Sustainable living is a hot topic these days, as people work to stretch their budgets in an eco-friendly manner. Karen’s Pantry in Felixstowe is the go-to destination for sustainable shopping, offering a wide range of products purchasable in bulk, such as pantry staples like grains and spices, but also household essentials such as detergents and cleaning supplies. With a mission to reduce waste and make eco-friendly living accessible, Karen’s Pantry invites customers to bring their own containers and refill rather than repurchase, helping the community embrace a greener lifestyle.

But behind the scenes, running a bulk refill store came with its own set of challenges that made it incredibly difficult to track inventory and sales. Staff had to manually weigh empty containers before filling them, having to jot down or try to remember each container’s weight. What’s more, each product has a different price, making it difficult to calculate totals accurately. The pen-and-paper system quickly became overwhelming, especially during busy hours. The process was confusing, time-consuming, and prone to errors, leading to lost revenue and operational inefficiencies.

That’s when they contacted Everything EPOS to help them find a better way.

Smart Scales Leads to Better Sales

Everything EPOS introduced a smart, streamlined system that transformed how Karen’s Pantry handles refills and transactions. Integrated scales directly connected to the EPOS till lies at the heart of the solution. This setup allows staff to weigh empty containers and their till will remember the tare weight at checkout. Say goodbye to scribbling notes and relying on memory.

Once the container is weighed, the system generates a scale label that includes the tare weight and other relevant details. Staff simply stick the label onto the container, and when the customer refills it and checks out, the till automatically deducts the container’s weight. This ensures accurate pricing for each product, as well as more accurate record keeping.

What Karen’s Pantry Didn’t Know They Were Missing

For Karen’s Pantry, visibility into what’s actually being sold—and what’s walking out the door—is the key to profitability. With Everything EPOS’s till and scales in place, they now have a clearer view of what’s happening inside their business. The till system provides real-time data that helps them understand which products are popular, which ones might not be worth stocking, and where losses are occurring.

Whether it’s a scoop of flour dropped during refilling or a suspicious disappearance of chocolates, Karen’s Pantry can now track patterns and pinpoint problems. This level of insight is invaluable for a bulk store where every gram counts. Instead of guessing or relying on gut instinct, they’re making informed decisions backed by data.

And that’s tipped the scales in Karen’s Pantry’s favor.