The Brave New World of Food Vending

Vending Kiosks and More Automation

Automation in Modern Vending — As eating habits become less structured and commerce largely goes mobile, self-service is grabbing a bigger role for time-pressed consumers

Chances are greater than ever you’ll be getting your next meal from a vending machine. Advances in vending equipment have dovetailed with those in convenience food quality, payment technology, food logistics and customer expectations. Food industry researcher Circana reports that lunches have become more about convenience while dinners lean toward ready-to-eat formats.

But the story actually begins at the advent of the 20th Century, when vending evolved in concert with the nation’s industrial economy. When equipment manufacturing gave birth to machines that could dispense food at the touch of a button, the mass production economy that took hold of the U.S. also created the need for efficient worksite foodservice. This demand drove the development of vending as a form of worksite foodservice.

“Food” in the vernacular of the professional vending industry that emerged in response to this market demand came to refer to perishable food, the center of the plate offering, distinguished from the extended shelf life candy, snacks and beverages that complemented the customer’s meal. Perishable food, unlike most extended shelf life products, required a temperature controlled dispensing machine as well as an oven (inside or outside the machine) to heat the offering.

For professional vending operators, food quickly became the most important product offering for winning and sustaining customers. But the economics of operating a food machine were considerably more challenging than snack and beverage machines. Reasons included:

• the higher financial outlay for the machine,
• the need for more frequent service,
• the higher cost of the vended product,
• the retail price ceiling on the vended product (due to retail competition),
• the need for microwave ovens.

Hence, the food offering, while the most important part of the vending service, became a loss leader in and of itself for most vending service operators. Operators relied on their attendant snack and beverage machines at their customer locations to cover the loss on perishable food.

Automation delivers convenience

In continuing this historical review, it is important to recognize the critical role that self service played in the evolution of convenience dining in America. We are speaking specifically of an innovation that food industry observers often overlook nowadays: the historic Automat.

The Automat was a chain of self-service restaurants in Philadelphia and New York City that allowed customers to buy ready-to-eat hot food using coins to unlock glass-facing cubicles that were restocked by servers from a kitchen behind a wall. Launched by Horn & Hardart in the early 1900s, the Automat was among the first businesses to demonstrate the benefits of automation to American consumers. But widespread use of automation would have to wait.

By the 1960s, fast food restaurants that relied on manual labor recognized the growing demand for convenience meals and developed nationwide operating models that contributed to the Automat’s eventual demise.

Fast forward to the 1980s and 1990s, and the economics of food vending became even more challenging as the nation’s manufacturing economy gave way to a more service oriented economy. The thousand-plus-person factory worksites receded while convenience stores expanded meal offerings to compete with vending and onsite foodservice.

Changing consumer demographics also boosted demand for more product variety, specifically Hispanic and Asian tastes.

Technology evolves

Self service technology, however, soon delivered new ways to tackle these challenges.

By the mid-2000s, micro markets – adapting retail self checkout technology to worksite break rooms – entered the fray, giving traditional vending operators a more economical way to offer larger volumes and greater varieties of food.

In addition, vending management software, remote machine monitoring, cashless payments, customer data analysis and more efficient delivery planning enabled vending operators to meet the needs of more demanding customers.

In 2013, Luke Saunders launched Farmer’s Fridge, preparing fresh food in a Chicago commissary kitchen and distributing it via refrigerated trucks to self-service fridges in airports, hospitals, universities and office buildings. Tapping state-of-the-art software and app-based ordering, Farmer’s Fridge re-established the business case for dedicated fresh food vending and developed a nationwide footprint.

The pandemic hits

The next phase of this evolution emerged from what some would consider an unlikely source: COVID-19. The pandemic that strangled much of the nation’s economic activity in 2020 fostered a new awareness of the benefits of vending machines, both on the part of consumers and customer location managers.

When the pandemic hit, many restaurants and other facilities closed or reduced operating hours. In order to continue serving customers, many restaurants, dessert parlors, butcher shops and other businesses installed vending machines to continue to serve customers in the absence of on-site employees.

Case in point was Andrew Anastas, owner of Hampton Falls Village Deli in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.

Success story: Abbondanza Vending

Andrew Anastas became aware of unattended service shortly before COVID. Once COVID hit, he decided to close his deli and focus only on unattended service. Little did Anastas know at the time that he would reinvent his business. In 2021, he launched Abbondanza Vending.

