Gail’s Bakery, renowned for bringing chef-quality sourdough bread to neighbourhoods across the UK, has partnered with Verkada, a leader in cloud-based physical security, to streamline its security and operational processes across its more than 170 locations.
Led by Brett Parker, Property Director at Gail’s Bakery, the bakery business has successfully deployed Verkada video security cameras, access control, and air quality sensors to enable remote management of its retail storefronts and bakeries, which not only protect critical assets and reduces security investigation times, but also proactively improves employee safety and boosts operational efficiency and quality control.
“Verkada has been a game-changer for us,” Brett Parker said. “The ability to remotely monitor our bakeries, track food preparation, and investigate incidents has delivered tangible benefits.”
Parker recently shared more about how, with Verkada, his team now delivers tangible results for Gail’s Bakery across security and operations at The Security Event, taking place in Birmingham this week.
Some of the most interesting results were as follows:
● Achieved a 25 percent reduction in investigation time using AI-Powered Search, significantly speeding up incident resolution.
● Mitigated costly insurance claims by quickly disproving staged accidents, saving the company from potential payouts.
● Improved team oversight, allowing remote monitoring of 75% of floor space, reducing travel and onsite presence for managers.
Since opening its first bakery in Hampstead in 2005, Gail’s Bakery has expanded to more than 170 bakeries across the UK, offering craft-quality products and memorable customer experiences. As the company grew, managing security and operations across multiple sites became increasingly complex, with each location operating its own security system. This lack of consistency made oversight of its fast-growing footprint difficult and inefficient.
To address these challenges, Gail’s Bakery partnered with Tellivue, specialists in CCTV and access control installations. Tellivue introduced Brett Parker, Head of Property at Gail’s, to Verkada’s cloud-based platform. “When I saw Verkada’s capabilities – which are all accessible from my phone – I knew it was the solution we needed to streamline our operations and enhance security across all our stores,” Parker explained.
Now, Verkada’s unified platform delivers the scalability and centralised control that Gail’s Bakery needs. The cloud-based solutions allow Brett’s team to remotely monitor stores from any device, reducing the need for on-site presence and travel. It also eliminates the inefficiencies of having varied security systems in each location. “What impressed me most was the ability to access everything from my phone or desktop,” said Parker. “We could finally manage all our locations in one place, which was a game changer.”
As Gail’s Bakery continues to expand, Verkada has also introduced new features, such as AI-Powered Search, which further streamlines operations. “Instead of scrolling through hours of footage, we can search based on simple descriptions like the colour of a shirt or object. It has made investigations much faster,” Parker added, noting that the AI-Powered Search has reduced investigation time by 25%.
Verkada is integral to Gail’s day-to-day operations, helping to reduce theft, respond to issues more efficiently, ensure food safety and quality control, and optimise store layouts amongst other things.
“One major benefit of Verkada’s system is its impact on how we process insurance claims,” Parker said. “We’ve been able to disprove fraudulent claims by providing clear footage of the incidents, saving us significant amounts in legal fees and settlements.”
Ardon Anderson, Vice President of EMEA at Verkada commented. “We’re excited to support Gail’s Bakery with a security solution that not only protects their people and assets but also makes day-to-day operations smoother. This partnership shows how a unified, cloud-based platform can make a difference, especially for businesses with multiple locations that need a simple, scalable way to stay safe and secure.”
With Verkada’s technology now deployed across more than 170 sites, Gail’s Bakery plans to continue expanding the system as it grows. “The time and money we’ve saved with Verkada has made it an investment we wish we had made sooner,” Parker concluded.
