Foodservice robotics is a sub-category of the Foodservice sector. See all definitions of FoodTech and its categories here.

The “foodservice robotics” FoodTech category regroups startups developing cooking robots to help or replace human tasks. This also includes 3D printers, automated kiosks and bartending robots.

Cooking robots are often mixed together. Indeed, this rich ecosystem is made up of very different technologies.

It can be understood using the following criteria:

• Robotic versus mechanical: many “cooking robots” are more about mechanics. Automated kiosks such as those of Chowbotics don’t use complicated robotic technologies and hence have limited IP.
• Versatility: some cooking robots such as Moley’s can cook a wide range of meals while others perform very limited tasks (such as rotating tubes to deliver amounts of foods inside a salad bowl)
• Fully integrated versus collaborative: while many startups envision robots that cook a meal (often pizzas) from start to end, others focus on single tasks. These can then can be integrated inside existing restaurants (as Miso Robotics’ robotic arms).

This space is still nascent but it attracts a lot of interest from restaurant chains and from restaurant delivery companies.

Key startups to consider

• Chowbotics, one of the firsts US automated kiosks. The company got acquired by Doordash in 2021.
• Moley’s, a UK-based startup developing a robotic kitchen.
• Miso Robotics, the US company which is developing Flippy, the burger-grilling robot.
• Pazzi, the French automated pizzeria.
• Karakuri, a UK-based startup working on a food preparation robot.

DigitalFoodLab’s additional insights

• 08/09/2021 – Robots are coming in (cloud) kitchens and in the streets
• 15/06/2021 – The future of the restaurant
• 19/02/2021 – Are robots finally here?
• 15/10/2018 – Are robots-made pizzas the future?