“COVID was the driving force to pivot,” Anastas told KioskIndustry.org in a recent phone interview. “It was a brutal time. We were not really accustomed to that (vending) world, but we were willing to give anything a shot.”

Researching available vending equipment on the Internet, Anastas came across the REDYREF smart fridge. Customers initiate a purchase by tapping a payment method on the terminal, which unlocks the fridge door. Upon closing the door after selecting items, the RFID system automatically registers the removed products and charges the customer’s payment account.

Anastas believed REDYREFwas the best choice. The expected life span of the REDYREF machine is eight to 10 years, he said, and the fridge door does not contain any wires. “It’s not susceptible to breakdown with wires traveling through the door and screens breaking and things of that nature that can kind of shut you down,” he said.

He began serving drywall companies, government facilities, utilities, automotive material suppliers and road rest stops. The company now serves 50 customer locations.

Abbondanza Vending makes wraps, salads, rice bowls, breakfast dishes, omelets, desserts, parfaits and sandwiches. Prices are $9.95 for dinners, $9.50 for wraps, $5.95 for breakfasts, $7.99 for wedge sandwiches, $6.95 for snackables and $7.95 for desserts. Raw food materials are sourced from foodservice distributors such as US Foods, Performance Food Group and local dairies.

The machines hold up to 130 products and keep the temperature at 38 degrees Fahrenheit. The thermometer alerts the operator if the temperature reaches 41 degrees for 45 minutes.

A successful partnership

REDYREF charges him a one-time machine purchase fee, plus an ongoing monthly licensing fee of $175 for the support software and the cellular connectivity. It also provides the RFID tags he places on all of the product packages. The tags are scannable and can be scanned as needed; he does not need to pre purchase tags to align with the proper product. “By scanning, you can activate one or 500 tags,” he said. “This allows no tag waste and no need to inventory SKUs (stock keeping units).”

Anastas developed his own management software for creating weekly menus and other functions such as knowing what raw materials to purchase in what amounts. He relies on the REDYREF software for sales and temperature data, as well as the payment processing, mechanical servicing and parts support.

To qualify for service, Abbondanza Vending requires a location to have a minimum population of 100 people. He charges a minimum $395 service fee per month in addition to product sales. The service fee is waived for larger locations.

The food waste is between 3.5% to 4%, which Anastas recognizes is very low for refrigerated food vending, and the business has a 63% profit margin, which significantly surpasses that of most food vending businesses. He credits this largely to the ERP (enterprise resource planning) system that allows him to know the product par levels for each machine. “It doesn’t allow us to overfill units,” he said. “If they sell 15 wraps a week, there’s no guessing for us. We know exactly what’s going on.”

The company’s two refrigerated food trucks make deliveries Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Product sales are fairly uniform for most of the products Anastas offers. “They all do pretty much the same across the board,” he said. “They all hit almost the same average, sales wise. I’d say the slower ones are the parfaits.”

Innovation boosts food quality

In addition to technology innovation, Anastas credits food processor innovation for some of his success.

“The quality is actually really good now,” he said. “It’s clean. It’s not loaded with chemicals or preservatives. There are just so many what they call value added options now like rices and grain, and hydroponic lettuces that are grown from little leaf farms that never touched a human hand that you can put in a container without cutting anything…It actually increases your bottom line.”

Responding to customer needs

William Pymm, vice president and managing partner at REDYREF, said the company decided to enter the food vending sphere in response to customer requests.

“We get a lot of calls coming in that create demand for what we think we’re going to build,” Pymm said. “We’re not sitting in a room thinking, ‘What can we come up with next?’ A lot of the times we’re going, ‘Wow, we just got the 20th call for this type of product, we should look into this. There’s demand out there.’ That’s a lot of what happens with us – we’re on the front lines.”

“We’re monitoring your kiosks,” Pymm said regarding the smart fridge. “You as the operator can see your own kiosks to know that everything’s up and running. Alerts can be sent to you if connectivity fails, if a temperature goes above a certain range for a certain period of time…and then obviously you can see all your transactions in your portal and understand what’s selling and what’s not selling, and expiration dates.” If the temperature exceeds a certain timeframe, the machine shuts down and a “not in use” message appears on the touchscreen until the operator can bring it back on line.

Coolgreens, a nationwide QSR franchisor based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, also made headlines in the trade during the pandemic when it invested in a smart fridge concept called Coolgreens Markets. The company established a separate division to market the smart fridges to locations, sourcing the products from its restaurants’ kitchens. The initiative subsided, however, as the company has since closed most of its restaurants.

