Chipotle tests avocado-peeling robot and automated bowls & salads system

Autocado, the new avocado processing cobotic, will be used to cut, core, and peel avocados before they are hand-mashed to create the restaurant’s famous guacamole.

Developed in partnership with Vebu, the machine prototype is currently being tested at the Chipotle Cultivate Center in Irvine, California. The “size-agnostic” Autocado machine can peel and seed an avocado within 26 seconds, according to Chipotle.

“These cobotic devices could help us build a stronger operational engine that delivers a great experience for our team members and our guests while maintaining Chipotle’s high culinary standards,” said Curt Garner, Chief Customer and Technology Officer.

“Optimizing our use of these systems and incorporating crew and customer feedback are the next steps in the stage-gate process before determining their broader pilot plans.”

Vebu and Chipotle worked closely with Certified Training Managers from Chipotle’s restaurants to analyze the company’s preparation process and identify tasks that are time-consuming and less favorable among crew members.

The current iteration of Autocado features an updated design and size-agnostic avocado processing abilities, meaning that the machine recognizes variability in the fruit and automatically adjusts itself to accommodate the size of the avocados being loaded.

In the Huntington Beach restaurant where Autocado is operating, crew members can focus on assisting with other food prep items and delivering exceptional hospitality to guests while Autocado cuts avocados, removes their skin, and separates the fruit through an automated process.

In Chipotle locations across the U.S., Canada, and Europe this year, the company is expected to use approximately 5.18 million cases of avocados, equivalent to 129.5 million pounds of fruit.

Meanwhile, Chipotle’s Augmented Makeline, created in collaboration with Hyphen, uses automated technology to build bowls and salads while Chipotle employees operate the top makeline to make burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and kids’ meals.

Approximately 65% of all Chipotle digital orders are bowls or salads, so the Augmented Makeline can improve employee efficiency and digital order accuracy, ensuring a more consistent experience for digital guests.

Chipotle has invested in Vebu and Hyphen through its US$100 million Cultivate Next venture fund, which was introduced in 2022.

Cultivate Next makes early-stage investments into strategically aligned companies that further Chipotle’s mission to cultivate a better world and help accelerate the company’s aggressive long-term growth plans to operate 7,000 restaurants in North America.

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