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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

White Castle

White Castle Rolling Out Fry Station Robots To 100 More Locations

Today White Castle announced they are rolling out the Flippy 2 fry station robot to 100 new locations.

The expansion follows a trial of the original Flippy in the Chicagoland White Castle and 10 additional White Castle locations in 2020, and an upgrade to the Flippy 2 last fall.

As we wrote last fall, the Flippy 2 represents a significant upgrade over the original across a number of functional areas. This move could be a signal Miso’s clients are ready to expand more quickly with a new model that can essentially take over the work of an entire station, is much more customizable and has a smaller overall footprint.

“We could not be more grateful for the confidence White Castle has shown in us as we enter into the next phase of our partnership,” said Mike Bell, CEO of Miso Robotics, in a release sent to The Spoon. “White Castle was the first large brand to embrace our technology and we are thrilled that our Flippy pilot made such a positive impact on their operations that they want to integrate 100 more. We can’t wait to continue on this journey with such an outstanding partner.”     

This news, alongside Pizza Hut’s recent push into containerized robotics, should put to rest any doubts as to whether fast-food chains are going to continue to adopt automation. Labor shortages, rising wages, and increased competition are all accelerating the transition of the broader quick-service market towards automation solutions.

Miso Introduces Second Generation Restaurant Kitchen Robot, the Flippy 2

Today Miso Robotics, a maker of restaurant robots, unveiled the second generation of its flagship robot Flippy, the Flippy 2. The new robot, which was developed in part with feedback from strategic innovation partner White Castle, represents a significant jump forward in capabilities, customizability, and design.

Some of the new capabilities and features of the Flippy 2 include:

  • Takes over more work: The original Flippy requires human help on both sides of the robot to complete a task. The Flippy 2 basically makes the fry station a closed loop system where items are loaded into the fryer, fried and then placed into a hot holding area, all without assistance from a human.
  • Hot Food Transfer: The Flippy 2 transfers hot food items to the holding area, which eliminates a potential danger-spot for human and prevents burns and oil spillage.
  • Customizable Basket System: The Flippy 2 has a new customizable basket management system. Called AutoBin, the new system can be tailored for the specific needs of a kitchen, allowing for specialty items like vegetables and fish to get their own dedicated basket to prevent cross-contamination.
  • Smaller Footprint: The Flippy 2 is smaller than the original, with 56% reduced aisle intrusion, a 13% reduction in height and less surfaces to clean.

Like the original, the Flippy 2 uses machine vision to aid in the task of operating a cooking station, but just oversees more of the overall process. According to the company, the Flippy2 has increased throughput of 30% compared to the original and can handle up to 60 baskets per hour.

The Flippy 2 makes its debut in the White Castle’s Chicago 42 location. From there, company CEO Mike Bell told The Spoon that they plan to deploy the new robot in as many as 10 White Castle locations in 2022. And while White Castle represents a significant portion of the trials, Bell says the company will also roll out pilots with other partners.

“Currently, we have plans to deploy about a dozen additional pilots in the next few months, and we’re also in talks with several top restaurants and QSRs who are interested in bringing Flippy to their kitchens, both in the U.S. and overseas,” said Bell. 

That Miso is already launching a second generation of its flagship robot is a testament to the company’s stature as a pioneer in what is a fairly new and nascent industry. Miso first debuted the original Flippy in 2017 at the Caliburger in Pasadena, and started working with White Castle last year. All of those trials allowed the company to get data and critical feedback about the robot in real-world, high-volume kitchens, the result of which are the improvements they are debuting today.

“The truth is that Flippy has been in development for more than five years,” said Bell. “We’re truly the only company learning at the level we are learning about real kitchen operations. And Flippy 2 is the result of many conversations and the feedback we’ve received from valuable industry partners, like White Castle, who deployed Flippy for the first time in September 2020.”

You can see the new Flippy working the fry station in the video below.

The Flippy 2 Restaurant Robot Cooks Food

Flippy The Fast Food Robot Has Its Own National TV Commercial

Flippy’s about to hit the big time.

That’s because the fast food robot from Miso that’s in service in places like White Castle is going to be the focus of a new nationally televised commercial.

The commercial, which can be seen below, is a 30 second ad that introduces Flippy to a TV audience.

Introducing Flippy | National Television Commercial from Miso Robotics on Vimeo.

The ad opens with Flippy making fries in the kitchen of a fast food restaurant while a voiceover actor proclaims “Nothing hits the spot quite like good food, made fast.”

From there the 30 second spot toggles back and forth between a mother and daughter happily eating food and Flippy making fries back in the kitchen.

