Panera Bread (NASDAQ:PNRA) is piloting Miso Robotics’ new automated coffee brewing system as it doubles down on its drink subscription program.
It’s part of a broader shift across the restaurant industry toward automation as many eateries struggle to find workers and labor costs rise. For example, McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is working to automate taking drive-thru orders, while California Pizza Kitchen has been testing a robot to help bus tables.
Since its founding in 2016, Miso has crowdfunded more than $50 million from restaurant chains such as CaliBurger, venture capital firms and ordinary investors, according to the company. It’s in the middle of its Series E round, which values the startup at $500 million.
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iso’s latest launch is the CookRight Coffee system, which uses artificial intelligence to monitor coffee volume and temperature. It also provides predictive analytics that can tell the restaurant more about what kind of coffee its customers enjoy and when. Bell said that Miso charges customers “a few hundred dollars” a month for its CookRight technology, while the startup’s Flippy the Robot sets operators back several thousand dollars in monthly fees.
Panera’s goal for the system is to give employees more time to devote to other tasks, such as helping customers, and to make sure coffee drinkers enjoy every sip of their beverage, especially if they’re Unlimited Sip Club subscribers.
PNRA shares galloped 81 cents, or 1.5%, to $53.37.
