Select Love's Travel Stops to Add Robotic Smoothie Kiosks
OKLAHOMA CITY — Love's Travel Stops will offer customers the opportunity to enjoy fresh smoothies by rolling out Jamba by Blendid autonomous robotic kiosks at certain high-volume locations.
The smoothie kiosks are the result of a partnership between Blendid, a robotic foodservice solutions leader, and Jamba, a global lifestyle brand leader that serves on-the-go freshly blended fruit and vegetable smoothies, made-to-order bowls, fresh-squeezed juices and shots, boosts and bites.
The first Jamba by Blendid kiosk pilot will open this summer at a Love's Travel Stop in Williams, Calif., just outside of Sacramento. It marks a strategic expansion by Jamba by Blendid into rest area locations to meet increasing demand for nutritious quick-serve options for commuters, travelers and professional truck drivers across the United States, according to the companies.
"We're thrilled to be able to offer our guests a new way to enjoy delicious food on the go. Jamba by Blendid will give customers another option to get refreshing food at select locations in California," said Joe Cotton, vice president of food services for Love's Travel Stops.
The introduction of autonomous Jamba by Blendid robotic kiosks adds a refreshing option for travelers on the go without increasing already challenging staffing demands for facility managers, said Love's.
The Jamba by Blendid kiosks leverage Blendid's contactless food automation platform foodOS, a patented machine learning, robotics, and artificial intelligence-enabled system, to provide drivers with easily accessible, nutritious food options that are made on-demand and customized to meet their individual preferences at any time of day.
"Our robotic smoothie kiosks are helping leaders across the hospitality industry meet the rising demand for fresh food options —delivering the fast, customizable and nutritious food choices that consumers crave, where and when they need it," said Vipin Jain, CEO and co-founder of Blendid. "It is exciting to see more opportunities for Jamba by Blendid kiosks to expand across retail properties, college campuses and now along highways and major thoroughfares across the country in the years ahead."
Founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs Vipin Jain, Venki Avalur, and Vijay Dodd, Blendid offers safe, cost-effective, and personalized food on-demand, while also reducing complexities and costs for operators.
"Jamba is thrilled to be expanding Jamba by Blendid kiosks into the travel stop industry with Love's," added Geoff Henry, president of Jamba. "Making Jamba inspired smoothies readily available in this new vertical allows us to meet our guests seeking freshly made, wholesome smoothies even when they are on the road."
Founded in 1964, Oklahoma City-based Love's Travel Stops operates more than 590 locations in 41 states. The travel center operator provides professional drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, compressed natural gas, travel items, electronics, snacks, restaurant offerings, and more from coast to coast.
Love's also has more than 420 truck service centers, which include Speedco and Love's Truck Care locations. Love's and Speedco combined is the largest oil change, preventive maintenance, and total truck care nationwide network with more than 1,500 maintenance bays and 1,200 emergency roadside vehicles available for customers.