SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Blendid is opening a fourth food robotics kiosk at Walmart that offers an innovative, autonomous, and contactless food automation platform that leverages machine learning, robotics, and artificial intelligence to create nutrient-dense smoothies.
The automation technology makes fresh smoothies on-demand, customized to meet the unique health and taste preferences of individual consumers. The new kiosk will debut Blendid's latest model, which has a sleeker design, smaller footprint, and a variety of new features including completely contactless ordering and pickup (managed using a consumer's smartphone), make-ahead drink storage, and enhanced machine vision technology.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the focus on food safety globally,” said Vipin Jain, chief executive officer and co-founder of Blendid. “At Blendid, we're working with many essential businesses to help integrate a solution for safe, contactless food preparation and delivery. Our newest location within Walmart is completely contactless from order to pickup and will be a healthy, quick, tasty, and affordable option for customers on-the-go. We are continuing to grow, learn, and adapt to the evolving needs of the future of foodservice."
Blendid's stand-alone, contactless kiosk includes a robotic arm, blenders, a refrigeration system, and numerous dispensers that store and dispense a variety of ingredients including solids (such as fruits and vegetables), liquids (such as coconut water), and superfoods (such as chia, flax, and ginger).
The technology’s proprietary food operating system processes the orders and payment, measures and dispenses precise amounts of ingredients for customized drinks, and blends, pours, and stores each smoothie until a consumer is ready for pickup.
Consumers can place orders in person at the kiosk with their smartphone or they can order ahead with the Blendid app for a cost of $4.97 - $5.97 per 12-ounce drink. The Blendid system can process up to 45 drinks an hour and nine drinks simultaneously.
