Asda brings back soup, roll and unlimited Tea and Coffee for just £1 for the winter months

Asda has announced it’s bringing back it’s popular café ‘winter warmer’ £1 meal deal scheme to support the over 60s this winter, as they continue to face increased financial pressures during the cost-living crisis.

From 1st November until the end of February, Asda are offering people aged 60 and over the chance to enjoy soup, a roll and unlimited tea and coffee for just £1 in any of Asda’s 205 cafes. 

Asda first launched Winter Warmers in November 2022 for two months in a bid to support older customers who were disproportionately affected by spiralling living costs, with 65-to-74-year-olds experiencing a £163 year-on-year drop in disposable income in August 2022. The initiative saw over 650,000 £1 soup meals served.

The offer is available all day during the period in question and will run alongside the Kids eat for £1 offer which continues to be hugely popular, with over2.6 million meals served since its launch in June 2022, and over 180,000 in the last four weeks alone.

The latest figures from Asda’s income tracker reveal 40% of the lowest earning households still experienced negative disposable income in September, meaning their income doesn't cover what they need to spend on bills and other essentials.

Kris Comerford, Asda’s Chief Commercial Officer said: “We know winter is set to be incredibly hard for thousands of pensioners as they continue to worry about how to keep themselves warm in the face of rising living costs and being on a fixed income.

"Last year we served over 650,000 meals to the over 60s in two months, by bringing the initiative back for 2023 and extending it until February we hope it will prove just as impactful across the winter months for those who need it most.”

Selected Asda stores also run a ‘Community Cuppa’ campaign in our cafes by creating space for community groups who may otherwise struggle to meet due to rental costs or high energy costs. Spaces will be available on weekdays in November and December from 2pm to 6pm and all community group members who visit will receive unlimited free tea or coffee.

www.asda.com

Transforming Restaurants: KAIKAKU’s Robots to Augment Human Capabilities

The three founders

The Gen-AI craze has largely overshadowed the revolutions bringing AI to the physical world. Robotics. 

A 22-year-old serial entrepreneur is embracing both AI and Robotics to revolutionise the way we consume food and has assembled an A-list team of respected innovators and “do-ers”.

The core philosophy of KAIKAKU centres around augmenting human capabilities by automating the repetitive chores and manual tasks native to the restaurant sector, which has long been riddled by chronic staff shortages and low job satisfaction. Unleashing the potential of robotics and AI, they aim to empower hospitality staff to embrace creativity and innovation, making the industry more dynamic and more engaging than ever before.

At its helm is CEO Josef Chen, who is a serial tech and food entrepreneur who at just 17 years old founded his first successful venture, which achieved a successful exit in just two years. 

Chen grew up in a Chinese Restaurant family helping with chores like slicing up cabbage at the age of 7. He said: “Having experienced all the problems first-hand and seeing my parents struggles to find staff, I've given thought to finding ways to radically change the industry.”

KAIKAKU, derived from the Japanese term for “radical change”, was founded in April 2023 by a stellar team with a mixture of F&B and technical expertise.

“I endeavoured to assemble the best team in Europe that can build everything at breakneck speed, and I believe we’re off to an amazing start!”opined Chen.

Co-Founder and CTOis  Dr David Sharp, who has a remarkable track record of delivering breakthrough innovations as former Head of Ocado Technologies 10x and Head of Engineering of Ocado’s Autonomous Mobility Team, joined the mission after researching commercial food and beverage  Technologies. 

Sharp said: “There's an exciting opportunity to apply the latest automation, robotics and AI technologies to transform the customer proposition and operational economics for the quick service restaurant sector."

Another notable addition to the team is Piers Millar, who Chen convinced to drop out of his studies at the London School of Economics to join as Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer. 

Bringing hands-on experience as the UK’s youngest Crew Trainer at McDonald's and having helped Chen scale a dark kitchen dessert brand to 6 figure revenues within 3 months of inception, Millar confidently pre: “By 2030, will robotics be a common sight at restaurants and cafes? I have no doubt!”

Chen went on to say: “To achieve our hyper-ambitious goals, we needed expertise on scaling the world’s largest locations of F&B chains, creating delicious food consistently at massive scale and the details on creating and opening new food and beverage concepts from ground Zero.”

He added: "So we went out and found the world’s leading experts in their fields to join our advisory board!”

Featuring industry veterans including Don Fertman, former Chief Development Officer of Subway, David Crean, former Global Chief Science Officer at Mars Inc and Jonathan Hart, former MD of Café Nero and CEO of Thorntons.

Automation and robotics aren’t distant dreams for the food and beverage industry; they’re today’s reality. 

Leading restaurant chains worldwide are embracing technology to streamline their operations and elevate customer experiences, emphasising the immense potential KAIKAKU is poised to harness.

Readers can learn more by visiting their website:- https://kaikaku.ai

(EDITOR: What do you think of AI and robotics being used in the food industry in an increasing fashion? Is it a good or a bad development?

Is it going back to the old days of the automated robo-diners of the 1950s? They were called Automats and you'll find details of the rise and fall of Automats here:- https://www.thoughtco.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-automat-4152992)

New deal for parents from Asda

With just a week to go before most kids head back to school, Asda has introduced a new ‘Back to School bonus’ on its Rewards app.

Customers will get 10% back on school uniforms and a £2 Cashpot giveaway when they spend £10 on other back-to-school essentials like stationary, lunch boxes and drink bottles.

Asda has launched the offer after new research showed many families are struggling with school uniform costs due to ongoing financial pressures caused by the current situation.

A quarter (25%) of Asda customers surveyed said they'd be forced buy less school uniforms this year compared on years, while 42% said they'd do their best to try to make old uniforms last as long as they could before replacing them.

To make the back-to-school shop more affordable, customers can take advantage of the following Asda Rewards offers:

10% back in their Cashpots on all school uniform clothing, footwear and accessories with no minimum spend required, until Sunday 10th September 

A £2 cashpot boost when they spend £10 on other back-to-school essentials such as stationary, until Sunday 3rd September.  

New Asda Rewards customers who download and scan the app for the first time will get £5 in their Cashpot, until midnight on Sunday 30th September. 

Additionally, Asda is also offering 10% off all schoolwear online via its George website until Monday 11th September.

Asda also has a 100-day guarantee on school uniforms, meaning that if for any reason a customer is not satisfied with their school uniform, they can simply return it within 100 days with proof of purchase for an exchange or refund.

Scott MacRae, who is Senior Buying Manager for Schoolwear at George, said: “With only a week until schools return, we're aware our customers will be focusing on ensuring their children are kitted out for the new school year. We appreciate this can be stressful, especially for our large families, so we want to help budgets stretch further with our back-to-school offers across our website and Asda Rewards.”

Asda’s latest Income Tracker reveals family disposable income remains firmly below the levels experienced prior to the cost-of-living crisis, down by £25.99 per week for the average household compared against July 2021.

The tracker also reveals those aged 30-49, are feeling the pinch the most as their spending on essentials, such as food, housing costs and utility bills, was 9.4% higher in July compared to a year earlier.

(EDITOR: But remember when you take your children to Asda to buy uniforms, school supplies, etc, Asda is still offering special meal deals in the Asda cafés, so you can feed them, too!)

www.asda.com