Israeli food tech company SavorEat has joined forces with Sodexo, a global leader in food services and facilities management, in order to introduce SavorEat’s innovative Robot Chef to the American market, beginning with a debut at the University of Denver and followed by another US university campus.
SavorEat’s Robot Chef will produce personalized, digitally-manufactured plant-based burgers and breakfast sausage patties for on-campus dining at the University of Denver, making students and faculty the first in the US to experience on-demand, plant-based meals at the Rebecca Chopp Grand Central Market.
What is a Robot Chef?
SavorEat’s Robot Chef is a food production machine which enables customers to customize meal options centered around alternative meat (such as plant-based meat alternatives), according to their desired size, texture, nutritional specifications, and preferred “doneness” level.
Machine operators insert a food cartridge into the Robot Chef, and within five minutes the customer’s order is printed, cooked, and delivered without any human interaction — truly a dream come true for tired university students.
Powered by machine learning, big data AI, and digital manufacturing, including 3D printing, SavorEat’s holistic solution streamlines the production process for restaurants, caterers, and organizations. This process not only reduces waste but also saves around 7.275 pounds of CO2 and 7300 ounces of water per patty, along with electricity consumption. The plant-based menu offerings are free of cholesterol, soy, hormones, antibiotics, gluten, and preservatives.
Robot Chef goes west
The venture into the US market marks a significant milestone for SavorEat, following a series of rigorous tests and inspections that the Robot Chef underwent to ensure safety and compliance with regulatory requirements. With approvals from the relevant departments of the City of Denver, the company is poised to embark on a journey toward scalability.
The decision to launch in Colorado was strategic, as the state boasts progressive technological advancements and a growing population of health-conscious consumers, including a high proportion of flexitarians (read: vegetarians that other vegetarians would say lack commitment). Furthermore, the University of Denver’s Innovation Labs, which offer cutting-edge technology like 3D printers to engineering students, aligns perfectly with SavorEat’s innovation in food technology.
Racheli Vizman, CEO and Co-Founder of SavorEat, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with Sodexo, a company known for embracing food tech innovations. “By partnering with a legacy company like Sodexo, which encourages innovation and is at the forefront of adopting food tech to serve students worldwide, SavorEat can extend its reach and bring our Robot Chef to the US market,” she said.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to be the first Israeli food robotics company in the meat alternative sector to launch in the USA and to offer the growing flexitarian target audience in the USA — almost 50 percent of the population — new, healthy, and personalized alternatives (without any animal-based ingredients). Partnering with Sodexo gives us a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to penetrate the market among a highly relevant target audience, the Y generation, who are also considered early adopter consumers. We could not ask for a better partner with which to mark our US debut,” Vizman added.
Moses DeBord, Senior Vice President for Sodexo Campus, echoed Vizman’s excitement. “We are thrilled to be partnering with a company making waves in the Plant-Based and Food Service Robotics industry,” he said. “SavorEat’s unique mission to bring customizable plant-based solutions perfectly fits our vision to bring a happy and healthy eating experience to college campuses.”