Food technology advances

Meanwhile, cooking technology has progressed, enabling machines that store pre-cooked food in a frozen state and reheat it. Such machines have created more food vending opportunities.

Unsurprisingly, universities have taken the lead in introducing some of these machines.

Emerson College of Los Angeles installed the Crave Robotics closed-front touchscreen machine offering 36 different breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert items and a total of 144 single servings The machine serves hot food in three minutes or less.

“Students can grab food in between classes,” Timothy Chang, associate vice president and chief operations officer for the college, told KioskIndustry.org in a phone interview. “People like the fact that it’s hot food and ready for them to eat.”

Other machines that serve hot food fail to provide uniform heat throughout the product when served, Chang said. “The Crave machine actually was a little different. You didn’t have any of those hot or cold spots. It came prepared like it was from a restaurant. It was heated the way it was meant to be served.”

Chang was especially impressed that the Crave Robotics machine could offer both hot food and ice cream.

Crave Robotics services the machine weekly at minimum.

The products are priced from $5 to $7, and the school collects no commission from the sales.

“It’s more of a service to our students,” Chang said. “I want to keep it as affordable as possible for our students. That’s worth more than I would get in any commission.”

Crave Robotics works with Chang on what products to offer in the machine. Students are also invited to write product requests on a white board on the side of the machine.

On the East Coast, Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida offers Yo-Kai Express machines, which serve hot ramen noodle bowls, and Just Baked machines, which serve hot entrees, sliders and desserts. The machines have Internet portals that let the operator see real-time activity data and are operated by Chartwells Higher Education.

Mike Alkurdi, resident district manager for the Miami Fort Lauderdale area for Chartwells Higher Education, said the Just Baked and Yo-Kai Express machines were obtained at no cost to the university and are provided on a revenue share basis.

“What’s unique about YoKai and Just Baked is that I get their pre-made products delivered via a solid, consistent supply chain,” Alkurdi said. “The challenge for the operator is determining what offerings will succeed long term.”

Operator considerations for machines

Alkurdi cited the following considerations in selecting a food machine for a client:

• Pricing. A lot of machines on the market are being offered for a very high price tag, he said. For example, a pizza vending machine was offered for $60,000 and required the operator to make the product in-house and operate the machine.
• Logistics, products and supplies. “I am not interested in producing in-house and stocking the machine myself,” Alkurdi said. “I look for a concept that has a proven product with solid production and distribution behind it. What makes a machine unique is the support and service that comes with it. I offer the space and access to my population.”
• Payment method. “It is essential that a machine can integrate and accept student IDs as a payment method, allowing students to use their Dining Dollars or meal plans.”
• Machine requirements and measurement. “I verify the power and water requirements to ensure our facility has the necessary infrastructure to accommodate them.”
• Technology. “I ensure that technology is unique, reliable, and service is provided.”
• Permitting. “Some counties like mine require a permit. I ensure the machine can pass the process and get certified.”

“Ninety-five percent of what’s on the market does not pass all of the above, unfortunately,” Alkurdi said.

As eating habits have become less structured in recent years and commerce has largely gone mobile, self service machines are clearly grabbing a bigger role in the lives of time pressed consumers.

Equipment offerings

Following are food vending equipment offerings. Providers are listed in alphabetical order.

365 Retail Markets

The 365 Retail Markets PicoCooler Vision offers cabinets that allow users to purchase both refrigerated and non-refrigerated items in a single transaction. The system utilizes computer vision for a no-scan purchasing experience. An age verification feature enables the unattended sale of age-restricted items such as alcohol and includes adjustable settings to comply with regulations.

Automation in Modern Vending AVS Companies

AVS Companies’ Coolsmart Market uses AI to track product purchases and reduce theft. The system allows operators to remotely manage sales, machine health and product inventory, and includes various payment options, including a POS terminal and QR code scanner. It also allows operators to charge sales tax. The slide-in, slide-out refrigeration deck simplifies maintenance.

Brd Bot

The Brd Bot closed-front hot food machine heats and serves flash frozen food in a small cup in two minutes. Offerings include french fries, chicken nuggets, mozzarella sticks, egg rolls and samosas. Orders are placed on a touchscreen and paid for using a card reader.

