Marta Fernández Guadaño
Updated Monday, February 19, 2024-01:39
It's not that a robot greets the customer and there is no human life on the other side of the counter, but almost. In this location opened last November on
María de Molina
Street , there is only one employee; Actually, two, but they are divided between two shifts, so that in each one there is a person serving the clientele with the complicity of a
robot called CooLex
, although that technical name is the least of it,
Welcome to Earth Mama,
the first robotic restaurant in Madrid?
This is the story of some entrepreneurs who claim that they designed this robot in a
garage in Boadilla del Monte
to finally end up installing it in the center of Madrid. "We designed the robot in a garage four years ago; we developed it, including its software, we patented it, we manufactured it and marketed it, that is, we assumed the complete line, because we also took care of the sale and integration of the machine" , details
Román Salazar
, 34-year-old entrepreneur,
founder of WeTechFood
and collaborator at Earth Mama. WeTechFood is the company that developed a robot called Lex, which was converted to the CooLex refrigerated model to be installed at Earth Mama.
Launch from WeTechFood
In its first moments of launch, the WeTechFood team contemplated
installing its robot in restaurants
or groups already in operation. "When looking for clients, we encountered many difficulties, since although the robot can improve the functioning of a business in the future, it first requires training the team and adapting the premises to integrate it within, which could have taken three years. It was a mistake. go first for large chains, where we thought robotics would have more impact. We saw that
it was much easier to find clients who wanted to enter the hospitality industry to set up a restaurant from scratch
and we found some investors interested in something like that," he adds. These investors are the owners of Earth Mama, where neither Salazar nor WeTechFood are capitalist partners, but they are collaborators.
The first location, opened in María de Molina, works like this. First, there is a menu of breakfasts - for example, toast - and first courses (hummus, sweet potatoes, the so-called 'bravitos'...)
prepared by the team of two people who take turns
at their continuous schedule from first in the morning until night - from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Meanwhile, CooLex is in charge of the main dishes on the menu, which are actually bowls that this robot makes at the moment 'live'.
"A priority was not to hide the robot, but to show it
, because we want to convey that it is the 'culprit' that the dishes can turn out very well, since it can offer quality product, a good value for money and a good experience of the customer thanks to the robot that allows us to respond quickly to what the diner orders. Technology is a difference compared to the competition.
From the street you can see the robot
, which occupies the center of the Earth Mama store, where the customer in turn observes how it works.
It has a maximum of 16 ingredients and 8 sauces loaded
, which give rise to fixed recipes that the user can select or which are the basis for each client to select the ones they prefer to compose their own combination to their liking. Different smoked proteins—salmon, chicken, brisket...—, vegetables and rice are placed in dispensers that measure the amount of each product that ends up in the bowl—in addition to yogurt with fruits and cereals, which can be bought for breakfast— .
"There is never cross contamination and everything is sanitary approved
," clarifies Salazar.
Bet on bowl format
Regarding the
bowl format
, which has been proliferating in recent years as the
axis of 'healthy' supply chains
- almost as a substitute for a daily menu with protein and vegetables -, Earth Mama has sought to "differentiate itself from poké in that the ingredients dispensed by the robot are 75% hot, while in summer we will increase the coldness. The bowl format allows many ingredients to be combined, mixing animal and vegetable protein as each client wants," Salazar clarifies.
In any case,
the client chooses on a QR letter
; He approaches the counter, orders and pays; He takes his drink and sits down to, shortly after, receive his plate, the main one made by the robot.
"The food here is luxurious and our waiter is a robot
," the establishment announces, already from its window.
As possible 'closed' recipes at Earth Mama (price of 12 euros each), the menu advertises with marketinian names "deep plate" bowls such as 'Luis Mi', with smoked turkey; 'Galleguiña', with charcoal-grilled beef and chimichurri; or 'El Curioso', with smoked salmon.
If the diner prefers, customize their bowl (12.50 euros)
, with a rice or quinoa base, animal protein, three vegetable toppings and an almost always vegetarian sauce.
The numbers of the fucking robot
This entrepreneur, who represents a
'startup' style profile that crosses technology and restoration
, also contributes some numbers around CooLex and Earth Mama.
"A key point is that the robot reduces waste and losses
; this saves costs and increases the profitability of the business," he says. A robot can provide 70 services per hour, which "with only two employees in the store, is a good business. The store is already close to the break-even point that we had set; we are getting quite good numbers and many repeat customers," he says. . He clarifies that
clients usually concentrate at midday
and that they are reaching around 70-100 daily, although "80% are served within 2 hours at lunchtime."
Half price? About 12-13 euros
, he estimates, without drinks.
Regarding his
client profile
, he points to "many IE students [business school based in the area] and office audiences. The age of the client has surprised us;
we thought it would be a range of 25-35 years, but the range It's much broader
. "
In addition, they sell via delivery platforms. To develop and build the robot, WeTechFood made a total investment of 1.3 million euros, of which 800,000 corresponded to its own capital and the rest to public aid. He does not sell it to Earth Mama, but rather rents it for 2,500 euros per month "under a kind of renting."
Salazar advances upcoming agreements to bring the 'Earth Mama model' to offices or universities, even
mentioning a possible alliance "with a large brewer"
and "a real estate consultancy."
Welcome to the future or a part of it? The robot will say.
Earth Mama. María de Molina, 44. Madrid.
https://earthmama.rest/