Putting the barcode at the centre of the grocery industry
GS1 UK and Datalogic get festival goers to race against the clock to see who can scan a basket of grocery items the fastest, at GroceryAid’s headline fundraising event, Barcode Festival
London, 17 June 2019: Standards organisation GS1 UK will be supporting national charity, GroceryAid at their headline event Barcode Festival.
The festival has been described as the “perfect summer party for everyone in the grocery industry”, with street food, bars, walk-about entertainment and live music from the likes of Jessie J, Basement Jaxx and Nick Grimshaw.
GroceryAid is the charity for all people who work or have worked in the grocery industry, from producers and factories through to stores both, large and small. Fundraising events, such as Barcode Festival, help the charity continue to support thousands of people every year, whether they need financial, emotional or practical assistance.
To show their support for the cause, the GS1 UK team are injecting a little bit of fun into the humble barcode, by running a competition to see who can scan a basket of grocery items the fastest. Think Supermarket Sweep meets Top Gear.
Festival goers will step into GS1 UK’s makeshift grocery store and race against the clock as they compete to scan 15 household items. At the end of the day, the ultimate winner will be awarded a beach bag full of summer holiday goodies, including everything from an inflatable flamingo and factor 50, to a reusable water bottle and a portable speaker.
The competition is supported by GS1 UK industry partner Datalogic, who have been the global leader in checkout scanning for almost half a century. Their innovative technology has made the checkout process simpler for cashiers, has helped to boost revenue for retailers, and played a fundamental role in delivering a better customer experience.
On the day of the festival, participants will have the chance to try out their Magellan™ 9800, complete with digital imagers in all planes and scanners that read both 1D and 2D barcodes seamlessly, so the cashier doesn’t need to turn the item.
And if that wasn’t exciting enough, GS1 UK are hosting a team of glitter artists who will be on hand to help festival goers get into the party mood. Whether it is a light dusting or a completely glistening beard, festival outfits won’t be complete without a little sparkle.
Jim Dickson, head of retail for GS1 UK, said: “We are delighted to be part of Barcode 2019! It is great to see the barcode at the centre of all things grocery and to help raise money for a brilliant cause.
“This is a must attend event for everyone in the grocery sector. It gives us all the chance to enjoy great food, drink and live music, as well as meet the fantastic people that make the industry thrive.”
Barcode Festival takes place on Thursday 4 July 2019 at Hawker House, London. The festivities kick off at 3:00pm and continue on until midnight, with last entry at 9:00pm. While there is no specific dress code, the theme for this year’s festival is “Barcode Beach”, so expect to see lots of tropical shirts, Hawaiian headdresses and faux beachfronts.
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About GS1 UK
GS1 UK is just one of 114 neutral and independent GS1 organisations operating worldwide. From product barcodes to patient wristbands, GS1 standards have been transforming the way we work and live for more than 40 years.
Whether online, in store or in a hospital, the common language of GS1 global standards is helping our community of more than 39,000 organisations across Britain to uniquely identify, describe and track anything, creating greater trust in data for everyone.
For further information or requests for interviews, please contact Tim Haidar: 020 7092 3584 / Tim.Haidar@gs1uk.org.
About productDNA
productDNA is a single catalogue of high-quality, independently verified data that enables retailers and brands to use one shared language to describe and manage product data. To find out more about productDNA, visit us at www.gs1uk.org/productdna, or contact our team directly via productDNA@gs1uk.org or on 0203 318 0633.