Blendid, Jamba Team Up To Open Robotic Smoothie Kiosk At Walmart

Blendid, which makes a robotic kiosk that makes smoothies, and Jamba are opening their inaugural co-branded location, Jamba by Blendid, at a West Coast Walmart on Wednesday (Dec. 2), according to an announcement.

The first Jamba by Blendid kiosk is inside of a Dixon, California Walmart and will be open every day between the hours of 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

“Blendid is on a mission to make delicious and customized food accessible to all using robotics and AI [artificial intelligence]. Launching our first Jamba by Blendid kiosk further expands our goals and accessibility,” Blendid CEO and Co-founder Vipin Jain said in the announcement.

Blendid’s kiosk comes with blenders, a robotic arm, a refrigeration infrastructure and many dispensers that store and serve different kinds of ingredients such as liquids, solids and superfood boosts.

The device provides “plant-forward” Blendid smoothies, “custom-created” Jamba and Blendid smoothies inspired by familiar flavors found at Jamba.

Blendid’s unique food operating system (foodOS) takes the order and payment, measures and blends the exact amounts of ingredients, and then stores the beverage until the guest is ready to retrieve it. According to the announcement, the procedure is fully touch-free, from order to pick-up.

The system can provide a fresh smoothie in less than three minutes and can handle as many as 45 drinks in an hour, or nine drinks at one time.

“At Jamba, we’ve made significant investments in technology over the past two years to drive more value and accessibility for guests,” Jamba President Geoff Henry said in the announcement. “Jamba by Blendid is yet another way technology can help us deliver on guest needs.”

In separate news, the pandemic is speeding up a trend toward automation in hotels throughout the nation, with major chains now depending on robots to clean rooms and provide items to guests in an attempt to reduce possibly unsafe contact between workers and guests.