Restaurant Roundup: Brands Automate Food Production, Delivery

As restaurants continue to seek out solutions for their labor challenges, many major brands are testing robotic solutions to automate the cooking process. Fast-casual Chinese restaurant chain Panda Express, which has more than 2,300 locations around the world, is the latest to join in.

The company is implementing its so-called Panda Auto Wok (PAW) at 120 locations with 240 more planned before the end of the year, Nation’s Restaurant News reported last week. Through this technology, a human chef assembles the ingredients in the wok, and a robot arm then tosses the wok as it cooks.

“Especially for bulky items like chow mein and fried rice, which is traditionally very taxing on the body physically,” Evelyn Wah, executive director of Brand Innovation for the restaurant, said. “It would help make it easier for them to do, while, at the same time, still delivering those great flavors and the high food quality that our guests love.”

Panda Express is far from the only major brand leveraging robotics to boost kitchen efficiency. Many of the brands trying out automated technologies have been using devices created by food service industry Robots-as-a-Service company Miso Robotics.

In March, fast-casual brand Chipotle Mexican Grill announced a test of a Miso-made artificial intelligence (AI) autonomous kitchen assistant, Chippy, to prepare tortilla chips according to the company’s recipe. In February, quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain White Castle said it was testing Miso’s Flippy 2 robotic fry cook, and in April, QSR Jack in the Box said the same.

“Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should do something, and so I think there’s a temptation to overthink [automation] and over-invest without understanding clearly what the purpose is,” Jamie Richardson, vice president of marketing and public relations at White Castle, told PYMNTS in a February interview. “For all of us in our field, having clarity about purpose and function is really, really essential … How do we meet ever evolving and rising customer expectations and do it in a way that’s good for our team members?”

See also: White Castle Turns to Robotics to Meet Rising Order Demand

Delivery Robotics Gain Ground

In other restaurant robotics news, DoorDash, the United States’ leading restaurant aggregator, filed a patent application Tuesday (June 28) for an “automated vehicle for autonomous last-mile deliveries.” The application includes mention of temperature-controlled chambers, navigation sensors, an automated locker system and more.

The news comes as competitors make their own forays into automated delivery. U.S. runner-up Uber Eats, for one, launched two robotic delivery pilots in Los Angeles in May, one in partnership with driverless vehicle technology company Motional and the other with autonomous sidewalk delivery company Serve Robotics.

Related: Uber Eats Launches Two Robotic Delivery Pilots as Restaurant Industry Struggles to Meet Demand

“There’s ton of demand already. … It’s just a matter of time. It’s just patience,” Ali Kashani, Serve’s co-founder and CEO, explained in an interview with PYMNTS. “You have to go through this process, put the robots out, take care of the integrations, go through the manufacturing of more robots. It takes time to engage regulators, engage customers.

See also: Uber Eats’ Robotic Delivery Partner Serve Takes on Education Barrier

Meanwhile, last month, third-place aggregator Grubhub announced that it is partnering with Cartken, a self-driving robotics company, to offer autonomous deliveries on college campuses.

More here: Grubhub Gears Up for Full Rollout of Campus Delivery Robots

“[We’re] augmenting the current runners that they have and the volumes that Grubhub sees on the campuses,” Anjali Naik, chief operating officer and co-founder of Cartken, told PYMNTS. “That’s really where robots fit in nicely, to shuttle food around in these short distance at those volume. … We’ve always seen this as something that will expand traditional delivery options, having this add-on to the delivery network that we see today.”

Read more: Grubhub Robotics Partner Predicts the P2P Future of Automated Delivery

Qdoba Gets into the Virtual Brand Space with ‘Pure Gold’

As brands seek to boost digital sales without costly investments in new physical stores, many are launching virtual brands to increase their presence on online marketplaces. Fast-casual chain Qdoba Mexican Eats, which has more than 740 locations in the United States and Canada, is the latest to do so. The company announced the launch of its first delivery-only brand, “Pure Gold by Qdoba,” Tuesday.

“The launch of our Pure Gold virtual brand gives guests a convenient and craveable delivery experience,” Karin Silk, Qdoba’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “The exclusive online menu features loaded quesos, leveled-up quesadillas, and unique tacos—all served with bold flavor and just the right amount of attitude.”

The brand is available in Denver, Michigan and Indianapolis, among other locations, and the fast-casual chain noted that, if it performs well, it may expand the brand to further locations down the line.