Chipotle Mexican Grill’s
guacamole is getting a futuristic makeover. It won’t be long before your side order of guac is partly prepared by robots.
The company is testing a new avocado collaborative robot prototype—called Autocado—that cuts, cores, and peels avocados, Chipotle said Wednesday. Once the avocados are prepped, employees finish mashing and preparing the guacamole.
Currently, it takes employees about 50 minutes on average to make a single batch of guacamole. Autocado could reduce prep time by 50%, Chipotle said. The company is working with product development company Vebu to develop the machine.
“Our purpose as a robotic company is to leverage automation technology to give workers more flexibility in their day-to-day work,” said Buck Jordan, CEO of Vebu. “Autocado has the potential to work alongside Chipotle crew members to create the same, delicious guacamole that Chipotle fans love but more efficiently than ever before.”
Vebu is also developing an artificial intelligence mechanism that will allow future iterations of Autocado to evaluate avocado quality and quantify waste reduction throughout the preparation process.
Autocado is still in the prototype phase, and is being tested at the Chipotle Cultivate Center in Irvine, California. The company is also testing a robotic tortilla-chip maker, called Chippy, which fries chips and seasons them with salt and lime.
Chipotle has long been at the forefront of restaurants investing in new technology to drive sales and improve efficiency. The company was one of the first to launch an order-ahead app, and has since built out its online order capabilities. Digital sales represented 39% of total first-quarter sales this year.
Competitors have been quick to follow. Order-ahead options are now commonplace among fast-food chains, as are self-service kiosks.
Using technology to make production lines more efficient seems to be the new frontier. Burger chain White Castle has been testing a robot that can manage a whole frying station.
McDonald’s
(MCD) unveiled an automated test restaurant outside of Fort Worth, Texas, where robots hand customers their drive-through orders. Meanwhile,
Starbucks
(SBUX) announced last September it was implementing a new production procedure, called the Siren System, that aims to reduce the time it takes to make drinks.
But rolling out robots isn’t easy. Since Chipotle’s Chippy was first announced last March, it has only been integrated into one store as the testing phase continues. Meanwhile,
Starbucks
‘ Siren System is also taking longer to reach stores nationwide than investors expected.
“Based on our conversations, investors were anticipating a faster pace of Siren System rollout that allowed for more conviction in shares’ bull case,” wrote TD Cowen analyst Andrew Charles in a note to clients. Charles noted that the company may be opting for a slower rollout tied to new store openings or remodels.
Chipotle stock inched up 0.5% to $2,063.86 in early morning trading on Wednesday. The shares have gained 49% this year.
Write to Sabrina Escobar at [email protected]
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