The voiceover continues: “The taste you grew up on, now made more consistent, more efficient, and dare we say, more delicous. Introducing Flippy, the world’s first AI kitchen assistant.”

The narrator brings the pitch home with the tag line, “Let the robots do the robotic work, so people can do the people work.”

I’m not sure where the ad will play and what the audience will be – I reached out to the folks at Miso and haven’t heard back – but it’s interesting to me that they have decided to pay for a national TV spot introducing a food service robot to a general audience. It’s certainly a new direction for a company that has largely stuck to programmatic social media ads for their crowdfunding campaigns.

Here are a few thoughts as to why the company went in this direction.

The company wants to reach a new audience outside of it traditional marketing campaigns. Miso traditionally uses programmatic cookie-driven web advertising on social media and websites to appeal to potential investors. The TV spot ends with a call to action to visit Meetflippy.com, where visitors get a general overview of the robot, can get on a mailing list, and can hit a “Become a Customer” button for more info. My guess is the company believes they will reach a new audience that is less tech-savvy, but could be potential customers or even potential new investors.

Miso is beginning the “robots are our friends” messaging. There’s no doubt that as robotics become more mainstream in food service and other jobs, there will be some pushback from those that see them as job-stealers. The tagline, “Let the robots do the robotic work, so people can do the people work” seems intended to possibly get in front of the anti-robot trend.

The company is looking to time ad to coincide with its Hulu spotlight. If you watch the hero reel preview of the upcoming David Chang Hulu food show that is heavily focused on food tech, Wavemaker – the robot-focused investment vehicle closely affiliated with Miso – gets a star turn on the show. The preview features Miso Robotics Chairman Buck Jordan talking to Chang while it shows the Flippy in action. This ad spot might even be intended to play during Chang’s Hulu show.

Whatever the reason, you got to give Miso credit. The launch of a national TV commercial to push a fry-making robot is definitely a first.

Editor Update: Miso Robotics CFO Kevin Morris responded to my inquiry the following comment: “We want to make Flippy as well known to the masses as possible and doing a commercial increases its national exposure exponentially. The more eyeballs that see the commercial, the greater likelihood we can attract additional innovation partners.”

White Castle Expanding Use of Flippy the Robot to 10 More Locations

White Castle is adding 10 more Flippy Roars to its roster, Miso Robotics announced today. The expanded order for more Flippy robots comes after a successful pilot at one White Castle location that was announced this past July.

Through a combination of robotics, computer vision and AI, Miso’s Flippy ROAR can operate both grills to cook hamburgers as well as fry stations. The entire system is suspended on rails from above, and White Castle had been using Flippy as a fry cook. According to today’s press announcement, Flippy made an average of 360 baskets of fried food per day during its pilot with White Castle, with a total of roughly 14,580 lbs. of food and more than 9,720 baskets made.

In addition to Flippy making food in a more contactless fashion, something consumers are more aware of than ever during this pandemic, Flippy also creates more social distance among employees in the kitchen, and frees workers up to pay more attention to order fulfillment and delivery. Today’s press release noted that White Castle is open 24 hours a day, which creates its own set of staffing challenges, with late night shifts harder to fill. Because it’s a robot, Flippy can work around the clock without needing a break (or calling in sick).

White Castle’s Flippy expansion comes less than a month after Miso announced the general commercial availability of its robot. In addition to wider availability, Miso is hoping to attract new customers beyond large QSRs with its new financing option, which eliminated the $30,000 up front cost and replaced it with a $2,000 a month subscription.

The pandemic has helped accelerate interest in food robotics, and we’ve seen a flurry of activity even just this month. KFC Korea partnered with Hyundai to develop fried chicken making robots. Walmart added a Blendid smoothie making robot to one of its stores. And Costa Coffee officially took over Briggo and its automated coffee kiosks.

White Castle did not disclose where its new Flippy robots will be located, only saying they will be delpoyed in 2021. For Miso, this new contract — and, by extension, this vote of confidence in its technology — could also help boost the company’s equity crowdfunding efforts. The company is looking to raise a $30 million Series through SeedInvest, and to date has only raised a little more than $9 million.

Food Tech News: Wild Type Is Looking for Chefs, White Castle Is Offering Rewards

Some final bits of food tech news from ’round the web this week:

Wild Type Has a Pre-Order List for Chefs

While still a good five years out from commercial production, Wild Type said this week it has opened a pre-order list for chefs wanting to include the company’s cell-based seafood into their dishes. Right now, the company is developing a cultured salmon prototype that would work in sushi dishes. Wild Type cofounder Justin Kolbeck clarified that the company is not launching its product, just “releasing news” that they “have the next iteration of the product.

