Coming to US shores later this year ... from
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/n...,4694433.story
(snip)"Get ready for Let's Pizza, a pizza vending machine that promises to deliver a piping hot pizza pie made from scratch in less than three minutes
The brainchild of Italian entrepreneur Claudio Torghel, the machine will be distributed by A1 Concepts, based out of the Netherlands. It's expected to hit our shores later this year, according to the industry website Pizza Marketplace. The company is expected to set up its U.S. headquarters in Atlanta.
What is remarkable about the new machine is that it truly makes pizzas to order, including kneading and rolling out the dough. (The above video says the leavening takes place in a blistering hot infra-red oven.) There are more than 200 toppings from which to choose. The machine can even accommodate a variety of dietary restrictions, such as those for vegetarian and Kosher diets.
"Let's Pizza is a huge success in Europe and especially in Italy. That was proof for us that we have a very good pizza," A1 Concepts Chief Executive Ronald Rammer told Pizza Marketplace.
The pizza arrives in an insulated take-away box. The machine takes cash and credit cards. A 10-inch pizza will sell for about $5.95.
Rammer said Americans could expect to see the new machines at malls, airports, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, universities, gas stations and bus stations.
But perhaps the single best thing about Let's Pizza, according to the above video? The lack of the human touch.
At several points in the above presentation, the makers stress cleanliness: Your "healthy and genuine pizza" is "untouched by human hands" and made in a "human-free environment."(snip)
There's also an interview with the machine's 'creator' at
http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/arti...-for-U-S-debut
While the 'Pizza Vending Machines' are being sold to the public on the basis of food safety, they are obviously being sold to investors / operators as a far less expensive alternative in the long run than hiring 'near minimum wage' employees to make pizzas the good ol' fashioned way. Like automated check-out lines at grocery stores, automated fruit and vegetable harvesting equipment etc., the high cost of US unskilled labor + mandatory benefits continues to drive R&D to 'automate away' unskilled worker jobs. As a result, these pizza vending machines have enjoyed major success in high labor cost western European countries over the past 3 years. And it's no surprise that one of the first places in the USA that these new technology pizza vending machines will be installed is in California ... which has the highest minimum wage + mandatory benefit costs in the country.
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