Aniai Introduces Alpha Grill for Foodservice Hamburger Cooking
Aniai, a leader in kitchen automation and AI solutions, announced its first North American showroom in Midtown Manhattan. Aniai’s flagship product Alpha Grill leverages advanced AI and robotics to automate the hamburger patty cooking process, enhancing efficiency and consistency in restaurant kitchens. Aniai has partnered with several notable, North American, quick-service restaurant brands to conduct pilots, with an anticipated rollout at multiple locations over the next year.
With the launch of its New York showroom, Aniai is excited to offer existing and potential restaurant operators a direct glimpse of its Alpha Grill in action.
“We look forward to welcoming customers and industry professionals to our New York showroom to witness the future of kitchen automation,” says Eric Hansen, head of sales, North America. “I genuinely feel that we’re at the very beginning of a significant paradigm shift within the foodservice industry- a shift that embraces robotics to improve the lives of employees by reducing labor intensity and providing myriad ancillary benefits for restaurant operators over the long run.”
For restaurant operators who want to see firsthand the future of kitchen robotics sooner, Aniai made its second consecutive appearance at the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago, where it showcased the Alpha Grill along with several enhancements, most notably, Alpha Cloud. Using cloud-based AI, Alpha Cloud can discern the color of hamburger patties and assess their quality in real-time through vision sensors that monitor the cooking process; promptly notifying kitchen staff about patty quality while ensuring rigorous and enhanced quality control.
“Seeing is believing,” said Aniai CEO Gunpil Hwang. “When introducing innovative technology that’s the first of its kind, it’s important that potential adopters can see it in action and to fully understand exactly how it can enhance their businesses. This is what we’re planning to accomplish with our New York showroom, a permanent extension of what we’ve offered at the NRA Show.”
Founded in 2020 and based in New York City, Aniai is a global innovator in automation and AI within the foodservice sector. The company’s mission is to empower restaurants to improve their kitchen operations by delivering intelligent solutions that increase production and enhance quality and service.
Aniai’s flagship Alpha Grill empowers restaurant team members to focus on crafting high-quality burgers while improving the employee experience by automating numerous mundane and repetitive tasks, including grill cleaning and cook time management. The semi-autonomous grill features a rapid cooking system with a double-sided grill capable of preparing up to eight hamburger patties at a time (or 200 patties per hour) and features an innovation self-cleaning function.
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FMI: Despite Inflation, US Shoppers Still Enjoy Getting Groceries
Shoppers enjoy food shopping as much as ever, according to the latest annual survey by FMI – The Food Industry Association, conducted by The Hartman Group. The analysis kicking off this 2024 series, U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends: Finding Value, provides a crucial snapshot of consumer behavior and sentiment in the most frequently purchased consumer category amid ongoing concerns about the impact of inflation on the cost of groceries.
While consumer concerns about food inflation persist, FMI’s newly launched U.S. Grocery Shopper Sentiment Index, which accounts for shoppers’ collective feelings and attitudes toward grocery shopping as well as their feelings about their current primary store, found that grocery shopper sentiment reached a post-COVID-19 pandemic high in 2023 (of 72 out of 100) and continues to remain elevated (70 out of 100 currently), with more than half of shoppers surveyed expressing positive feelings toward grocery shopping. This strong score, achieved at the virtual peak of price inflation, suggests that notwithstanding the difficulties price inflation may introduce, it has done little to degrade the overall experience and outcomes perceived in grocery shopping.
“FMI’s national survey found that grocery shoppers’ concerns about inflation have stabilized in recent months, illustrating how resilient consumers are when it comes to food shopping,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI. “To manage higher prices, shoppers are increasingly prioritizing getting good value, which involves focusing more on quality and optimizing purchases for personal enjoyment, convenience, and waste-reduction at home.”
Sarasin continued, “This is not to say that price is irrelevant to the value equation – 91 percent of shoppers concerned with rising prices have made some changes to their shopping habits to achieve better price value. While half of shoppers surveyed say they are looking for more deals, only 32 percent are buying fewer items and far fewer are cutting back on key food categories or attributes such as organic (15 percent) or fresh items (14 percent).”
