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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
Restaurant delivery has a vehicle problem.<\/p>\n
Coco Robotics<\/a> was founded in 2020 by two UCLA engineers who began questioning whether traditional cars made sense for moving restaurant orders short distances.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were just kind of looking around at the environment thinking, \u2018Why are we using 5,000-pound cars to deliver a five-pound bag of food?\u2019\u201d Melissa Fahs<\/a>, Vice President of Enterprise Partnerships at Coco Robotics<\/a>, says. \u201cThere has to be a better way.\u201d<\/p>\n The founders set out to build a vehicle specifically for restaurant delivery. Fahs joined the Coco team after spending years working with restaurant partners and seeing firsthand how difficult the economics of third-party delivery could be.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last mile is broken,\u201d Fahs says. \u201cThe cost equation has to change.\u201d<\/p>\n For years, autonomous cars seemed like part of the answer. But even as that technology has advanced, Fahs believes a full-size car isn\u2019t the ideal vehicle for moving a small restaurant order across a neighborhood.<\/p>\n When she was introduced to Coco and saw what the founders had built, the opportunity immediately stood out.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is going to fix what\u2019s broken in third-party delivery,\u201d Fahs remembers.<\/p>\n For restaurants and their customers, that means more than replacing a car with a robot. Fahs says Coco eliminates the need for a consumer tip while helping restaurants protect food quality. Orders travel directly from the restaurant to the customer and remain locked inside the robot during delivery.<\/p>\n \u201cIt allows the restaurant to keep the food presented in the way it was prepared, at the temperature it was intended,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The bigger challenge is making the technology work without creating another operational burden. Fahs describes restaurants as \u201cmini factories\u201d that produce food quickly for demanding customers while managing thin margins, perishable products and entry-level labor.<\/p>\n \u201cOur robot has to be so seamless,\u201d she says. \u201cCoco has to be so seamless into their operation that they actually love it.\u201d<\/p>\n For at least one restaurant operator, that\u2019s already happening. Fahs says a Shake Shack regional manager gave Coco a particularly memorable review: \u201cCoco\u2019s our favorite courier.\u201d<\/p>\n Coco Robotics is doing 1,000 deliveries a day in Los Angeles. Its robots have traveled more than one million miles and completed more than 500,000 deliveries since the company launched.<\/p>\n \u201cIt isn\u2019t the future,\u201d Melissa Fahs says. \u201cIt is here today.\u201d<\/p>\n Coco now works with 4,500 merchants, while restaurant brands including Little Caesars, Taco Bell, Shake Shack and White Castle are beginning to explore the technology. The company operates in seven cities, and each market has taught the team something new.<\/p>\n In Finland, cold weather meant faster battery drain and studded tires. Chicago brought more lessons about the cold. In Miami, heavy rains pushed Coco to go beyond waterproofing. The next model is designed to be submersible, allowing it to navigate deep puddles while keeping the food protected.<\/p>\n \u201cWith every city we kind of learn something,\u201d Fahs says.<\/p>\n For restaurants, Fahs says adoption is designed to be simple. There\u2019s no robot to purchase, maintain or clean. In markets where Coco operates, restaurants can ask Uber Eats or DoorDash to turn on the service.<\/p>\n \u201cAll you do is load your food in the robot, and we take care of everything else,\u201d Fahs says.<\/p>\n That simplicity is important in an industry where operators have little room for another complicated system. Fahs believes autonomous delivery has to fit into the restaurant\u2019s existing operation, not force the restaurant to adapt around it.<\/p>\n And operators don\u2019t have to make a major commitment to find out whether it works for them.<\/p>\n \u201cGet in the game,\u201d Fahs says. \u201cYou could do one store. But learn about how it can fit or not fit in your operation, how it fits with your guests.\u201d<\/p>\n For Fahs, the opportunity is no longer about waiting to see whether autonomous delivery becomes viable. Restaurants can start testing it now.<\/p>\n Restaurant Influencers<\/em><\/a>\u00a0is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point-of-sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience. Toast \u2014 Powering Successful Restaurants. Learn more about\u00a0Toast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Restaurant Influencers is proud to have PepsiCo as a sponsor of this episode. Partnering with PepsiCo Foodservice helps restaurant operators drive sustainable growth through smarter digital experiences, AI-backed menu optimization, and tools designed to create more profitable online orders. Check out PepsiCo Foodservice<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nIt\u2019s already here<\/h2>\n
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