Loves Opens Autonomous Smoothie Kiosk

Loves Travel Stops has opened its first Jamba by Blendid autonomous robotic kiosk. The pilot is located at the rest area in Williams, California, just outside of Sacramento.

The AI-powered kiosk offers visitors smoothie options in partnership with Jamba, a restaurant company, powered by robotic food service solutions leader Blendid.

"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, in a news release from Blendid. "It was that observation that led to engaging with Gestalt Brand Lab, where they created the robot's persona and built a distinct visual identity for the Jamba by Blendid kiosks. The robot is a friendly and funny personality and a mix master of delicious smoothies.”

The kiosk is colorful and adorned with a new mural by artist Bongang, a street artist who has frequently worked with the Jamba brand. The new branding depicts bright colors representing fresh fruit and an image of Jamba's smoothie-making robot.

The self-operating kiosk will be open 24/7, allowing visitors to customize their smoothie orders by adjusting ingredient quantities or adding boosts directly through the Blendid mobile app. They can order on-site or schedule a preferred pick-up time in advance.

Jamba by Blendid kiosks leverage Blendid's contactless food automation platform foodOS, a patented machine learning, robotics and AI-enabled system, to provide motorists with customizable food options made on-demand.