Heron Foods is one of the UK’s leading value retailers, serving customers through more than 300 stores across the country. With over 3,800 employees, the company prides itself on operating locally, with a focus on providing personal service and great value in every community it serves.
Building a new standard for communication, safety and compliance
Key takeaways
Requirements
- Consistent in‑store and cross-company communication
- Reliable system for mandatory task reminders (e.g., Health & Safety)
- Direct communication between regional management and store staff
- Seamless integration with existing safety protocols like Staffsafe
Solution
- Hands-free DECT headsets for all store colleagues
- Mobile app for area, regional and other field-based managers
- AI assistant with agentic AI‑powered workflows
- Smart notifications and automated reminders
- Direct integration with Staffsafe security protocols
Results
- Enhanced communication between field-based staff and store colleagues
- Improved consistency and completion of mandatory in‑store tasks
- Increased staff confidence and feeling of safety
Challenges
With a growing network of over 300 stores, Heron Foods faced a significant operational challenge: ensuring consistent communication and procedural compliance across its entire estate. The existing mix of Microsoft Teams, email and closed headset solutions created communication silos. This made it difficult for regional managers to connect directly with in‑store staff and for the head office to share critical information, such as a product recall, quickly and reliably.
Additionally, the company needed a robust system to ensure mandatory tasks, from daily health and safety checks to freezer temperature monitoring, were completed on time, every time, to meet legal and operational standards. The previous systems could not deliver these crucial reminders directly and effectively to a busy, hands‑on workforce.
A solution that adds value from day one
Heron Foods chose x‑hoppers because it offered significant value beyond a simple headset replacement. The platform provides a unified communications solution with AI assistance that connects every part of the business while integrating seamlessly with existing systems.
This move to a smarter system was underpinned by a refreshingly simple deployment. After initial installations were handled by the x‑hoppers team, the solution proved so straightforward that Heron Foods’ own in‑house IT support team took over installations for all new and refurbished stores, fitting it in alongside their standard IT infrastructure rollout. When ongoing support is needed, the team connects directly with the x‑hoppers team via the x‑hoppers platform for fast and easy assistance.
5.0
5.0
We are seeing tangible benefits to our investments in x‑hoppers already, with enhanced communication between field-based staff and store colleagues.
Jon Newson
Head of Information Technology
Results
For Heron Foods, the benefits of a truly unified system were immediate. Area and regional managers, along with retail training and profit protection teams, can now use the mobile app to communicate directly with any colleague on the shop floor. This provides instant connection and ensures critical messages reach the right people at the right time.
But the goal of rolling out x‑hoppers wasn’t just to save time — it was to build a smarter, safer and more consistent operation. The results show they did just that, creating a significant competitive advantage.
However, the real operational game-changer came from embedding intelligence directly into the daily workflow. Staff now receive automated smart notifications for mandatory tasks like freezer checks and health and safety walks. This doesn’t just improve compliance; it builds a culture of confidence and accountability.
This sense of confidence is amplified by the platform’s safety features. The seamless integration with StaffSafe provides an instant lifeline in every headset, making colleagues feel safer and more supported on every shift.
For the Heron Foods leadership team, x‑hoppers proved to be more than a communications tool; it became a foundational platform for a resilient and intelligent operation. Jon Newson captures this strategic value perfectly:
“The real value-add we see from x‑hoppers extends beyond just colleagues talking in store. It’s the deep integration with systems like Staffsafe, the field-based communication and collaboration it enables, and how it aligns with our future roadmap, particularly with self-service checkouts. That combination makes it an incredibly powerful solution for us.”
What's next:
Building on this foundation, Heron Foods is now rolling out the x‑hoppers AI assistant, which is trained on its internal knowledge base, including store procedures and technical data. The system will soon be able to automatically route calls and provide on-demand answers to frontline staff. This next phase will deliver instant Tier 0 support through every headset, further solidifying Heron Foods’ position as a leader in intelligent retail operations.
