Sweetgreen Shares Surge while Kernel Tinkers with Menu

Kalanick shares Lab37 details, Simbe picks Plexus

Don’t believe the bears, the market’s hungry for tech-focused restaurants, at least if Sweetgreen’s latest stock performance is to be believed. Read on for all the details, plus the latest in bot news!

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Sweetgreen Shares Surge

Tech-friendly restaurateur Sweetgreen saw its share price jump 34% on Friday, after the company posted strong Q1 numbers and upped its guidance for the rest of the year. Revenue was up 26% YoY to $157.9 million, and the company slimmed its loss $26.9 million. The good folks at Chartr break down how the company still loses money, despite its pricey salads (which is what’s driving it to invest so heavily in automation.)

Kernel Expands Menu

Robo-restaurant Kernel is beefing up its menu, albeit in keeping with its meat-free ethos. Say hello to the company’s new falafel sandwich, featuring a garbanzo-based patty, purple cabbage slaw, pickled onions, calabrian chiles, and a Balthazar bun.

Travis K Talks Lab37

At Food on Demand, normally media shy Travis Kalanick shared some numbers on his food ventures. CloudKitchens is now seeing an average of $1.2 million in sales per location, with some brands like Goop Kitchen making as much as $2.5M per unit. Lab37 — his recently revealed automation play — is part of something he’s calling the “Melwood Ecosystem” that can do up to $2M in digital revenue, while saving 50% on labor.

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Simbe Robotics Partners with Plexus

Simbe Robotics has selected Wisconsin-based Plexus Corp to manufacture its Tally line of inventory scanning robots. Tally can be found in grocery markets across the globe, including BJ’s, Carrefour, Giant Eagle and SpartanNash.

In Other News

The rise (and fall?) of food robotics, part II. Plus One debuts two-armed parcel induction robot. Walmart debuts new facility where products come to the workers, builds virtual store in Roblox.