Byte Technology

Byte Technology’s glassfront kiosks feature open shelving with slidable shelf dividers. Users start by swiping a credit card or employee badge, which unlocks the kiosk and displays a menu with product prices and nutritional information. The user then chooses from a variety of products on open shelves, allowing for selection of multiple items. When the door closes, the kiosk automatically charges for the items taken. The machine uses RFID technology to track inventory. Each product gets tagged with a unique sticker detected by the shelf sensors.

Cantaloupe Inc.

Cantaloupe Inc., a provider of software and hardware solutions for unattended retail, recently debuted its Smart Aisle, a retail store that operates without an attendant, using AI, 3D cameras and weighted-shelf technology to analyze motion and track transactions. Users provide a payment method to enter the store, then grab items from the shelves, prompting the system to enter the purchases into the user’s virtual shopping cart. Users verify their shopping cart prior to leaving the store, at which time their payment method is charged.

Crane Payment Innovations

Crane Payment Innovations’ Merchant Combo MEDIA2 Food Machine is a spiral driven food machine that comes in 4-wide and 6-wide column models for offering all food, combination food/snack and all chilled snack offerings. The digital shopping cart enables multi-product purchases with one transaction, while the 9-inch touchscreen with full motion video enables suggestive selling and digital advertising to drive impulse and multi-product sales. The digital media also allows operators to provide nutrition information with large display, easy-to-read nutrition facts to support FDA requirements. The machines can be managed remotely with CPI’s Simplifi™ Connect Plus for price changes, planograms and nutritional information.

Crave Robotics

The CraveBot Hot Food Vending Kiosk from Crave Robotics addresses the demand for ready-to-eat, precooked frozen meals, offering 36 different breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert items and a total of 144 single servings. The machine serves hot food in three minutes or less. An AIoT device, the CraveBot is connected online to monitor health and inventory status in real time. In the event of operational anomalies or low-stock levels, the service center can respond to sustain continuous, 24/7 service.

Donatos Pizza

The Donatos Pizza restaurant chain and its sister company Agápe Automation partnered with Appetronix to create the Donatos Pizza AI-powered robot restaurant which allows customers an inside look at their pizzas being freshly prepared in real time.
The fully automated restaurant debuted before security in front of Concourse B at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport and will be operated by restaurateur HMS Host. Appetronix Inc., formerly SJW Robotics, is a foodtech company specializing in the development and design of autonomous robotic solutions for commercial restaurant kitchens.

Farmer’s Fridge

Farmer’s Fridge operates glassfront vending machines offering fresh food, serving airports, hospitals, office buildings, universities and more. The company designs and assembles its machines in-house. The machines have a built-in thermometer that scans the temperature every five minutes and alerts a technician if the machine loses its chill. The company delivers its food to locations in company owned refrigerated trucks. Related articles — see Retail Kiosk Vending Lockers & Robotics(Opens in a new browser tab) , Farmers Fridge Food Vending Fridges(Opens in a new browser tab) – Farmer’s Fridge – Always Fresh(Opens in a new browser tab) – Future of Retail by Smart Vending Machines(Opens in a new browser tab)

Fase Vending

Fase Vending’s hybrid vending and locker machine features a human machine interface screen, a payment terminal, a QR code reader, software to manage sell-by dates, dynamic pricing, promotion and real-time remote status access. The machine can serve as a standalone restaurant and can be placed in hotels, break rooms, grocery stores, convenient stores, stadiums, food courts and showrooms. Offerings include pizzas, wings, fries, pastas and rolls.

Fastcorp Unattended Retail Solutions

Fastcorp Unattended Retail Solutions’ DIVI robotic machine serves ultra cold (cryogenic), frozen, refrigerated, frozen/refrigerated combined, ambient and ambient/frozen combined products. Machine features include multiple size touchscreen menus, interactive displays, media players, high-capacity drawers, graphic skins for branding, add-on storage and microwaves. Once the customer selects an item for purchase, the machine’s robotic arm picks the product and places it in the vending drawer. In addition, an optional robotic vacuum tip can vend products up to four pounds in weight. The company partners with payment processors to accept coins, bills, cards. mobile payments and cryptocurrency payments. Age verification and identity authentication technologies are also available.

Haha Vending

Haha Vending’s AI-enabled glassfront smart cooler vending machines allow users to grab several products and pay for them simultaneously. Features include AI recognition technology to conduct shopping behavior analysis, identify the types and quantities of purchased goods, and ensure settlement. Additional features include a touchscreen POS reader, LED light strips, movable shelves, anti-fog heating doors, aluminum alloy doors, an automatic evaporation water box, and credit, debit and mobile payment. The company also offers an app that displays inventory count, sales count and auto-generated restocking orders.

