A Blendid by Jamba robotic smoothie kiosk will soon be installed at the University of California, Los Angeles. The machine will be up and running by the start of the 2022-2023 school year. This is the third college to install the smoothie machine. Others include Georgia College in Milledgeville, Ga. and Kennesaw State University in Marietta, Ga.
Blendid and Jamba said they worked in partnership with Associated Students UCLA to bring the machine to campus.
“We think our Bruins will love being able to order plant-forward smoothies from their phones and then watch a robot prepare their customized orders,” said Cindy Bolton, director of ASUCLA food operations. “We’re excited to finalize details for the official opening and to see how robotics and artificial intelligence technologies can help our food service operations keep pace with student and faculty needs.”
Smoothies available 24 hours a day
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Blendid said it is trying to transform the food service industry with its automated technology platform (foodOS). The smoothie kiosk is the company’s first product. It has been working with Jamba since 2020, when they launched the first Blendid by Jamba smoothie kiosk at a Walmart in Dixon, Calif. The company said the kiosk uses robotics, patented machine vision technology, and artificial intelligence to make healthy smoothies. The kiosk at UCLA will be open 24 hours a day at the campus, the companies said.
Prior to teaming up with Jamba to launch Blendid by Jamba robotic kiosks, Blendid had a presence on two college campuses - University of San Francisco and Sonoma State University.
The company was founded in 2015 and has raised more than $20 million from a mix of venture and crowdfunding investors. It is in the middle of raising money in its Series B investment round.
“Our robotic smoothie kiosks provide a new way for college campuses around the country to meet students’ demand for fresh and nutritious on-the-go food options – where and when they want it,” said Vipin Jain, CEO and co-founder of Blendid. “As we look to expand to even more colleges and universities, I’d love to see Jamba by Blendid kiosks become a standard food service option across U.S. college campuses in the years ahead.”
“Jamba is thrilled to bring Jamba by Blendid smoothies to UCLA’s campus and expand our college footprint,” said Geoff Henry, president of Jamba. “Colleges have always been a strong market for Jamba and have proved particularly successful with our Jamba by Blendid kiosks as tech-savvy college consumers embrace new robotic solutions.”
The companies also announced last week that a select number of Love’s Travel Shops will be installing Blendid by Jamba kiosks.
Jamba has more than 850 locations operating in 36 U.S. states, as well as the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Japan.
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