter.com/epossupplier
https://www.linkedin.com/company/open-retail-solutions-limited/

You can still contact us on the office number as usual, this number is 0115 9677 439.

If the office does close you will be able to contact us via email: support@openretailsolutions.co.uk and by mobile 07932 450 471.

Thank you from all the team at Open Retail Solutions.

FRA/FARMA Award for Associate Member of the Year 2020!

FRA/FARMA Awards 2020

OPEN RETAIL SOLUTIONS WINS NATIONAL FARM RETAIL AWARD

Open Retail Solutions has won Associate Member of the Year in a national award ceremony which celebrates the cream of the crop in the farm retail industry.

Open Retail Solutions was announced as one of the winners across seven categories in the prestigious awards organized by the Farm Retail Association (FRA) which was formed in 1979.

The Farm Retail Awards are the only awards to be judged by fellow farm retailers and celebrate the best farm shops, farm cafés and restaurants, farmers’ markets and trade suppliers in the country.

Chairman Rob Copley said: “What a terrific evening, celebrating the very best of farm retailers in the industry. The competition was tough, the calibre was high and to win one of the six awards is real accolade and testament to the gold-standard quality of the business.”

David Seville (Left) & Richard Ball (Right) accepting the award.

Awards included the ‘Rising Star Award’ which champions newcomers to the industry. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognises an individual who has made a lasting impression on the industry. Other categories include: Large Farm Shop of the Year (turnover over £1.5m); Small Farm Shop of the Year (turnover under £1.5m); Farmers’ Market of the Year; Farm Café/Restaurant of the Year; Trade Supplier Member of the Year.

The award dinner was part of the annual industry conference at the Nottingham Belfry, which features a fresh line up of fantastic guest speakers who will deliver talks on Wednesday 4 March.

Pat Whelan from James Whelan Butchers in Ireland will speak about building a successful butchery business and former Countryfile producer and Radio 4 Farming Today presenter Anna Jones will talk media coverage.

Paul Chamberlain who’s the Commercial Director of the Association of Convenience will explore key trends in food retail and Susan Hallam MBE will advise on how to build a social media audience.

The event will round off with a “Game Changer Workshop” by John Stanley – a leading retail specialist – who will share trends, ideas and solutions from his work around the world, tailored for a UK market.

This will be the first conference and award dinner to be organized by new managing agents Yorkshire Agricultural Society which took over the running of the association in the summer.

The FRA is open to thousands of independent retailers across the UK and offers its members support, training, workshops and open days.

We have been shortlisted for a Farm Retail Association Award

The Farm Retail Association Awards are held annually and we are on the shortlist for the Trade Supplier Of The Year Award 2020.

The awards take place as part of the annual Farm Retail Association / FRA conference, and this year are being held at The Nottingham Belfry, Mellors Way, Nottingham, NG8 6PY on Monday the 2nd to Wednesday the 4th of March 2020.

We have been a FRA/FARMA member now for many years, it’s a great community to be part of.

Farm Shops are one of the core sectors that we work with, and we provide our customers with seamless integrations with scales, weigh plates, weigh labellers and integrated card payments. All this along with data analysis which pushes businesses forward and achieve real growth.

Well done to all the other Farm Retail Association Award nominees, and good luck!

If you are interested in an EPoS solution for your business, contact us today!

Verifone P400

Open Retail Solutions are now authorised to sell the new Verifone P400 chip and pin card terminal.

Linked with our Till system, this gives you the latest in card processing technology.

New for this unit is dual connectivity.

The Verifone P400 can be connected by Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

Or crucially both, so it one goes down you have a back up payment method.

Features include a 3.5 inch full colour display, at an improved resolution giving a clear display what ever needs to be shown.

Touch screen capabilities for options selection.

Verifone P400

Customers using this solution will be using a PCI DSS unit which is compliant for “at least the next 10 years”.

Verifone have told us there are more features in development for this unit in the future, including penny rounding to charities.

If you an existing customer using an older unit such as the vx820, it is free to upgrade your terminals even if you are mid contract.

So give us a call today to start the process of upgrading.

Stands are available for attaching to your counters so the unit cannot fall onto the floor.

Click here to read more about the Verifone P400 unit.

Or call us today on 0115 9677439.

