HAYWARD, CALIF. – Chowbotics introduces Sally 2.0, the newest iteration of its widely-popular fresh food robot, which first came to market in 2018 and is currently in action at more than 70 locations including offices, college campuses, hospitals, and more. The enhanced model features a larger tablet display, a stunning new user interface, wheels for increased mobility, and improved servicing features that reduce operator refill and cleaning time. In addition to Sally’s flagship salad and grain bowl offerings, Sally 2.0 now offers breakfast and snack options such as Açai bowls, fruit and yogurt bowls, and more. Thousands of people can now experience these enhancements at several new deployments across the country and around the world.
One of Sally 2.0’s first adopters is The Salad Station, a fast-casual salad chain in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi. “After bringing 11 Sally 1.0s to market, we were thrilled with the positive consumer feedback and return-on-investment,” says Scott Henderson, founder and president. “We’re excited to announce that we are now rolling out 50 Sally 2.0s across seven states, giving us the ability to expand our fresh food footprint far beyond the reach of our brick-and-mortar stores.”
Enhancements with Sally 2.0 include:
A stunning, larger display that improves user engagement
Sally 2.0 delivers a fully re-designed user interface that dramatically improves the way users and operators interact with Sally. The intuitive design makes it simple for customers to make personalized or pre-loaded selections. The experience is presented on a larger 15.6-inch tablet display for a more immersive ordering and servicing experience.
New portability that supports business growth
Unlike a traditional salad bar or brick-and-mortar salad chain, Sally 2.0 provides the ability to seamlessly move a fresh food offering to any location. New casters with swivel and brake functionality enable operators to trial and select optimal Sally locations.
More intuitive maintenance system and interface for faster servicing
Sally 2.0 debuts a new canister design and easier-to-use on-screen app that makes re-stocking and cleaning efficient and easy for even first-time users.
Expanded menu offering for fresh meals at all times of day
In addition to its debut salad and grain bowl offerings, Sally 2.0 now features robust menu options including Açai bowls, yogurt bowls, and snacks, plus worldly cuisines including Mediterranean, Indian, and Latin American. With these new options, Sally offers viable meal choices at all times of day, including breakfast, and gives food servicers the opportunity to tailor their offering to each unique market they serve.
Elevated machine design that solidifies customer confidence
Sally 2.0 is wrapped in polished wood tones and a deep green finish, with targeted messaging that garners quicker customer adoption and trust.
In addition to Salad Station, Bonduelle, a French international plant-based food company, recently ordered a first set of 50 robots for France for 2019. Earlier this year, the two companies joined forces to create the Cabaletta brand and set an exclusive partnership for deployments at foodservice outlets throughout mainland Europe. “We believe offering salads and other plant-based food through easy to access kiosks will be a key trend for the future,” says Elodie Levrier, Project Director, Bonduelle.
Two other U.S. locations will unveil Sally 2.0 to the public soon. Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, OH will enhance its 24/7 offering of nutritious salads to students and staff with Sally 2.0.
ISS Guckenheimer Headquarters in San Mateo, CA will also debut Sally 2.0 and introduce a new breakfast menu. “We have enjoyed collaborating with Chowbotics to pioneer breakfast offerings made possible by food robotics technology. We believe robotics has tremendous foodservice potential because it enables fresh food at smaller locations or times when we wouldn’t have staff available onsite,” says Helene Kennan, the CEO of ISS Guckenheimer and a James Beard nominated chef.
Sally offers thousands of custom meal and snack options from any combination of up to 22 ingredients, in addition to chef-crafted, pre-programmed bowls. Users can fine-tune the calorie total of their meal by adding or subtracting ingredients, as well as view full nutritional details for each selection, making it easier to stick to specific dietary goals and needs. Chowbotics’s proprietary technology also reduces the risk of foodborne illness, as ingredients are kept sanitary and separate. Each of Sally’s ingredients is replenished regularly and contained within the robot, greatly reducing the potential for contamination.
Chowbotics was recently selected as one of The World’s Most Innovative Companies in Robotics by Fast Company, joining a prestigious list of companies “making the most profound impact on both industry and culture.” The National Restaurant Association’s Kitchen Innovation Awards, BIG Innovation Awards, Edison Awards, and Best in Biz Awards recently recognized Chowbotics for the robot’s impact on the foodservice industry.
Dr. Deepak Sekar, the founder of Chowbotics says, “We’ve seen tremendous market interest in Sally 1.0, with revenue doubling every quarter in 2019. We deployed more than 70 robots in our first year following launch, a pace of growth never seen with even the most popular restaurant concepts. We believe Sally 2.0, with its boost in usability and operational efficiency, will accelerate consumer adoption and excitement even further.”
