There's a robot revolution in restaurants!

Yes, you read that right. As artificial intelligence takes over most industries globally, there has been immense interest shown in them by the restaurant industry as well. Accelerated by the pandemic, automated kitchens and robotic wait staff are being billed as the next big thing.

In 2021, in the thick of the pandemic, Mcdonald's, Starbucks, and Chipotle were only a few bigger companies to announce limited working hours in some of their outlets. This was attributed to a staffing crisis. Cooks and servers, and agriculture workers and workers in the meat production, there weren't enough people to hire.

Labor shortages have always plagued the food service industry, but the past two years have been particularly challenging. In the initial days of the Covid-19 pandemic, restaurant staff reported increased abuse from customers and managers and consistently depleting tips (which they depend on, owing to the low wages in the industry). Soon after, restaurants shut down, and employees left in droves to look for better opportunitiespossibly better shift schedules and good wages. Additionally, increased immigration enforcement contributed to restaurant worker shortages. In November 2021 alone, 1 million of the 4.5 million Americans who quit their jobs were restaurant and hotel workers, per Bureau of Labor Statistics figures.

Staffing will be a constant issue in the food service industry, with industry leaders believing that the issue will continue in 2022 and beyond. While hiring needs to become competitive to deal with the labor shortage, there is also a requirement for innovative solutions. Resultantly, the utilization of technological solutions is on the rise. And it is not just limited to integrating automated point of sale and inventory management systems in the operations.

The latest trends in the food industry involve wheeled machines to take orders, deliver dishes and serve customers. Then, there are robotic arms to flip pizzas and automated kitchen setups to make bowl-based meals -- ensuring standardization of taste, temperature and quality. Besides dealing with the labor shortage, this has also ensured quick service and reduced waiting time, positively impacting restaurant businesses. It subsequently increases profits and, at the same time, frees up resources for important tasks. Moreover, it allows incredible efficiency, speed, accuracy, precision, and convenience.


The global market for autonomous delivery robots is expected to grow from USD 0.35 million in 2020 to USD 4.8 million by 2027, at a CAGR of 38.3%, per Market Statesville.