Farm Shop & Deli 2020

Farm Shop & Deli 2020 Logo

We are happy to announce we will be exhibiting at Farm Shop & Deli 2020 happening on 30th March to 1st April 2020 at the NEC Birmingham.

As regular attendees, we can say this is one of the best shows of the year, and our customers give us the same feed back.

Look no further for a new EPoS system for your Farm Shop, Delicatessen, Butchers or Cheese shop.

Visit our stand for a discussion on how our EPoS system could have a massive positive impact on your business in a short space of time.

Our stand number is E141, and we look forward to meeting you.

To act now, give us a call on 0115 9677439, or email sales@openretailsolutions.co.uk.

Visit the Open Retail Solutions company page on the Farm Shop & Deli 2020 website.

Visit the Farm Shop & Deli home page.

Bizerba EPoS Weigh Scale Integration

Bizerba XC 800

We can supply and integrate to three different Bizerba weigh scales.

We have integrated the product lines to our system so that if a price change or product description is changed this is sent directly to the scales without need to do any updating on the scale.

The simplest and cheapest scale model that we supply is the BCII. The scale offers 50 hot keys for the most regular selling lines and can label both weight and count lines.

The scale comes with a customer display that is conveniently positioned at a height that would normally show above most deli/butcher counters.

This scale can only print one label style but can print up to 4 additional lines of text on the label which can be used for things like ingredients or nutrition information.

The SCII scale also comes with the same 50 hot keys as the BCII scale, it can print multiple label style designs which can be useful when selling different types of product.

This scale also has the ability to add gradient pricing to a product.

This means that as the weight of a product line increases the price can reduce at set intervals.

This can also be used for count lines where the quantity entered is used rather than the weight.

The last and most expensive Bizerba scale that we can supply is the K Class.  This scale is fully touch screen and has all the features of the scales above.

The touch screen allows for multiple drill down hot keys which can be used to sell your product lines. This scale can also display screen text options which can be used for cooking instructions, ingredients, etc.

For more information on our EPoS solution please visit our website at http://www.openretailsolutions.co.uk or contact one of our sales team on 0115 9677439.

EPoS Labelling

TEC B-EX4T1 300 DPI

Lots of products now come pre-barcoded helping retailers immensely. But for a variety of reasons there are still plenty of products which don’t.

This is where a good labelling solution comes into play to keep your EPoS system accurate.

Using our solution there is no need for any laborious typing of product descriptions, prices etc. All this information is pulled from the database. You just pick the products, the label style and quantity, hit print and you are ready to label. Not only saving lots of time, but totally eliminating any human error.

There is a mind-boggling amount of choices in the world of label printing, but we can narrow it down to the two most useful and reliable types here.

Thermal EPoS Label Printing

Firstly, thermal printing, either direct or transfer. Direct is when the data is burnt directly onto the label. Transfer is via an ink ribbon. Direct is cheaper as you don’t have to buy ribbon but is slower, so normally only for occasional use. Transfer is much quicker so usually for bulk printing.

TEC B-EX4T1 300 DPI

For large volumes we recommend the TEC B-EX4T1 300 DPI. This printer is ideal for large volumes of printing as you can print thousands of labels in a couple of minutes. The labels are clear and accurate, ideal for barcode scanning.

Smaller volumes or occasional use is becoming more popular, especially in farm shops and delicatessens. For this we recommend the Zebra GK420T. Again, we use this because of the clarity of print. The advantage of this printer is that it can print in both direct and transfer modes.

The main label types are sticky backed labels in various sizes, lock ties, dumbbells, and pot-pointer / stick in. The down side with thermal printing is you can only print black on to usually white but yellow also works well.

Laser EPoS Labelling

The final option is laser printing. This is for more colourful labels such as shelf edging, bed cards, colour lock ties or larger sticky backed labels. If you are printing high volumes of labels this option can be expensive, but they do look great. Again, weather proof labels can be used to get a great looking label which isn’t going to fade quickly out in the elements.

If you are interested in mobile printing, head to our post entitled EPoS Mobile Printing with a Zebra QLn220.

If you are not happy with your current labelling solution and EPoS system, give us a call and upgrade to a safer more profitable method with Open Retail Solutions – 0115 9677439.