Ricoh USA has partnered with food-service automation company Hyphen to support the expansion of robotics in the US restaurant industry.
The partnership will use Ricoh Service Advantage, a lifecycle management solution designed to help emerging technology companies manage deployment and ongoing support as they expand.
The arrangement covers Hyphen’s Automated Makeline, which is backed by Chipotle and Cava.
The system receives orders from digital drive-throughs, online channels, and kiosks. It then prepares rice and salad bowls beneath the counter, while restaurant staff continue to serve in-house customers from the counter.
Hyphen’s technology is intended to automate meal production and support restaurant labour, with the aim of improving efficiency and profitability.
The automated makeline can produce more than 200 meals an hour. It also eliminates order defects and cross-contamination.
Hyphen’s CulinaryOS platform enables restaurants to create recipes in seconds, manage multiple digital orders, and support kitchen-specific tasks.
Ricoh North America vice president of service advantage Steve Sanders said: "Restaurant operators are turning to technology to improve the top line by delivering a differentiated and consistent brand experience, as well as the bottom line by driving down costs.
"Pairing Hyphen's robotic solutions with Ricoh's world-class service promise will enable more food-service providers to gain a competitive edge in a highly competitive industry."
Ricoh cited the National Restaurant Association’s latest industry report, which found that more than 90% of restaurant operators view food, labour, insurance, and inflation-related costs as significant challenges.
Hyphen senior vice president of go-to-market Shawn Lange said: "While we've seen tremendous interest in the potential of robotic technology to improve operations and provide a superior, more consistent customer experience, the ability to scale has hampered traction in this industry.
"Our partnership with Ricoh is a game changer, enabling us to quickly ramp up, train, and implement solutions for restaurants that wish to deploy chainwide."
Ricoh, headquartered in Tokyo, operates in about 200 countries and regions.
