AG Barr is one of the UK’s most iconic drinks manufacturers, best known for household brands like IRN-BRU, Rubicon and Barr Flavours. With a heritage of over 145 years, it has continually reinvented itself to stay ahead of consumer trends and retail execution. Its latest step change is a commercial one: cut the time field teams lose to manual audits and turn that time back into selling.

The challenge: time lost, opportunities missed

Like many drinks companies, AG Barr’s field teams were burdened with manual audits. Every store visit meant slow shelf checks and paperwork, leaving less time for high-value selling. That created a double problem:

• Reps spent too much time auditing and not enough time selling.
• Head office lacked timely, reliable visibility to optimise execution.

The result was a cycle of inefficiency: slow data collection, delayed insight and limited ability to adjust execution in the moment. To stay competitive in a fast-moving market, AG Barr needed to free up its teams and connect store-level reality directly to commercial decisions.

The solution: image recognition built into the workflow

Working with Neurolabs and Aforza, AG Barr embedded image recognition directly into the Aforza Field app. A rep takes a photo of the shelf and instantly gets:

• Real-time SKU detection, with no manual counting.
• Instant shelf layout and compliance feedback, so issues get fixed faster.
• Direct visibility for head office, connecting field execution to central planning.

Because it lives inside the app reps already use, execution data became immediate, accurate and usable, giving AG Barr a live feedback loop from store to strategy. Every SKU is represented by a 3D digital twin that trains the recognition models, which removes the need for real product photos and delivers greater accuracy, speed and scale than manual, photo-based methods.

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With Neurolabs, we can onboard new SKUs in a fraction of the time it used to take. What once required weeks of manual setup now happens almost instantly, ensuring our field teams have the latest products at their fingertips. It’s a game-changer for catalogue management and keeps us agile in a fast-moving market.

Zoe Park, Catalogue Manager, AG Barr

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The results: efficiency meets execution

The impact was immediate. By turning manual audits into instant photo insight, AG Barr halved the time needed for in-store audits while improving accuracy and confidence in the data behind its decisions. Presented at AG Barr’s Capital Markets Day 2025, the rollout delivered a 50% reduction in data collection time, 96% accuracy in data capture and best-next-action prompts that give field teams more time to gain, retain and maximise sales. Reps now focus on building customer relationships and driving sales, while head office gets a faster, clearer view of execution across the market.

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Neurolabs transformed our field operations: faster, more accurate and fully digitised. Our reps spend more time selling and we have far greater confidence in our data.

Keir Stewart, Head of Performance Analytics, AG Barr

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Looking Ahead: Scaling Digital Excellence

With this rollout, AG Barr has set a new benchmark for field execution in the UK drinks market. It is now exploring how to expand image recognition into more categories and embed it deeper into its commercial processes. The goal: a fully digitised retail execution model where every store visit drives measurable value, sharper insight and stronger growth.

See what your field teams could do with their time back. Talk to our team about image recognition for retail execution.