Blendid, a robotic food service solutions leader, and Jamba, a 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, announced plans to expand Jamba by Blendid autonomous robotic kiosk locations to UCLA, building on their continued work to bring delicious, freshly made smoothies to more college campuses. The third college to open a Jamba by Blendid kiosk, the UCLA location will open this summer in preparation for the 2022-2023 school year in partnership with Associated Students UCLA (ASUCLA).
“We think our Bruins will love being able to order plant-forward smoothies from their phones and then watch a robot prepare their customized orders,” says Cindy Bolton, Director of ASUCLA Food Operations. “We’re excited to finalize details for the official opening and to see how robotics and artificial intelligence technologies can help our food service operations keep pace with student and faculty needs.”
Gaining traction at college campuses, Jamba by Blendid kiosks are quickly becoming a coveted addition to campus meal offerings. Leveraging Blendid’s contactless food automation platform, foodOS, a patented machine learning, robotics, and artificial intelligence-enabled system, the Jamba by Blendid kiosk at the UCLA campus will be accessible seven days a week to provide a fresh and delicious option for students and faculty.
“Our robotic smoothie kiosks provide a new way for college campuses around the country to meet students’ demand for fresh and nutritious on-the-go food options – where and when they want it,” says Vipin Jain, CEO and co-founder of Blendid. “As we look to expand to even more colleges and universities, I’d love to see Jamba by Blendid kiosks become a standard food service option across U.S. college campuses in the years ahead.”
Blendid has grown its stronghold in the college market over the years. Prior to teaming up with Jamba to launch Jamba by Blendid robotic kiosks, Blendid had a presence on two college campuses – University of San Francisco and Sonoma State University. The first two college-based Jamba by Blendid kiosks opened in early 2022 at Georgia College (Milledgeville, GA) and Kennesaw State University (Marietta, GA). UCLA is the first California university to open a Jamba by Blendid robotic kiosk.
“Jamba is thrilled to bring Jamba by Blendid smoothies to UCLA’s campus and expand our college footprint,” says Geoff Henry, President of Jamba. “Colleges have always been a strong market for Jamba and have proved particularly successful with our Jamba by Blendid kiosks as tech-savvy college consumers embrace new robotic solutions.”
More details on the final kiosk location and offerings on campus will be made available as plans are finalized.
