Flippy the robot fills fast food employment gap in the UK, as company begins accepting European investment reservations for Series E+ round
Miso Robotics – the company transforming the restaurant industry with robotics and intelligent automation – launched in the UK by bringing its flagship product, Flippy 2, to a Midlands branch of one of the largest quick-service restaurant (QSR) brands in the world. In parallel to its move to the UK, Miso Robotics extended its Series E round and will now take investment reservations from folks in the region – targeting to raise £1.5 million in capital via European crowdfunding site Crowdcube.
Flippy 2, a robotics solution that can independently do the work of an entire fry station, has proven it can improve operations in QSRs by decreasing order-to-delivery time, while increasing food consistency and creating a better working environment for human team members. Flippy is able to manage fry stations, which frees up human staff members to be redeployed and focus on other tasks in the kitchen and restaurant that are more fulfilling, such as interacting with customers in the drive-thru or at the register.
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With the UK takeaway food delivery market growing from £10.5 billion to £13.3 billion between 2021 and 2022, the industry is facing an employment gap that Flippy can help fill – especially with nearly 150,000 unfilled posts in the hospitality sector in the UK at present.
Flippy 2 is already being used by leading American fast-food restaurant chains such as White Castle, Jack in the Box, Inspire Brands (the parent company of Buffalo Wild Wings, Arby’s and Sonic), Wings and Rings and Wing Zone. The launch in the UK is Miso’s first Flippy unit to be installed outside of the US. To date, Flippy has cooked over 400,000 lbs of fried food during nearly 31,000 hours of robotic cooking. It has already learned to recognise and cook more than 45 food items. While Miso is starting with its first UK location, plans are in place to expand to other brands throughout next year and beyond.
“Bringing Flippy to the UK is a true testament to all of the hard work our team has done from both an R&D and innovation standpoint,” said Mike Bell, CEO of Miso Robotics. “We’ve been preparing for this moment for years and do not take it lightly. Although this is our first international install, rest assured, Flippy 2 is battle-tested and we can’t wait for UK customers to experience its capabilities first hand!”
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“This is an exciting step forward for the team, not least because we’re launching internationally to strong demand from leading UK brands,” added Jacob Brewer, Chief Strategy Officer of Miso Robotics. “Our existing, tried and tested products are effectively able to ‘plug and play’, which means they can be up and running quickly to help plug the current fast food employment gap in the UK. We’re hoping this partnership will be the first of many in the UK market. After all, brands across the hospitality sector can benefit immediately from the power of our hero products, with little to no adaptation.”
Miso Robotics is primarily funded by individual investors and is one of the most successful crowdfund stories in history. With nearly 25,000 shareholders, the company has raised more than $70 million globally in crowdfunding to date. Miso plans to use the additional funds from its Series E+ round extension to continue its expansion in the UK and beyond.