Sodexo Prioritizes Innovative Dining at Georgia College with New Autonomous Robotic Smoothie Kiosk
Milledgeville, Ga., January 27, 2022 – Sodexo, a leader in food service and facilities management for universities, announced today the unveiling of a new Jamba by Blendid autonomous robotic smoothie kiosk at Georgia College. The Jamba by Blendid kiosk at Georgia College offers students, staff, and faculty a new way to enjoy made-to-order, on-the-go freshly blended fruit and vegetable smoothies through contactless and customized ordering, available seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
"We’re thrilled to bring Jamba by Blendid to Georgia College to continue elevating and innovating the student experience," said Kevin Dicey, General Manager, Sodexo at Georgia College. "Sodexo has seen a need for customized and contactless food options and we’re proud to be able to respond to that need and provide the campus community with a new way to fuel."
We’re excited to have the first Jamba by Blendid pilot kiosk on the East coast here at Georgia College, said Matthew Terry, Associate Director, Marketing and Communications, Auxiliary Services, Georgia College. We’re even more excited to bring to our students innovative and cutting-edge dining solutions, in partnership with Sodexo.
The Jamba by Blendid kiosk at Georgia College will feature seven delicious recipes available in 14 oz. servings. The technology in a Jamba by Blendid kiosk processes the orders and payment, measures and dispenses precise amounts of ingredients for customized drinks, and blends, pours, and stores each smoothie until a guest is ready for pickup, even enabling users to schedule the exact time they want their smoothie ready for pickup. The process is completely contactless from order to pick-up, managed using a consumer’s smartphone or by ordering directly at the kiosk. The Jamba by Blendid system can serve a fresh, made to order smoothie in under three minutes and can process up to 45 drinks an hour and nine drinks simultaneously.
"The new Jamba by Blendid kiosk opening at Georgia College is an exciting milestone as it marks our first Jamba by Blendid pilot kiosk on a college campus and the first pilot location on the East Coast, increasing access to our delicious products," said Geoff Henry, president of Jamba. "Along with the Blendid, Sodexo, and Georgia College teams, we're eager to observe the students, faculty, and campus guests engaging with our new robotic smoothie-making kiosk, which provides the opportunity to enjoy high-quality, fresh smoothies whenever they want."
About Sodexo UniversitiesSodexo is a leading provider of food services and facilities management at colleges and universities both in the U.S. and globally. In 2021, Sodexo launched several robotic partnerships at college campuses, including the launch of Starship delivery robots at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. This is the first Jamba by Blendid location with Sodexo Universities.
Sunnyvale-based Blendid is on a mission to revolutionize the future of food service and has created a proprietary food automation platform (foodOS™) to efficiently and safely prepare and serve a range of healthy, fresh, and delicious food. Blendid’s first concept in the market is an autonomous and contactless robotic kiosk that uses robotics, machine vision, artificial intelligence, and healthy ingredients to create delicious smoothies. The drinks are ordered from the contactless safety of a cell phone and customized to meet the unique health and dietary preferences of each consumer. Blendid was founded in 2015 by Vipin Jain, Venki Ayalur, and Vijay Dodd, seasoned Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. As a pioneer of the future of food service, Blendid is improving the consumer experience by offering safe, cost-effective, and personalized food on-demand, while also reducing complexities and costs for the operators. Starting with whole fruits and vegetables, Blendid creates a tasty, healthy, touchless, affordable, and convenient meal or snack for the consumer – exactly how and when they want it.
Jamba is the global lifestyle brand leader serving on-the-go freshly blended fruit and vegetable smoothies, made-to-order bowls, fresh-squeezed juices and shots, boosts and bites. Jamba has more than 850 locations operating in 36 U.S. states, as well as the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Japan.
Sodexo North America is part of a global, Fortune 500 company with a presence in 56 countries. Sodexo is a leading provider of integrated food, facilities management and other services that enhance organizational performance, contribute to local communities and improve quality of life for millions of customers in corporate, education, healthcare, senior living, government, Sodexo Live! and other environments daily. The company employs 125,000 people at thousands of sites in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam, and indirectly supports tens of thousands of additional jobs through its annual purchases of $20B in goods and services from small to large businesses. Sodexo is committed to supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and safety, while upholding the highest standards of corporate responsibility and ethical business conduct. In support of local communities across the U.S., in 2021, the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation mobilized more than 11,000 volunteers to distribute 1.8 million meals to help 2.5 million children and adults meet their immediate food needs. Since 1996, the Stop Hunger Foundation has contributed $38 million to help feed children in America impacted by hunger. To learn more about Sodexo, visit our website and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.