IDW

IDW‘s micro market coolers include a horizontal cooler powered by Hiron AI and feature weighted shelves, health timers and cameras. Company partners include AVS, 365 Retail Markets and Pepsi Quik Pick.

Imbera

Imbera, a commercial refrigeration equipment manufacturer, offers AI-enabled smart coolers for micro markets that address the problem of theft in micro markets by requiring the customer to pay for their purchase before gaining access to the products in the cooler. The user scans a QR code on the kiosk, triggering the system to unlock and let the user grab what they want and automatically charges their credit, debit, mobile or stored value account.

Just Baked Smart Bistro

Just Baked Smart Bistro, a subsidiary of Automated Retail Technologies Inc., offers temperature controlled machines that allow customers to order from a menu of packaged entrees from a display touchscreen. The machine then heats and serves the product within one minute. The Smart Bistro offers different payment options, including credit and debit cards, student cards, and the Just Baked app. Menu items include branded sandwiches, entrees and desserts.

Kiosoft Technologies

Kiosoft Technologies’ KioVend TF45E2 frozen vending machine features elevator dispensing technology and a 49-inch touchscreen. The machine accommodates temperature-controlled items, including fragile and frozen goods, offering 45 slots and holding up to 270 items. The payment reader can integrate with other vending machines via the MDB protocol, enabling cashless payments, loyalty programs and remote machine monitoring.

KitchenMate

KitchenMate offers computer-vision “smart” fridges, “smart cookers” and a companion consumer app. The customer opens the fridge, removes a “smart” meal pod and scans it with their phone, then loads the meal pod into a cooker where it heats and is ready to serve within a few minutes. The customer then pays using the smartphone app. The merchandising of these meals works with existing micro-markets and smart store technologies.

LFC Systems

LFC Systems’ HD4000 closed front hot dog/sausage machine is the second generation of a machine that separately cooks a fresh hot dog, warms a bun and delivers it in less than one minute. The cooking, heating and transport systems are based on the company’s first generation machine but now features improved storage and dispensing mechanisms, a controlled condiment dispenser, a touchscreen and multiple payment options. The machine can hold 160 meat products and 120 buns.

Nayax Ltd.

Nayax Ltd.’s Nova Smart Cooler offers an AI-powered fresh food vending machine that uses sensors to track inventory and optimize product availability while maintaining security. The company’s VPOS Touch offers cashless payment and telemetry for self-service points of sale, and accepts a range of payment types and connects to Nayax Core for remote software updates, real-time machine monitoring and maintenance management.

Pizza Forno

The PizzaForno machine offers a selection of pizza options, each made with ingredients, and serves pizza in less than five minutes. The touchscreen enabled machine uses technology made popular in France by ADIAL and currently has over 70 operating locations, and over 30 U.S. locations already established in California, Georgia, Florida, Delaware, Michigan, Virgina, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

REDYREF

REDYREF’s smart fridge allows customers to initiate a purchase by tapping a payment method on the terminal, which unlocks the fridge door. Upon closing the door after selecting items, the RFID system automatically registers the removed products and charges the customer’s payment account. REDYREF charges a one-time machine purchase fee, plus an ongoing monthly licensing fee for the support software and the cellular connectivity. It also provides the RFID tags the operator places on all of the product packages Alerts are sent if connectivity fails or if a temperature goes above a certain range for a certain time period.

RoboBurger

The RoboBurger machine grills a hamburger patty on both sides on a flameless griddle, then toasts the bun in its electric toaster. The robot then dispenses the condiment selection for the customer while the robot assembles the burger. The robot then delivers the burger to the user in one of the two delivery bays. The Classic Burger features 100% all natural flame grilled USDA Choice Angus Beef Chuck Steak Burger and lightly toasted Martin’s Potato Bun. Each unit comes with its own water tanks with optional direct plumbing connections, a water heater and cleaning system. The unit cleans itself daily at a pre scheduled time.

Shin Starr

Olsho Korean Barbecue & Seafood, a San Mateo, California restaurant, introduced a Shin Starr fully automated robotic kitchen in a truck that allows users to order food and have it delivered shortly after being prepared during transport. Once an order is placed, the robotic kitchen retrieves the food ingredients from a refrigerator, prepares it and heats it in five to eight minutes depending on the order. The kitchen can prepare up to four items simultaneously, and users can track their order in real time. Menu items currently include Wagyu Galbi, Olsho Dak Galbi, Seoul Food and Japchae meals.

