WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR INAN EARLY-STAGE INNOVATOR,AND WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN THEYMAKE TO YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN?

CASE STUDY: 2018 WINNER

TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW: ImpactVision enables foodcompanies to make real-timedecisions about food quality. Our hyperspectral imaging andmachine learning softwareunderstands the properties of foodproducts rapidly and non-invasively, informing sorting,packing and distribution choicesthat maximise quality, yield andprofitability. We can predict theripeness of avocados ortenderness of beef, confirm thatfish from a supplier is fresh, ordetect contaminants like plasticsduring processing.

technology from a broad range oftech companies, and allows thesebusinesses to pitch their ideas tofarmers, suppliers and Tescocolleagues. The winner will get thechance to trial their technology withsome of our suppliers, and help toprovide our customers withaffordable, healthy, sustainable food.

The overarching ambition of the Agri T-Jam is to make a positive difference toour supply chains, and to help improveoverall efficiencies and focus onsupporting a sustainable future for oursuppliers and farmers. The Agri T-Jamis the perfect way to showcase some ofthe newest and most exciting

Abi Ramanan, CEO, IMPACTVISION

Natalie Smith, Head of Agriculture, TESCO

WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE YOURWIN LAST OCTOBER? We’ve spent the time thoroughlylearning about Tesco’s differentproduct categories, such asseafood and produce, to identifywhere the biggest needs are forour technology. We’ve spentquality time with the Tesco seniorfood team including Tesco’s Headof Produce, and through visits toTesco HQ and supplier sites wehave gained invaluable insightsinto its supply chain and partnersas well as fundamental businessobjectives.

WHAT IS DRIVING THIS APPROACH?ARERETAILERS DEVELOPING THEIR REACHONTO THE FIELD AND FOOD PRODUCTIONPRACTICES?

Recently we announced our longterm partnership with WWF. We arehoping new technology that comesout of the Agri T-Jam will addresssome of our shared objectives suchas lowering our carbon footprint andreducing food waste.

At Tesco we want to make a positivedifference, whether at a farm level orwithin our stores. By seeking new,innovative and disruptive technologywe will work towards our commitmentsof making our business moresustainable for the future.

WHY WAS IMPACTVISION CHOSEN ASTHE WINNER LAST YEAR?

technology. The ability forImpactVision’s technology to helpreduce overall product waste was ofparticular interest, given Tesco’sincreased focus on waste reduction.The information generated from itstechnology allows stakeholders acrossfood supply chains to assess productquality in real-time, making decisionsthat help to achieve superior productconsistency, deliver premium qualityand prevent supply chain waste.

ImpactVision is a machine learningcompany, applying hyperspectralimaging technology to food supplychains to deliver consistent foodquality, generate premium productsand reduce supply chain waste. It waschosen as last year’s winner for anumber of reasons, including theinnovative nature of its technology, itsadaptability across a number ofdifferent supply chains, and the passionthat Abi Ramanan (its CEO) had for the

DEADLINE TO ENTER: AUGUST 7, 2019www.worldagritechinnovation.com/tesco-agri-t-jam

ARE YOU STILL IN TOUCH WITH ANY OFTHE OTHER 9 FINALISTS?The Agri T-Jam has built a network of innovative technology firms. We havekept in touch with a few of the finalists, and a number of our suppliers have alsomade enquiries –  exactly the outcome that we intended to achieve.

CONNECTING ENTREPRENEURS WITH TESCO 'S SUPPLY CHAIN

WHAT’S DIFFERENTABOUT TESCO AGRIT-JAM THIS YEAR?The 2019 Tesco Agri T-Jam and World Agri-Tech Pitch Day will be hosted at Tesco'sHeart building at the centre of its campus inWelwyn Garden City, just north of London.Heart is a hub of creativity and provides aspace for Tesco's product development teamsto innovate and test out new ideas. Holdingthe event there will allow even more Tescocolleagues, suppliers and industrystakeholders to attend.

All finalist start-ups will receivecomplimentary guests passes to the WorldAgri-Tech Innovation Summit, October 15-16in London, where the winner will also presentto the full summit audience of 500+ globalagri-food business leaders and investors.

