At This Love’s Travel Stop, a Robot Will Make Your Smoothie

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and WILLIAMS, Calif.—Love’s Travel Stops has opened its first Jamba by Blendid autonomous robotic kiosk at its Williams, California, store, adding a healthy foodservice option for customers 24/7.

“The official opening of our first Jamba by Blendid robotic kiosk is an exciting day for us and, hopefully, also for our guests. We hope customers visiting the Williams, California, location enjoy this fun new way to quickly access refreshing, delicious smoothies on the go,” said Joe Cotton, vice president of food services for Love’s.

The Jamba by Blendid kiosk offers visitors smoothie options inspired by Jamba and powered by robotic foodservice solutions company Blendid.

The self-operating kiosk allows customers to customize their smoothie orders by adjusting ingredient quantities or adding boosts directly through the Blendid app. They can order on-site or schedule a preferred pickup time in advance via the mobile app.

“We are dedicated to meeting the rising demand for refreshing quick-serve options; our robotic kiosks give consumers, and now motorists, fast, customizable and delicious food choices,” said Vipin Jain, CEO and co-founder of Blendid. “We hope that our Jamba by Blendid kiosks set the standard for the future of foodservice at rest areas across the country.”

Jamba by Blendid kiosks leverage Blendid’s contactless food automation platform foodOS, a patented machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence-enabled system, to provide customers with easily accessible, refreshing food options made on-demand and customized to meet individual preferences at any time of day.

Additionally, Love’s customers will have the opportunity to meet the new “persona” behind Jamba by Blendid’s unique kiosks.

“We began to notice that our guests were really interested in the robots and created personas for them, as they watched them make smoothies and, yes, even dance,” said Danielle Fisher, vice president of marketing for Jamba.

It was that observation that led to Jamba engaging with Gestalt Brand Lab, which created the robot’s persona and built a distinct visual identity for the Jamba by Blendid kiosks. The robot lives in an uplifting and colorful setting, adorned with a mural by artist Bongang, a street muralist who has frequently worked with the Jamba brand.

Love’s Travel Stops has more than 590 locations in 42 states. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company remains family-owned and operated, employing over 37,000 people.

Look out for the NACS Magazine article “Pour Me a Drink” in the upcoming October issue, which explores the latest beverage foodservice equipment in the c-store industry, including Jamba by Blendid kiosks.

The 2022 NACS Show, October 1-4, in Las Vegas includes four education sessions on foodservice: Menu Optimization: Think Like a Restaurant, Global Foodservice Trends & Menus, Foodservice Analytics: The Recipe for Success and Gulp! Reinvigorated Dispensed Beverages. Register today to attend the NACS Show.