Risk, returns & timeframes illustration
1 min read
November 22, 2022
by
Regan Pearson

Flippin’ robots! 🤖

Food and beverage companies are rolling out the welcome mat for robots. Bots are trying their robotic hands at burger flipping and barista brewing. And while employment fell during the pandemic, putting bots on the tools is paying off, with production climbing. So are robots taking our jobs?
1 min read
November 22, 2022
by
Regan Pearson

Flippin’ robots! 🤖

Food and beverage companies are rolling out the welcome mat for robots. Bots are trying their robotic hands at burger flipping and barista brewing. And while employment fell during the pandemic, putting bots on the tools is paying off, with production climbing. So are robots taking our jobs?
1 min read
November 22, 2022
by
Regan Pearson

Flippin’ robots! 🤖

Food and beverage companies are rolling out the welcome mat for robots. Bots are trying their robotic hands at burger flipping and barista brewing. And while employment fell during the pandemic, putting bots on the tools is paying off, with production climbing. So are robots taking our jobs?
Table of contents
Getting Started Investing course
Free Getting Started Course
Take your first, or next, step to becoming a confident investor with Hatch's free online course – just 10 minutes a day, for 10 days.

Even with 16 billion unique arms in the world (give or take a handful), companies are still struggling to find enough willing hands to froth coffees and flip burgers. 🍔 According to Bloomberg, employment at food services and drinking places is down more than 4% on pre-pandemic levels, while spending is up 7%.

That’s driven companies to adapt, swapping human arms for more of the robotic kind. 🦾 Robot sales in North America have hit record highs for three-straight quarters, putting 2022 on track for a record robot run. Costa Coffee, owned by Coca-Cola (KO), operates around 50 BaristaBot kiosks across the US that can produce 100 cups of coffee in an hour - the equivalent of at least one highly caffeinated barista. ’Though who will awkwardly misspell our names now?? ☕

And while hapless hotdog robots probably aren’t about to become our robot-overlords anytime soon, their brethren might soon seize control of the deep fryer. Miso Robotics has partnered with fast food restaurants, Chipotle (CMG) and Jack in the Box (JACK), with their flippin’ awesome deep frying arm, called Flippy2. It also has a bro-bot called Wingy (seriously, did they let the internet name them?), specially designed for flipping chicken wings. 🍗

Amazon (AMZN) has an entire robotics department, and their latest robot, Sparrow, can recognise and handle millions of items of different shapes and sizes. Robots are even putting satellites within arm’s reach. Maxar Technologies (MAXR) produces satellite-saving service arms and can help refuel and relocate satellites in-orbit. 🛰️

Perhaps surprisingly, the demand for robotics hasn’t done much for robotic themed ETFs in 2022. The Robo Global Robotics & Automation ETF (ROBO) is down 32% this year, slightly more than the 29% fall in the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index (ONEQ). 🤖

Regan Pearson
Finance writer
Linkedin

We’re not financial advisors and Hatch news is for your information only. However dazzling our writing, none of it is a recommendation to invest in any of the companies or funds mentioned. If you want support before making any investment decisions, consider seeking financial advice from a licensed provider. We’ve done our best to ensure all information is current when we pushed ‘publish’ on this article. And of course, with investing, your money isn’t guaranteed to grow and there’s always a risk you might lose money.

Join the Kiwis who are hatching their tomorrow and have invested more than $1 billion with Hatch.

Explore another series
Tax
Money
Economy
Investing

More recent news articles

Recent learn articles

8 min read
Mar 25, 2025

What’s driving gold prices to record highs?

As the world waits for Trump’s tariffs policies to take effect, the allure of gold has sent bullion, stocks and ETFs to glittering highs. But could gold’s volatility and the potential for the US to sell its gold reserves to buy bitcoin prime other global central banks to do the same?
Read more
8 min read
Mar 4, 2025

Can Biotech beat cancer?

Some Kiwi companies are making significant advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment that could save lives worldwide. Global pharmaceutical companies are also making huge strides in cancer clinical trials, but could Trump’s administration derail decades of research?
Read more
7 min read
Feb 12, 2025

Trump’s trade tariffs and the AI race

US President Trump has swept into the Oval Office proposing what some have called ‘punitive’ tariffs with its three largest trading partners, China, Canada and Mexico. But could tariffs plug America's massive deficit? And is there an even greater agenda to do with the trillion dollar AI race?
Read more

Related news articles

More recent learn articles

No items found.

Recent news articles

More recent learn articles

8 min read
Mar 25, 2025

What’s driving gold prices to record highs?

As the world waits for Trump’s tariffs policies to take effect, the allure of gold has sent bullion, stocks and ETFs to glittering highs. But could gold’s volatility and the potential for the US to sell its gold reserves to buy bitcoin prime other global central banks to do the same?
Read more
8 min read
Mar 4, 2025

Can Biotech beat cancer?

Some Kiwi companies are making significant advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment that could save lives worldwide. Global pharmaceutical companies are also making huge strides in cancer clinical trials, but could Trump’s administration derail decades of research?
Read more
7 min read
Feb 12, 2025

Trump’s trade tariffs and the AI race

US President Trump has swept into the Oval Office proposing what some have called ‘punitive’ tariffs with its three largest trading partners, China, Canada and Mexico. But could tariffs plug America's massive deficit? And is there an even greater agenda to do with the trillion dollar AI race?
Read more