Walmart and Avery Dennison deploy RFID technology for fresh food categories

Walmart and Avery Dennison have introduced RFID technology for fresh categories, including meat, bakery and deli, to improve inventory accuracy and reduce food waste through a first-of-its-kind sensor innovation.

The collaboration addresses a longstanding industry challenge of using RFID technology in high-moisture, cold environments such as meat cases. Walmart partnered with Avery Dennison to develop and test sensor technology that enables RFID-enabled labels in the meat department, allowing associates to track inventory faster and more accurately.

'We believe technology should make things easier for both our associates and our customers,' commented Christyn Keef, vice president of front-end transformation for Walmart US 'By cutting down on manual work, we're giving our associates more time to focus on what really matters: helping our customers.'

With digital use-by dates at their fingertips, associates can rotate products more efficiently and make smarter markdown decisions, helping reduce unsold food. The technology enables associates to instantly assess the freshness of the foods they handle, improving inventory management.

'Supporting Walmart with first-to-market RFID innovation across multiple fresh food categories underscores our mutual commitment to people and the planet,' explained Julie Vargas, vice president and general manager of Avery Dennison Identification Solutions. 'By giving each item its own digital identity, associates instantly know the freshness of the foods they are handling, enabling better inventory management and resulting in less waste.'

The collaboration supports Walmart's sustainability goals, including its aim to cut global operational food loss and waste intensity in half by 2030. By introducing automated item-level identification, the companies are transforming how fresh food is managed.

Avery Dennison remains committed to enabling a more connected food supply chain through its Optica portfolio, enabling visibility and transparency from source to store.