White Castle Launches a Rewards Program

White Castle has launched its first-ever rewards platform, called “the Craver Nation loyalty program.” Like other digital rewards programs out there, Craver Nation will offer discounts and deals to loyal customers that sign up for the White Castle mobile app. The program was trialed earlier this summer in Louisville, Ky. and is another digital tool in the chain’s quickly-growing arsenal of them.

Asia-based abillionveg Raises Fresh Funding

Singapore-based app abillionveg announced this week that it has closed a $3 million pre-Series A round, with participation from Nan Fung Group, CloudKitchens, and York Capital. The app features community-led reviews for vegan and vegetarian products, including both retail and restaurant offerings. Simultaneous to the funding news, the company announced it has struck partnerships with plant-based heavyweight Impossible Foods and restaurant-booking platform Chope.

Cornucopia Farms Is Building a Large-Scale Hydroponic Farm in Georgia

Leafy green lovers, take note. Marietta, Ga.-based Cornucopia Farms said this week it is completing construction on a 56,000-square-foot hydroponic farm two hours east of Atlanta. The farm will grow all manner of greens, including herbs, Romaine, and Bibb lettuce, among other types, and will produce an estimated 12 million heads of leafy greens and 2 million pounds of herbs per year when it is completed. That won’t be for a minute, though: completion of the project is expected at some point in the latter half of 2021.

White Castle Hires Flippy the Robot for Pilot Program

Robots are storming White Castle! The pop culturally iconic restaurant chain just announced a partnership with Miso Robotics today to bring Flippy the robot on board as a fry cook as part of a limited pilot program.

White Castle will be using the new Flippy ROAR, which debuted earlier this year. Unlike previous versions of the robot, the ROAR is suspended overhead on a rail, sliding back and forth. Flippy will be manning several frying stations at White Castle, cooking up a variety of foods including fries, chicken rings, onion rings and mozzarella sticks.

Jamie Richardson, Vice President, Government and Shareholder Relations at White Castle, told me by phone last week that Flippy will be “coming soon” to an undisclosed location in Chicago.

The partnership comes amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has restaurants of all sizes reconfiguring to accommodate less human-to-human interaction. Robots are one way to reduce human contact with food, but Richardson said that White Castle started talking with Miso 15 months ago, long before the pandemic hit in full. “The unexpected events of COVID made us want to accelerate,” Richardson said, “We do think it’s important to keep marching forward with innovation.”

Robots can also be used to take over more dangerous and repetitive tasks in the kitchen, like operating the fryer. A robot won’t get bored, tired or burned making tater tots for hours on end. “A new hire like Flippy frees us up to have team members do other things like delivery,” said Richardson. Delivery and other forms of off-premises eating, of course, have become more important than ever during this pandemic as dine-in experiences have been forced to close.

For Miso, the White Castle deal comes at a time when the company is trying to raise $30 million through equity crowdfunding. As of now, Miso only has two customers using Flippy, CaliBurger and Compass Group/Levy, both of which are investors in Miso. As well, two current Flippy installation sites are stadiums, which have been shut down because of the pandemic.

With 365 owned and operated restaurants, White Castle represents a big growth opportunity for Miso. Financial terms of this deal weren’t disclosed, but the sticker price on a new Flippy ROAR costs $30,000 upfront with a $1,500 monthly subscription.

Despite having been around for nearly 100 years, White Castle remains remarkably spry. It was among the first restaurant chains to add the plant-based Impossible burger to its menu back in 2018. And as noted previously, it has been active with its third-party delivery program.

With this one installation set to start, we’ll have to see if Flippy becomes king of this particular castle.

Subway Partners With Beyond Meat for Plant-Based Meatball Sub

Subway joined the growing number of QSRs offering plant-based meat options this week, announcing a new partnership with Beyond Meat.

The two companies will start testing the Beyond Meatball Marinara sandwich, a plant-based take on one of Subway’s classics, in September, according to a press release. The sandwich will be available in 685 Subway restaurants for a limited time in the U.S. and Canada. Subway didn’t specify how limited that time would be or what happens afterwards. Presumably, the Beyond Meatball Marinara will be available as long as supplies last, and its expansion will depend on how popular the sandwich proves during this testing phase.

