Demand for chef robots surging in Korea amid high wages, labor shortages

Signing ceremony for the memorandum of understanding between WAVE and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment [Photo provided by WAVE]

South Korean startups are introducing food making and serving robots and solutions that can be used in the food industry in a growing movement to replace human labor with robots as the restaurant industry faces wage increases and a shortage of workers.

These startups are partnering with restaurant franchises, enabling them to benefit from increased operational efficiency and cost savings.

The demand for kitchen automation robots is exploding as solutions can be introduced to multiple stores simultaneously because cooking methods are the same at each franchise, a spokesperson of a local restaurant chain told Maeil Business Newspaper on Monday. Through this kitchen automation, the work that was previously done by three people, from order-taking to payment to cooking and serving, can now be done by one person.

The robotic kitchen industry is gaining traction as more restaurants and stores look for ways to reduce costs and increase efficiency in food preparation.

According to market data, the global food robot market, which was worth $19 billion in 2020, is expected to reach around $40 billion by 2026, with an average annual growth rate of 13.1 percent. This is why large companies like Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. are eyeing the market with their own chef robots.

Food tech robot company WAVE Lifestyle Technologies is launching an OUT NOW robot-based kitchen operation service using their robot and kitchen management artificial intelligence technology. WAVE robots specialize in grilling, frying, noodle boiling and stir-fry. So far, more than 30 restaurant brands in Korea have chosen WAVE robots.

The startup recently caught attention for signing a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment, the first by a South Korea robot company, to expand its business into the Middle East. Through this MOU, WAVE will introduce robots to help the Saudi food service industry to transform digitally and build an environment to provide robotic services to various industries.

Future Kitchen, a kitchen automation platform, recently received an investment from Bonchon International, the company that operates Bonchon Chicken franchises. The two companies are currently conducting technical tests to supply cooking robot solutions to over 400 Bonchon Chicken franchises worldwide. Future Kitchen’s main product is a kitchen automation platform that uses robots to handle order-taking and payment, as well as cooking. In particular, the platform specializes from selecting the meat parts in chicken to dipping and frying the batter.

Aniai, another Korean startup specializing in robotic kitchen technology, has recently secured a 4 billion won ($3.06 million) investment from domestic investors. The company has developed Alpha Grill, an AI-powered robot that can cook hamburger patties, making it the first of its kind in the country.

According to the company, Alpha Grill can cook up to 200 patties per hour and can maintain consistent quality through the use of camera sensors that monitor the shape and cooking of the patties.

The company said it is already providing Alpha Grill to several domestic handmade burger franchise businesses and it will use the investment to advance its penetration into the U.S. market.