Upmarket bakery chain and favourite among sourdough fans, GAIL’s, has partnered with security technology firm, Verkada, to improve security across more than 170 stores across its UK network.

GAIL’s has rolled out a suite of Verkada security solutions, including AI-powered video cameras, as well as access control and air quality sensors, enabling remote management of its bakeries. The partnership aims to protect critical assets and reduce security investigation times, as well as improving employee safety.

Unifying its security systems had become a priority for GAIL’s. Having experienced rapid expansion since opening its first bakery in London’s Hampstead in 2005 and now with a store estate of 170+ locations across the UK, managing security and operations across multiple sites had became increasingly complex. With each store operating its own security system, lack of consistency made the oversight of its fast-growing bakery footprint difficult and inefficient.

Operating on Verkada’s unified platform has delivered scalability and centralised control to GAIL’s security requirements. The cloud-based solution allow GAIL’s team to monitor any of its stores remotely from any device.

GAIL’s has also benefited from new features, including AI-Powered Search, which has further streamlined security operations and reduced investigation times by 25%. “The ability to remotely monitor our bakeries, track food preparation, and investigate incidents has delivered tangible benefits,” Brett Parker, Property Director at GAIL’s Bakery, added.

Outside of boosting its security efforts, GAIL’s is also seeing operational benefits from the solution. For example, it uses its cameras on food prep stations to ensure compliance with food safety standards, monitor allergen handling processes and maintain quality control. Using visual intelligence from the cameras, such as heat maps and trajectory analysis, the bakery chain has also been able to optimise store layouts and customer flows.