Shenzhen Zhilai and Tech Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Zhilai and Tech Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of vending machines, food lockers, storage lockers, charging lockers and parcel lockers, offers a self-service food vending machine that provides refrigeration, heating and dispensing, offering pizzas, hamburgers, potato chips and more. The machine integrates food storage, heating and dispensing, and features food grade stainless steel and a dual-sided design. The company also offers a closed-front frozen vending machine as well as a hot pizza vending machine.

Stora Enso

Stora Enso’s Selfly Freezer, a part of the Selfly Store Model 3 product family, includes hardware, software and a service network. The intelligent cabinets utilize an RFID sensor, cloud computing and IoT technologies to provide real-time, item-level data analytics to optimize sales and operations while reducing food waste. Users can touch and feel every product before making a selection and buy several products in one purchase using various payment methods.

TCN

TCN‘s pizza vending machine holds up to 80 boxes of 7- to 12-inch pizzas and is equipped with an oven that allows the heating of pizzas in three minutes. Heating time and temperature are adjustable to allow for customization. The machine has a 32-inch infrared screen and enables bill, coin and cashless payment, including credit and debit cards, and mobile payments.

Upmeals

Upmeals’ freshly made meals are delivered weekly to a refrigerated vending machine that can be monitored remotely via an app. UpMeals uses proprietary software, powered by SMRT1 Technologies, to provide automation for the production, ordering and delivery processes. Operators can monitor machines remotely, create plans for meals nearing their expiration date and build menus based on the popularity of food items. The technology supports instant promotions and an intelligent scan system stores the best “before” date of each product. The refrigerated machines feature a 49-inch, 4K interactive screen with a built-in computer module and custom management software. The technology can also retrofit other vending machine manufacturers’ models.

U-Select-It Corp.

U-Select-It Corp., a vending equipment manufacturer, recently demonstrated a prototype for a smart cooler scheduled for introduction in the fourth quarter. The cooler features touchscreen and card payment interface. The system uses the multi-drop (MDB) protocol and has product recognition and planogram functionality. The smart cooler follows the company’s Scan&Go market, which combines a snack vending machine with a cooler.

Vendera Technologies

Vendera Technologies, a provider of hardware and software for unattended retail, offers AI-powered glassfront vending and smart coolers. Real-time tracking captures images after every purchase to deliver updates on product inventory and machine activity. The AI-driven vending management system optimizes inventory tracking, demand forecasting and connects operators with restockers. The machines accept swipe, insert and tap (Google Pay and Apple Pay) payments.

VenHub Global Inc.

VenHub Global Inc., which manufactures a fully robotic, autonomous retail store, recently introduced its VenHub Smart Store. The platform features adaptive product displays, robotic in-order handling, real-time inventory information. AI-driven systems streamline restocking, reduce waste and ensure high-demand items remain available. The system continuously responds to customer behavior and weather conditions. In addition to its fixed smart store models, VenHub is also developing mobile units to transform existing retail environments into fully robotic, unattended stores.

Warehouse 15

Warehouse 15, an AI-enabled mobile warehouse automation software provider, offers automated food lockers featuring proximity sensors, sensor integration and digital signage. Consumers are able to access food from the lockers using a touchscreen. The sensors allow the operator to know how many items have been removed. The system includes a mobile app, server, integration middleware, speaker and development tools.

Yo-Kai Express

Yo-Kai Express’s robotic platform cooks and serves an array of both hot and cold, savory and sweet menu selections. Since launching its robotic ramen vending machine in 2018 that served just a few options, the company has built partnerships with food brands on multiple continents and is collaborating with celebrity chefs. The company offers items such as steaming hot bowls of Tonkotsu ramen in under a minute.

Zabot Pizza

Zabot Pizza machines cook and serve pizza and other precooked food products in less than five minutes. Each pizza is handcrafted by company chefs and placed fresh in the machine. The pizza is then stored in a fridge that can hold up to 96 pizzas and keep the ingredients fresh for 72 hours. Pizzas are removed from the oven if they exceed this time frame. Once a customer chooses a pizza on the touchscreen, the system pulls it from the fridge and places it in one of the two hearth ovens. Each type of pizza has a unique cooking temperature and time.