FMI’s grocery trends exploration partner, and CEO of The Hartman Group, Laurie Demeritt, said, “Ultimately, food shopping remains a labor of like – if not always a labor of love. However, how much shoppers like or love grocery shopping does vary between different demographics. For example, Millennials and Gen Z say they ‘love’ or ‘like’ grocery shopping more than Gen X or Baby Boomers do. The research shows that where and how consumers shop for food also differs depending on age – it’s not just that younger shoppers have more comfort with online grocery, younger shoppers are more likely to have shifted their trips away from supermarkets and toward mass and other channels.”
FMI’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends survey also revealed:
- Supermarkets Lead Amid Store Mix: Despite a decade-long trend toward mass retailers, 40% of shoppers now choose supermarkets as their main store, compared to 32 percent opting for mass stores.
- Online Grocery Shopping Frequency Returns to Pre-Pandemic Levels: Occasional online shopping rose from 49 to 67 percent. However, frequent online shopping peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since declined to pre-pandemic levels.
- Rise in Digital Tools for Smart Shopping: While online grocery growth has slowed, shoppers increasingly value digital touchpoints. Fifty percent of shoppers use digital coupons, surpassing the 37 percent who use physical coupons. Additionally, 37 percent of grocery shoppers now use their mobile phones to compare prices across stores, a 28-point increase from 2016.
- Americans continue to say they enjoy cooking, but while workday meals are increasingly sourced from home, shoppers spend less and less time on dinner prep (32% under 30 minutes, up from 18 percent in February of 2020).
- Eating & Cooking Trends: While nutrition objectives have remained consistent for grocery shoppers as a whole, individual shoppers continue to explore and experiment with eating approaches and scrutinize labels for different claims as they age.
As The Food Industry Association, FMI works with and on behalf of the entire industry to advance a safer, healthier, and more efficient consumer food supply chain. FMI brings together a wide range of members across the value chain — from retailers to producers to companies supplying critical services — to amplify the collective work of the industry. www.FMI.org
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McLane Unveils Innovation Kitchen at Texas Headquarters
McLane Company Inc., one of the nation’s largest distributors and an industry-leading partner to retail and restaurant brands nationwide, recently held the grand opening of its Innovation Kitchen at the company’s headquarters in Temple, Texas.
Designed for customers as a full-scale replica of the complete c-store experience, this state-of-the-art space showcases how cutting-edge retail foodservice equipment and products seamlessly fit into various footprints and counter spaces while exploring the world of McLane Fresh, Emerging Brands and CVP private label brands. From visualizing how a range of products and equipment integrates into their store layout and planograms to sampling products and exploring marketing materials, customers will gain valuable insight into how McLane’s offerings can elevate their retail product mix and boost customer experience.
Beyond the showcase experience, the space will serve as a dedicated hub for development and innovation, allowing the McLane Fresh team to conceptualize and test new menu items that cater to evolving consumer trends and customer requests. Customers will be invited to sample these creations, ensuring that McLane remains at the forefront of product innovation and collaboration and delivers data-informed solutions tailored to their needs.
“We are excited to unveil the McLane Innovation Kitchen, a space that embodies our dedication to innovation, collaboration and a world-class customer experience,” said Vito Maurici, McLane customer experience officer. “This facility showcases our commitment to setting new standards for excellence in the industry and underscores our role as a trusted partner in our customers’ success. Through this platform for product testing, creation and display, we have the opportunity to engage with customers at every stage of their retail foodservice journey.”
The Innovation Kitchen provides something to satisfy every craving, with offerings including Cupza!, McLane’s award-winning beverage line, Central Eats grab-and-go products for every daypart, Prendisimo pizza and made-to-order options.
McLane offers customizable solutions for retail and restaurant customers, from ordering and fulfillment to equipment and in-store merchandising, aimed at eliminating barriers to entry for smaller retailers and solving logistical challenges for large chains. More information on convenience store solutions from McLane is available at mclaneco.com/cstore-solutions. To learn more about McLane and its retail, restaurant and e-commerce solutions, visit mclaneco.com.
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