Fedor Lisitsyn shares what he has learned from comparing robots to automation in coffee making in his role as founder of Manna coffee.
At Manna, we’re dedicated to revolutionizing the coffee experience with automation. However, there are some common misconceptions that we’d like to address. When people hear ‘automation’, they often envision futuristic scenarios with a robo-barista prepares coffee. While these ideas are intriguing, we believe they’re not quite the future of automation in the coffee industry, and that’s why.
CAPEX: Prices for robotic solutions start at $25,000, but corners can cost $100,000+, and the quality gap between these options is dramatic. Yep, it’s cheaper than $400,000+ for the coffee shop, but if you want to invest $100,000, you can get 7 self-service automated coffee corners with a micromart. Don’t forget about higher amortization and the capital required for robotic arms due to technical complexity.
OPEX: Robotics require much higher ongoing spending (we believe in x3 vs automated). Replacing tech-heavy parts costs a lot of money and, what is more important, time. While the machine is out of service, you lose money and customers loyalty. However, it doesn’t increase the total capacity of ~200 cups per load, so you still need daily service and trained specialists to perform restocking, cleaning, and preventive maintenance.
Price and Quality: Quality is on par, and the price can still be ~$3.5 for both solutions. However, due to the much higher CAPEX/OPEX, margins are limited for the robotic solution, which makes it less investment-appealing. To return your investments in a year, you need daily sales of 150+ cups vs 35 cups for automated one.
Time to Make Coffee: Due to the robotic component, you don’t really get the benefits of automation since it repeats human-barista steps. You can expect up to 2 minutes wait. We can make a cup every 30 sec.
Space: Not surprisingly, robots need space. To place the corner you need 50+ sq feet (5+ m2) vs 12 sq feet for Manna solution (1.2 m2). It’s critical for landlords and the cost of your lease. Remember about 150 cups/day? Only ~2-3% of locations suit for automated coffee solutions have enough foot traffic.
Summing up, while robotic solutions can provide impressive brand demonstrations, they are not economically viable as a business. These high-cost, labor-intensive, and maintenance-demanding options generate revenues similar to traditional vending, leading to minimal profits (if any). The installation requirements block scaling potential and related network effects, which, with longer waiting time, eventually decreases customer loyalty and does not solve Urban Coffee Dilemma (more about UCD is coming). While there are still robotization opportunities in the coffee world, we believe that the current value for owners, landlords, and customers lies in the cost-effectiveness and practicality of classic automation methods.
How do you imagine the coffee shop of the future? Have you tried automatic coffee stations? DM to get your coffee corner today!
Key points include:
- Price and quality
- Efficiency
- Space
Read the post, Automation vs Robots in the World of Coffee-Making Efficiency, on LinkedIn.