Traxlo, the digital platform connecting gig workers with grocery retailers, has launched in the UK following three years of growth across Europe. The company’s entry aims to give supermarkets and wholesalers new flexibility in managing labour costs and operational peaks through an outcome-priced, pay-per-task model.
The London launch extends a model already used by 60% of Europe’s largest retail and commerce groups. Since its 2020 founding, Traxlo has facilitated more than 300,000 individual tasks across its partner network. The most common activities include shelf replenishment, pallet handling, inventory checks, gap scanning, expiry control, and e-commerce order picking.
Under its model, grocery businesses set pay levels for specific operational tasks — typically ranging from £3 to £50 — which are then offered to verified local workers through the Traxlo app. The company oversees quality control, legal right-to-work verification, and training, with gig workers remaining the responsibility of Traxlo rather than the retailer.
Chief Executive and Co-founder Paul Vezelis said the timing of the UK entry was shaped by ongoing labour challenges in the retail sector. “Brexit is just one challenge for the UK,” he said. “There are plenty of reports and statistics about declining retail staff morale, a worsening labour market, and the impact of higher wage costs and tax increases. Having tested and refined our model in Europe for the last few years, we are now in exactly the right position to empower UK retailers to manage a flexible, specialised, trained human resource on a pay-per-task basis.”
Vezelis added that the model was designed not only to address cost and staffing pressures, but also to improve engagement within local communities by positioning stores as both employment and shopping spaces.
Traxlo’s UK arrival comes as British grocery chains continue to grapple with post-Brexit staffing shortages and rising wage bills. A 2025 forecast by the European Parliament projected that 43 million Europeans will work via digital labour platforms by 2025 — a trend that Traxlo believes the UK grocery sector is well placed to benefit from as it adapts to workforce fragmentation and growing consumer demand for speed and availability.
The company’s founders bring a blend of retail and technology experience. Vezelis, who has previously authored Adoption of artificial intelligence tools by retail organisations, co-founded the business with Chief Technology Officer Almantas Zemblys, a former Swedbank engineer. The pair launched Traxlo through Antler’s 2020 accelerator cohort in Sweden and have since secured over €2.7 million in venture funding from investors including Iron Wolf Capital, Coinvest Capital, Plug and Play, and others.
As Traxlo expands its operational model into UK grocery logistics and in-store environments, the company says it expects strong interest from retailers seeking both workforce flexibility and verified performance data. “The next phase of grocery work management will be measured in outcomes, not hours,” Vezelis said.
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