AI puts the right product on the shop shelf – and less in the bin

'Our goal is to become a world leader in optimising the meat industry and, in doing so, make it more sustainable,' says founder Robert Ekrem.

Ekrem and his company, Völur, are well on their way to achieving this by making the best possible use of each animal based on actual market demand.

The meat products we put in our shopping baskets vary throughout the year. While we tend to choose pork neck chops in summer, we prefer pork ribs at Christmas.

Slaughterhouses take this into account in their planning, both by cutting the animal in different ways and using different cuts in sausages and other processed meat products. However, matching market demand precisely with the raw materials available is a highly complex task involving many different variables. Entrepreneur Robert Ekrem experienced this first-hand during his years working for meat producer Nortura.

'If demand does not quite match how you butcher the animal, you end up with large stocks of cuts that you have to push onto the market to clear – sometimes at a loss. At the same time, this encourages an unnecessary increase in meat consumption. It also creates a great deal of waste, both in shops and among consumers,' Ekrem says, adding:

- Research has shown that as much as 24 per cent of all meat is thrown away. This causes significant unnecessary emissions.

He gives an example:

- Sometimes a shop offers frozen pork chops for NOK 29.90 per kilo. No one makes any money from that. They end up in people's freezers, and some are thrown away. Those sales are completely unnecessary. The meat should have gone into sausages instead. You may have used ham in the sausages while failing to meet demand for sliced ham.

This sparked the idea of developing technology that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help meat producers make the best possible decisions. In 2019, Robert Ekrem founded Völur together with David Moriano and Adrian Diaz, and by 2020 they were working full-time to build a scale-up company. Today, they have 27 employees – 15 in Norway, two in the US and the rest across Europe. Their customers include JBS USA, one of the world's largest meat producers, and Cooperl, France's second-largest pork producer.

Völur's software optimises operations at each factory every day. Using data from each slaughterhouse, it creates a daily sorting and cutting plan that matches the right animals with the right products. The company is also developing a long-term planning solution. This will enable Völur to create the optimal balance between supply and demand across the value chain for pork, beef, chicken and other types of meat in the future.

With a global industry, there is clear potential for both business and sustainability.

'Long-term improvement efforts can have an enormous impact, even with gains of just a few percentage points. For example, a 6 per cent reduction in emissions from the meat industry would be equivalent to half of the entire aviation industry's emissions,' Ekrem points out.

Optimal planning naturally also increases profitability.

'We see that daily optimisation increases operating revenue by 2–4 per cent. This adds up to significant value when volumes are high, and our customers are very pleased with the results.'

He points out that, in theory, a better balance between supply and demand could also help farmers secure higher prices for their produce.

Völur has received funding from Bionova to develop long-term planning for chicken production. Bionova is our initiative for supporting innovation and value creation in the bioeconomy.

'Völur’s tool is a good example of the solutions Norway and the world need to succeed in the green transition that agriculture must undergo alongside the rest of the business sector. In Norway, agriculture accounts for ten per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions, so there is significant potential for improvement in this sector,' says Silje Lesjø, Acting EVP of Bionova.

Völur has also received market clarification funding, commercialisation grants and loans.

'Our support schemes have been very important to us. At an early stage, they are crucial for developing your product to the point where investors are willing to back you,' says the founder.

Völur has also taken part in our renowned TINC scaling programme, which enables companies to test their business models in Silicon Valley.

'The network we gained through this programme, and the mindset we developed, have been incredibly important to us. It was also through TINC that we were introduced to our US investor. We are still in regular contact with our Silicon Valley office, for example when we need introductions in the US market,' says Ekrem.

Learning to think big is an important part of the Silicon Valley mindset. It is an approach they are taking with them as the company looks to the future.

'Now we’re going to win more customers for our first product and further develop our long-term planning. As we grow, we’ll enter new markets. We’re well positioned to succeed.'

Bionova Director Silje Lesjø is impressed by the company's progress so far.

'Völur has made great strides both in Norway and internationally, and its customer list already includes well-known companies. We look forward to following its progress.'

Read more about how Völur presents its solution to international audiences on Business Norway.