A key target outcome now is to runa successful pilot with a supplier,and then grow from there. Initially Tesco introduced us to one oftheir seafood suppliers, with whom wehad multiple conference calls todiscuss how our tool could applywithin their quality control process,specifically, for identifying additionalwater-holding capacity. Thatparticular pilot didn’t go ahead as thecommercial value wasn’t significantenough, but we learned a hugeamount about their supply chainprocesses, which was invaluable. We have been in discussions for afew months now with Branston –the Lincolnshire-based supplier whoprovide a significant percentage ofTesco’s potatoes. Branston’s Directorof Innovation, Vidyanath Gururajan,was one of the judges at the TescoAgri T-Jam and he was especiallyinterested in our technology.

DEADLINE TO ENTER:AUGUST 7, 2019Agri-tech start-ups from around theworld are invited to apply now:

www.worldagritechinnovation.com/

tesco-agri-t-jam

CASE STUDY VIDEO:

PROJECT UPDATES:www.impactvi.com/impactvision-and-tesco-an-update-on-our-partnership/

"At Branston, as a Tesco potato productpartner we take pride in innovating toenhance our product offering.  Thefantastic Tesco Agri T-Jam initiativeprovided access to an excellent line-upof emerging technologies and start-upsthat could help us to solve specificproblems that exist in our supply chain.We have been working withImpactVision, the winner of Tesco Agri TJam, with a view to see how itstechnology can help us in potato supplychain. We have trials planned for 2019harvested potato crops."

Vidyanath Gururajan, Innovations Director, BRANSTON LTD

The exposure to Tesco’s sheer volumeof suppliers and scale of its supplychain has been fascinating to learnhow our solution could operate atscale. The opportunity to also learnabout multiple product categorieshas been great. We haven’tdeveloped new applications (yet!) aswe are busy commercialising ourforeign object detection system, butthe visibility through Tesco has givenus a big boost. We were speaking

Filmed by Tesco for its internal partnerand supplier network:

We plan to pilot our technology forthe assessment and prediction ofthe dry matter content of potatoesusing hyperspectral images, andhave completed a site visit toBranston’s facility to understandwhere our solution could beintegrated. ImpactVision’s technology offersvalue to Branston by allowingthem to non-invasively qualify drymatter content in their potatoes inreal-time, rather than using acrude bulk measurement. It canprovide a highly discrete, specificanalysis so Branston can segmentits product more effectively byquality, developing differentranges and meeting precisequality specifications for each one.

independently to one of Tesco’ssuppliers before the Agri T-Jam, sogaining the official endorsementfrom Tesco’s Agri team has reallyhelped us to have more access todata and insights. Even smallimprovements in distribution andshelf-life can have an enormousimpact on reducing waste andcosts when you multiply by thekind of volumes Tesco and itssuppliers work with.

HOW HAS THIS EXPOSURE TO TESCO'S SUPPLY CHAIN CHANGEDYOUR BUSINESS?

We don’t apply for generalist techevents, only agri-food related pitchdays and accelerator programmesthat can connect us with potentialcustomers, strategic partners andnetworks we want to grow with andlearn from. Building relationshipswithin the food industry is critical as atechnology solution provider, so wefocus the majority of our efforts ontrade shows and industry events.

WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT PITCHING OPPORTUNITIES FORSTART-UPS, HOW DO YOU CHOOSE WHICH TO APPLY FOR?

WHAT'S YOUR ADVICE TO START-UPS APPLYING THIS YEAR?

The Tesco Agri T-Jam and WorldAgri-Tech Pitch Day was an easyno-brainer for us! We’re developingproducts that could immediatelybe applied to Tesco’s agri-foodsupply chain, offering value acrossmultiple categories and volumes.And of course, the legitimacyoffered by a potential connectionwith the Tesco brand and WorldAgri-Tech was highly desirable.

We are currently building out our avocado dry matter application which isthe next big project we’ll be launching in the next year. And I certainlyhope to be at World Agri-Tech again in October, we’re excited to see whowins this opportunity the second time round!

WHAT'S NEXT FOR IMPACT VISION? WILL WE SEE YOU IN OCTOBER?

Tailor your application specifically toTesco and its supply chain. Do yourresearch, look through the annualreport with key insights to see whereyou can align benefits and outcomes.Tesco has made a huge commitmentto halve food waste by 2030, and all

its suppliers are very familiar withthat goal.  So whether it’s reducingfood waste or plastics or otherenvironmental impacts, linkingyour solution and outcomes to oneof Tesco’s specific sustainabilitygoals would be a wise move.