Picnic's Pizza Robot: Any Restaurant Menu and 100 Pizzas an Hour
In August 2021, Picnic began accepting pre-orders from US customers for the Picnic Pizza System. The robotic device is designed to automate pizza production, including applying sauce and toppings.
The Picnic Pizza System is available under a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) business model with a monthly subscription priced from $3,500 to $5,000, depending on configuration and production volume. Picnic will produce and install existing customer orders throughout 2021, and deliveries of new system orders will begin in 2022.
The system works with any restaurant's existing menu and helps operators make up to 100 pizzas an hour. The pricing model includes free delivery and installation, requires minimal training, and is available to businesses of any size. Thanks to Picnic's RaaS subscription model, the system requires no upfront costs, includes free on-site maintenance checks, and is monitored 24/7 for maximum uptime.
“This is a huge milestone for Picnic, and we are thrilled to announce commercial availability. Over the past year, the team has worked tirelessly with customers and strategic partners to optimize the Picnic Pizza system. We are very proud of what we have built. The feedback we have received from industry partners and customers confirms the need for kitchen automation solutions like ours, and we look forward to a great year ahead”
The pizza robot has already received several awards, including the prestigious award from the National Restaurant Association for 2021 kitchen innovation and a place in the 2020 FoodTech 500 ranking. Picnic is recognized by industry partners and customers for its unique solutions to real problems such as staff shortages, food waste, and elevated hygiene standards.
A robot-made pizza has proven to be a surprisingly popular target for startups. Over the past few years, some of these platforms have been more successful than others. The story of Zume is probably the most notable among the failures. In early 2020, the company ultimately abandoned its robotic pizza trucks to switch to eco-friendly packaging.
Picnic has made its mark relatively recently, raising $38 million in funding. At the International Pizza Expo and Conference in Las Vegas, the company announced that it is finally ready to launch its first device after various pilot projects in industries such as restaurants, hospitality, entertainment, and theme parks.
Pizza is an obvious priority target for food robotics systems for several reasons:
- it is relatively simple and fairly uniform in construction
- people eat a huge amount of pizza (in 2015, Americans ate more than 100 acres of it daily)
The Picnic Pizza System is a pizza-making device with which a single employee can make up to 100 pizzas 30 cm in size per hour. Fresh ingredients are added to dough that is prepared by hand, and the recipe can be adjusted to the requirements of a restaurant, commercial kitchen, or anyone else who owns the device.
Picnic began selling its systems based on the need for automation to offset the chronic labor shortage in the food service industry. This need has been acutely felt during the coronavirus pandemic and has generated strong interest in pizza solutions.
“Pizza making has always been a job where it is hard to keep workers on a permanent basis. Turnover is very high, it is hard work that must be done well, and it is hard work that must be done during peak periods. This is where our system really shines”
According to Wood, the pandemic has accelerated trends that were already in place, including delivery and takeout. Demand for these services increases demand for restaurants and other food preparation venues, such as ghost kitchens and shops. The Wall Street Journal reported that at the end of May 2021, restaurants and hotels had 1.3 million job openings. Automating food production is one of the answers.
"The food service industry is being reimagined," Wood said. Picnic previously reported that it had generated interest and established partnerships with Orion Land Mark, Seattle's Ethan Stowell Restaurants, National Service Cooperative, and Baseline Hardware.
“The Picnic Pizza System simplifies the pizza-making process so you can focus on what really matters: your food, your brand, and your customer satisfaction. Our system automates pizza preparation with a modular assembly line that can perfect any custom pizza recipe and fit into any kitchen layout. The modular system includes high-capacity dispensers for sauce and cheese, pepperoni, and granulated ingredients, and can be configured to feed directly into the oven without manual help. Additional toppings can be automated by adding extra modules”
In 2020, Forbes stated that "robotic restaurants are the future," and that this future will arrive sooner than we think. With companies like Picnic, this is entirely possible.