Subway is the latest fast-food outlet to start offering a plant-based option on its menu. At the end of last month, Beyond added a partnership with Dunkin’ to sell plant-based breakfast sandwiches in NYC. Beyond also has menu items at chains like Del Taco and Carl’s Jr., as well as a strong retail presence in grocery stores. The company even launched a new ground-beef-like product at Whole Foods earlier this summer.

Impossible, meanwhile, is set to do a nationwide rollout of its Impossible Whopper at Burger King this week. The company, who is Beyond’s chief rival, already works with White Castle as well as some non-burger chains like Qdoba and Little Caesar’s. Impossible is also (finally) heading to retail stores this September.

Given the surging popularity of both Impossible and Beyond, we can expect the list of QSRs testing out plant-based options like these to keep growing throughout the rest of the year.

The White Castle-Uber Eats Deal Highlights the QSR Battleground for Delivery

Today White Castle announced a new delivery partnership with Uber Eats. The majority of the White Castle menu is now available via the Uber Eats app in over 330 of the fast-food chains’ locations.

Of course, if you’re of a certain generation, the name White Castle almost always brings to mind a certain cult classic film, and the launch of the Uber Eats program coincides with the 15-year anniversary of “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.” To celebrate, White Castle is giving away up to 1 million of its Original sliders (sorry, Impossible fans) to customers who order via the Uber Eats app. If you’re so inclined, you can also order a Harold & Kumar meal via the app that offers “special 2004 pricing” — which basically means it’s a cheaper deal.

Of course, when the movie came out in 2004 it was a very different QSR landscape from the one we see today. Nowadays, no amount of gimmicky moves like the above will guarantee you customers if you don’t also have a robust delivery strategy in place. White Castle already delivers via Grubhub and DoorDash, which makes the deal with Uber Eats neither surprising nor earth-shattering.

However, it does highlight just how heated competition between third-party delivery services is bound to get in the QSR arena. In fast food or otherwise, consumers don’t demonstrate a particular loyalty to any one of these third-party delivery services. At the same time, the services themselves are making moves to try and capture more of that elusive customer loyalty, particularly via subscription services that offer — depending on what you order — better prices and some discounts. All of which suggests QSRs like White Castle, who work with multiple delivery partners, could become a mini-battleground of sorts as the novelty of digital ordering and delivery wears off and consumers align with whatever service will get the food to their door cheapest and fastest.

Uber, for its part, has been hard at work initiatives that actually go beyond faster cheaper food when it comes to building customer loyalty: the company offers a $25/month subscription to its overall service, which is an Amazon Prime-like membership that offers discounted rides and free bike usage in addition to deals on Uber Eats. It’s also offering Eats functionality from the main Uber app, subsidizing customers’ rides to restaurants, and drone-dropping haute burgers, all of which are in part geared towards keeping customers in the Uber ecosystem. (Ok, maybe not that last one but drones are still cool.)

While publicity gimmicks like Harold & Kumar-themed meals are amusing and even commonplace when restaurants announce delivery deals, realistically, customer loyalty is going to come from how well Uber or any other service can execute on the above while still keeping menu prices competitive.

My Whole Family Tried the Impossible Slider from White Castle (and Loved It)

My family has a… rather unique Christmas tradition. For Christmas Eve lunch, when the 15-odd crew of us gather at my grandparents’ home outside of Cincinnati, OH, we have a White Castle slider eating competition. The record: twenty-one. (Blegh.)

As a vegetarian I usually have to abstain from this tradition. But this year, oh this year, I got to be a competitor. And it’s all thanks to Impossible Foods.

In September Impossible Foods, maker of the popular “bleeding” plant-based burger, rolled out their sliders to all 377 White Castle locations. So when we made our annual pilgrimmage to the local White Castle, I went along to pick up a dozen meat-free sliders as well.

I was surprised by how heavily White Castle was marketing the Impossible slider in stores, with giant window decals, BOGO coupons, and ample menu space. But maybe I shouldn’t have been. White Castle CEO Laura Ingram stated that sales of the meatless sliders “easily exceeded our expectations,” and is popular with both new and existing customers.

Here’s a poorly-shot visual comparison of the two burgers: Impossible on the left, traditional on the right:

Photo: Catherine Lamb for the Spoon.

The Impossible slider comes with a two-ounce meat-free patty, smoked cheddar cheese, pickles, and onions, and costs $1.99. A typical White Castle slider is $.79 cents (without cheese), and has a one-ounce beef patty, pickles, and onions. At $1.99, the Impossible slider is almost three times the price of the $.79 regular slider — but it’s also a lot heftier.

