Technology

Chipotle debuts avocado-slicing cobot, augmented makeline

Photo: Chipotle

September 16, 2024

After spending over a year testing Autocado, an avocado-processing cobot, Chipotle Mexican Grill employees are using it at a restaurant in Huntington Beach, California. The cobot cuts, cores and peels avocados before employees mash them to create Chipotle's guacamole. The chain is also testing an augmented makeline to a location in Corona del Mar, California.

"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," Curt Garner, chief customer and technology officer, said in a company press release. "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, which developed the Autocado, worked with certified training managers from Chipotle's restaurants to analyze the company's preparation process and identify time-consuming tasks. In the Huntington Beach restaurant, crew members may focus on assisting with other food prep items and helping customers while the cobot spends 26 seconds removing the fruit inside an avocado. Chipotle uses nearly 5.18 million cases of avocados, equivalent to 129.5 million pounds of fruit.

The 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, Garner said.

Enhancing digital ordering with the augmented makeline

The augmented makeline uses automated technology to build bowls and salads while Chipotle employees operate the top makeline to make burritos, tacos, quesadillas and kid's meals. Nearly 65% of all Chipotle digital orders are bowls or salads, so the makeline can improve employee efficiency and digital order accuracy, ensuring a more consistent experience for digital guests, Garner said.

Cultivate Next

Chipotle has invested in Vebu and Hyphen through its $100 million Cultivate Next venture fund, which makes early-stage investments into companies that further its mission to "Cultivate a Better World" and help accelerate the company's longer-term growth plans to operate 7,000 restaurants in North America.

Companies interested in collaborating with Chipotle through the Cultivate Next venture fund can apply by emailing cultivatenext@chipotle.com.