Last year, robots invaded university and college campuses in several states to take on the task of delivering food and drinks to students in their dorm rooms. And now, there’s another robot that is making a name for itself in higher education and other institutional foodservice outlets. Meet Sally, the world’s fist salad robot.
Sally is built by Chowbotics and uses robotics to construct great tasting, personalized meals from fresh ingredients that are stored inside the machine. Sally holds 22 individual ingredient canisters, giving students and staff the ability to create thousands of combinations for a wide variety of options. The customer can select the ingredients of their choice or they can choose a preprogrammed combination. A meal with 8-components can be completed in as little as 90 seconds. Not only is you customer’s meal personalized to their taste, but it is also assembled and dispensed in a very hygienic manner, which is paramount as campuses and other institutions adjust to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The canisters protect ingredients and they are stored within a tamper proof refrigerator at a food safe 38 degrees. With a space saving 3’ x 3’ footprint, Sally has a surprising capacity of serving 65 meals or more before you’ll need to be replacing ingredients. You can even fill the machine up in the evening and let it run overnight, saving labor to restock, and serving students on their schedule. In facilities where Sally is already up and running, a top benefit to many users is the touchless assembly and sanitation which goes far beyond a traditional food bar.
Sally isn’t limited to salads. Potential meal options include breakfasts and snacks, grain bowls, ethnic cuisines, and more. Customers are provided with all the ingredients they need to design a bowl that they will love because they personalize it to their individual taste. Chowbotics also has a culinary team that can partner with your chefs providing meal design assistance to fit your menu offering for any day part. Additionally, Sally provides interactive nutritional information to customers as they selection ingredients so that they can make smart food choices and design meals that fulfill their dietary goals. With Sally, you can easily provide a several menu options to satisfy a diverse customer base, including gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, paleo, keto, heart-healthy and more.
Additionally, Sally provides you with useful information and data to help manage your menu and your business. The analysis portal lets you see which ingredients and meals are most popular so that you can determine menu trends from your customers purchases. This information is valuable in optimizing your menu. Time of day information is also provided to help you know what ingredients are popular in different day parts and to optimize sales opportunities. Finally, you can monitor ingredients through the analysis portal, including expiration information, to help you reduce food waste and ensure that the meals Sally is serving are truly fresh.
Getting started with Sally is easier than you think. Like most vending machines, all that’s required is access to an electrical outlet. Your culinary team will create a customizable menu, which can be done with the assistance of the Chowbotics team. Ingredients get prepared like they would for a traditional salad bar and then loaded into the airtight containers and placed within the refrigerated storage inside Sally. Bowls and lids are stored directly below the refrigerated section. Customers select their menu choice, insert payment, or swipe a meal plan card, place a bowl in the machine and the magic begins. The selected ingredients are portioned out directly into the bowl as your customer watches their meal being made through the front window panel. When assembly is complete, your customer removes their meal, adds a lid if they need it and away they go.
For more information about Sally, you can watch the video in this post and speak with a Cook’s sales representative at 877.760.5388. We are excited to have the opportunity to introduce Sally to college and university dining departments and other educational or institutional facilities that would benefit from a Salad Robot.