As you can see from the photo, the Impossible slider is just, well, better looking than the beef one. It’s bigger, the bun is fluffier (I’m not why they use different buns for the two, but they do), and with the cheese peeking out it just looks tastier. The patty itself is also quite a bit bigger and looks almost more like meat than the thin rectangular slice of the actual beef patty.

When it comes to taste, I also think that the Impossible slider delivered. With two ounces of “meat” the slider has a toothsome bite, and the smoked cheddar and sharp pickles pack a flavorful — and very salty — punch. I didn’t mind the savoriness but several of my family members found the sliders too salty for their liking.

In fact, many of my family members, who are die-hard White Castle lovers, actually said they liked the Impossible slider better than the original. Their one complaint: it didn’t have the same richy, meaty smell.

The sliders were also very well-done and didn’t “bleed” when we bit into them. Which isn’t especially surprising, since that’s pretty par for the course for fast-food burgers, but I’m disappointed that I still haven’t experienced the “bleeding” Impossible effect.

In the end, I only managed four meatless sliders and lost the contest (the winner ate twelve). However, we emerged with quite a few plant-based burger converts, many of whom said they would gladly order one of the burgers if they saw it on a menu — or on a grocery shelf — down the road.

That’s exactly what Impossible was hoping would happen. As I wrote back in September, the White Castle partnership is part of Impossible’s long-term goal to make their products more accessible and affordable. Judging from my experience, I’d say that so far they’re doing a great job.

Impossible Sliders Roll Out at all White Castles Nationwide

Today Impossible Foods, the company famous for their plant-based “bleeding” burgers, announced today that it’s expanding its partnership with fast food chain White Castle. The Impossible slider is now available in all of White Castle’s 377 locations, from New York to St. Louis.

The meat-free sliders debuted at 140 White Castle locations in New York, New Jersey, and Chicago in April to generally positive reviews. They feature a two-ounce Impossible patty, smoked cheddar cheese, pickles, and onions, and sell for $1.99. As I wrote last month, making Impossible burgers more widely available — and for a smaller price point — is key to the company’s strategy to edge in on the beef market. The plant-based patties are available in over 3,000 restaurants globally, and some Air New Zealand flights, and they just added 237 new locations with this White Castle news.

Impossible’s expansion is well-timed to feed the growing demand for plant-based meat. The Good Food Institute released data today which showed that plant-based meat sales increased by 23 percent over the past year alone and have a U.S. retail market value of $684 million.

Impossible debuted in 2016 at high-end New York restaurant Momofuku Nishi, where it cost $18. Now it’s available for almost a tenth of the price at one of the most low-brow fast food chains around (no shade, White Castle). As meat alternatives’ popularity grows, Impossible will no doubt continue to make their products more mainstream and affordable for people with all budgets.

Now, Impossible, if you could please make your fast food debut in Seattle, this writer would be very grateful.

White Castle and DoorDash Partner, Offer Free Delivery

Ever since UberEats and McDonalds teamed up at the end of 2016, fast food chains big and small have made a charge towards delivery services in an attempt to keep up.

White Castle is the latest such chain; today they announced, via an email release, a partnership with DoorDash to offer delivery at almost 300 locations in the U.S. This is in addition to White Castle’s existing delivery services (see below). And in what’s also becoming a typical move for such releases, there will be a limited free delivery deal.

The majority of the White Castle menu is now available on DoorDash, from the iconic slider to those Crave Cases that have fed many a Superbowl party over the years. To celebrate this new partnership, DoorDash is offering free delivery on White Castle orders of $10 or more between today (July 30) and August 5, in selected areas. The company didn’t specify which areas, so check DoorDash’s list of locations for more info.

If said deal isn’t near you, fear not. You can still likely get White Castle delivered to your doorstep via Grubhub (though there’s no deal involved), as White Castle teamed with the service earlier this year.

Many food chains partner with multiple third-party services in order to grab the biggest slice that they can of the $43 billion food delivery market (predicted to hit $76 billion in 2022). That said, we’re seeing a small rise in exclusive partnerships — à la McDonalds-UberEats. DoorDash and Wendy’s also unrolled an exclusive partnership at the end of 2017. And earlier this year, Grubhub became the “official online ordering partner” of Yum Brands (Taco Bell, KFC, etc.) when the latter invested $200,000 million in Grubhub common stock.

No word yet on whether White Castle will partner with anyone else — Uber Eats, for example — in the future. White Castle has already embraced alterna-burgers and attempted to deliver Crave Cases via drones. So it’s safe to say the company is open to new ways in which to reinvent its business (digitized drive-thru strategy, maybe?), and new partners that can help that process.