Royal Canin Success Story

The Customer


Founded in 1967, Royal Canin Opens new site produces pet food that is scientifically designed to meet the unique health needs of cats and dogs. The company is headquartered in Aimargues, France. Royal Canin provides in-store customers with easy-to-use, up-to-date product information to aid product selection.

Royal Canin has worked with breeder partners and veterinary nutritionists to create nutritional solutions that meet the needs of dogs and cats based on their breed, age, and health issues. As a worldwide manufacturer of pet food and veterinary prescriptions for dog and cat nutrition, Royal Canin puts the needs of canines and felines first.

Royal Canin had used in-store videos on display stands to inform customers of their product options. Videos were a good way of visually presenting patrons with the best food choice for their beloved pet. However, the information quickly became outdated as new products and offers were constantly released. So, Royal Canin looked for a low-maintenance solution that would be interactive and could quickly and simply provide customers with the latest information about the products specific to their pet.

The Partner


Kiube Mobile Opens new site is a part of the Eyeplay / Heavyform company merger. They create applications for iPad, iPhone, Android, Bada, Windows.

The Challenge


Royal Canin wanted to provide customers with easy-to-use, up-to-date product information to aid in product selection. Royal Canin was keen on ensuring that whichever solution they chose would be user-friendly to ensure maximum usage.

Kiube Mobile implemented many Apple iPads in previous projects, utilizing the built-in camera for occasional scanning requirements. However, for Royal Canin’s project, Kiube Mobile needed a more robust scanning solution.  While searching for an Apple-compatible barcode scanner, Kiube’s interest was quickly piqued by Socket Mobile’s Apple-certified barcode scanners.

The slim design of Socket Mobile’s barcode scanners meant that the device could be easily integrated into the modified housing of the iPad mounting case. They decided that integrating the barcode scanner was a better option than having it hang from a cable; integrating the scanner would protect it from damage and give it a stable position for the user. 

Set to auto-scanning mode, the device doesn’t need to be manually triggered by users; the scanner’s red light remains on, clearly indicating the presence of the scanning facility.

The Socket Mobile Solution


Royal Canin selected Socket Mobile’s colorful SocketScan S700 with Bluetooth® wireless technology. The scanner was an ideal option because of its affordable yet powerful 1D scanning engine and the ease with which it could be integrated into the Kioskio STD-SCX application using the CaptureSDK.

Socket Mobile’s partner, Kiube Mobile, had just what Royal Canin was looking for in their Kioskio STDSCX solution: an application developed specifically for their business needs. An Apple iPad and barcode scanner are mounted in a modified shelf display and connected to the Internet. This provides the user with an interactive experience and supplies relevant information which is always current.

Using the Kioskio STD-SCX solution, customers within the retail environment can approach the Royal Canin display, scan a product barcode with the Socket Mobile S700 and use the touch screen on the Apple iPad to navigate the various options. The system provides useful information to enable the customer to make a fully informed product selection. In addition, the system supports the ‘My Royal Canin’ Loyalty Card Program. The loyalty program allows customers to collect points with each Royal Canin product purchased. Members can scan their loyalty card at the kiosk and discover what each product is ‘worth’ in points and then redeem them in the future to get samples of new products or claim gifts. Even registration for the loyalty program is available at the kiosk.

The Results


Customers can now easily access the latest product information, helping to improve their in-store experience. The application setup provides visibility into customer behaviors and trends while the streamlined solution enables loyalty program registration and account login.

The versatile S700 barcode scanner supports multiple OS’s, providing flexibility for future expansion.

Royal Canin deployed 89 kiosks to stores in Belgium: 15 floor stands and 74 mounted on product shelves.

Although this project specifically required Apple compatibility, Kiube liked the fact that Socket Mobile’s barcode scanner is fully compatible with all the major OS’s on the market. In case a future client wished to deploy on an Android or Windows device, they could be confident that the scanner would be suitable.

Royal Canin customers receive a great purchasing experience while the company gets some invaluable information back from the system. Each kiosk has a tracking system to review what has been looked at and scanned, helping them to identify trends and gain insight into their customers, ensuring their future as a market leader. Based on the initial success of this project, Royal Canin began looking at future deployments in other countries.

The Managing Director of Kiube Mobile said, “Socket Mobile directly appeared to us as the ‘plug and play’ solution in term of scanning,” explaining,  “Whereas we develop apps where the camera can be used to scan different type of barcodes, Socket Mobile offers a complete, ready-to-use solution for mobile devices. We are talking here about a solution, more than just a device, as the hardware has been created by developers for developers.”

Try it free.

Test out our data reading and scanning technology for free with SocketCam. The SocketCam C820 lets you scan directly into your feature application using the camera on your mobile device, ensuring high-performance scanning without the need for an external barcode scanner.