Last week, you will recall, we asked ourselves just how the clever people from ShopriteX’s innovation and tech hub were going to prevent shoplifting when using Checkers’ new smart trolley. This week, all has been revealed, thanks to this videoof a shopping journey compiled by News24. In a nutshell, the clever cart is equipped with cameras and a scale, so when the shopper scans the product, the system will ensure that the item has indeed been placed into the trolley by measuring its weight and cross-checking it against the listing details. If an item is placed inside the trolley without first scanning the barcode, the camera takes a pic, and displays it on the trolley’s touchscreen for the shopper to see the offending item. And there’s no chance that your underage teen can walk away with a bottle of booze either, since the system flags the item for security to check the shopper’s ID when leaving the payment area. Seems they’ve thought of everything then. We look forward to seeing what shoppers think of it. In other Shoprite news, the 2025 Championship Boerewors winner has been announced, with Paarl car salesman Roberto-Rui Agrela walking away with (ahem) a car, R20k in cash and the honour of providing South Africans with his tasty wors for the next year. Last year alone, Championship Boerewors fans bought enough wors to make 56 million boerewors rolls – a stretch of 8,393km, long enough to run from Cape Town to Austria. A quick look at the 10 finalists shows some interesting occupations, with entrants ranging from a chef to a barista, and even a Matric learner from Wellington.

Comment: At 33, winner Roberto-Rui is the same age as the Championship Boerewors competition itself. Well done to all the finalists, and enjoy the wors, South Africa.

We start our wrap-up of shorter stories with a big up to The Big Blue, whose Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programme has delivered +44% year-on-year sales growth for the SMMEs partnering with Pick n Pay. Since its launch, the initiative has grown to include 146 locally sourced suppliers, with around 10 SMMEs being added each year. The programme underscores the strong economic impact of small business integration within Pick n Pay’s supply chain, directly contributing to job creation while expanding shopper choice with innovative, high-quality local products.
Next, Food Lover’s Market has released its second Earth Lovers Report for 2024/2025, detailing its commitment to sustainability and social impact. Having a look at some key statistics:

• 5 million meals were funded in May 2024 alone as part of World Hunger Month
• R7m was invested in social impact and enterprise development, including the Seeds of Change alumni, who now supply Food Lover’s Market stores
• Over 5,063,702 kWh of solar power was generated in 2024, preventing 4,572 tCO2e in emissions – up 29.9% from 2023

For a closer look at the deets, click on the link a few lines up to download the report.
And as Women’s Month draws to a close, it is only fitting for us to report that Zoie Health, South Africa’s first digital platform for women’s wellness, is listing its supplement range in Clicks and Dis-Chem stores. Developed by doctors, dieticians, and pharmacists, Zoie’s supplements address women’s health issues such as polycystic ovary syndrome, PMS, gut health and energy levels. The products are sugar-free, Halaal-certified, gluten-friendly, and locally developed, and a portion of every purchase supports local NGOs working to curb gender-based violence, sexual trafficking, and period poverty.

In a move that we didn’t even realise could be a thing, Lidl in Scotland is launching its first gender-balanced beer aisle by giving equal shelf space to beers brewed by women and female-owned breweries compared to their male counterparts. Rolling out in 112 Scottish stores, the initiative serves the dual purpose of supporting the transformative change taking place in the beer industry, as well as honouring Scotland’s beer-making tradition, which historically was considered “women’s work” – at the time, drinking beer was, in fact, a safer alternative to water, a belief that many South African men gathered around the braai still firmly hold on to centuries later. Still in the UK, over 60 retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Boots have issued a warning to the Labour government regarding the new rule where employers must start paying National Insurance – the UK’s form of social security – for employees earning as little as £5,000 a year, when the previous threshold was almost twice that at £9,100. The new rule, the retailers argue, will increase retail prices and place jobs at risk at a time when food prices have risen at their fastest rate over the last 18 months. And we close with a happier story, where Asda has partnered with Lloyds Bank to offer competitive financing to UK suppliers showing transparency and progress in their sustainability efforts. This programme, set to begin in October, builds on a similar initiative with local bank HSBC launched last year. They aim to encourage suppliers to share sustainability data and improve their environmental, social, and ethical performance, while helping Asda achieve its own sustainability goals.

Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, in partnership with PwC, is showing the industry what it means to lead decision-making with data. Launched in 2023, the duo are using a data platform that analyses over 11 million transactions every six months to provide insights to the 800+ Waterfront tenants. “We knew we had a lot of data,” says Alex Kabalin, Executive Manager of Retail at the V&A Waterfront, which receives 25 million visits from locals and tourists annually, “but until recently, we weren’t using it as well as we could to support our tenants.” The insights drawn from the analysis of card swipes include country of origin, and location and time of spend. One good example is that the data showed a consistent influx of high-net-worth visitors from Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, who shop during very specific months of the year and also have a specific peculiarity: they want to shop late. “It changes the conversation we’re having with tenants about hours, staffing, cultural nuances and even lighting and ambience,” explains Kabalin. Access to the baseline information is free to all tenants, allowing everyone, from family-owned boutiques to global names, to benefit from the insights and receive ad-hoc support from the PwC team. The programme plans to expand with more customisation, frequent reporting, and data workshops to help tenants translate insights into strategy.

For millions (dare we say billions) the world over, coffee provides that indispensable caffeine kick to start off the day. Now Nespresso is taking it a step further by introducing what it calls its Functional Coffee Range, a range of five blends designed to support modern lifestyles, enriched with ginseng, vitamin B and extra caffeine. With catchy names like ‘Stormio Go’ and ‘Ginseng Delight’, the range is responsibly sourced, precision-roasted, and designed for exceptional taste. In other coffee industry news, major North American beverage company, Keurig Dr Pepper has announced that it plans to acquire JDE Peet’s, manufacturer of Jacobs, Douwe Egberts and another 50 or so hot drink brands. Worth a cool €15.7bn, the deal will lead to the creation of two US-listed firms, one focussed on coffee and the other on water and soft drinks, such as Schweppes, Snapple and 7 Up. For Keurig Dr Pepper, the merger will establish a more resilient and diversified coffee business at a time when the industry is facing tariffs and high bean prices. For JDE Peet’s, it means a fresh start after the firm has struggled to meet expectations due to drought affecting key production countries such as Brazil and Vietnam, driving up bean prices and leading to pricing disputes with European retailers. Overall, the split is expected to create significant value for shareholders, as each new company can focus on its unique market dynamics and growth opportunities.

A quick look at Stats SA’s inflation data for July 2025 shows another uptick, taking us to a 10-month high with total CPI at +3.5% YoY (Jun: +3.0% | May and Apr: +2.8%). More specifically:

• Inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages came in at +5.7% – the highest since Feb 2024 – driven up by higher meat prices (+10.5%), with beef +28.8% YoY due to supply disruptions from foot-and-mouth disease. Meanwhile, breakfast will be a bit more affordable, with instant coffee inflation cooling, and milk and eggs also cheaper than last year. Go easy on the cheddar in that omelette, though, because cheese is more expensive than 12 months ago
• Municipal tariffs were adjusted in July, with water: +12.1% YoY and +10.6% for electricity
• And fuel prices remained cheaper than last July 2024 (i.e. deflation) at -5.5%, despite price increases for both petrol and diesel at the beginning of Jul 2025

Comment: Inflation has been contained over the first half of 2025, but it will likely start to tick up in the second half of the year. This increase is expected to be driven by higher food inflation, specifically due to rising beef prices in the third quarter. Fuel could move from deflation to low inflation in Q4 as the positive base effect from the sharp drop in international oil prices in late 2024 begins to wear off; however, this will depend on the rand-dollar exchange rate and geopolitical developments affecting global oil supply.