London-based food technology company Appetronix has received a food industry award recognizing its work in robotics and automation. The company is one of 40 recipients of a Foodtech Frontier Award from the Canadian Food Innovation Network. Appetronix was recognized for its fully automated robotic pizza oven technology designed for food-service environments. One of the systems is currently operating at John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio. Appetronix is also expanding into autonomous coffee and burrito bowl technology, with deployments planned in Toronto later this year. Co-founder and chief innovation officer Ray Schott said the technology is designed to help restaurant operators address staffing and profitability challenges. “From labour shortages to shrinking profit margins, to just being able to staff it, and to be able to do these on the off-peak hours, that’s a challenge,” Schott said. “This technology allows them to bridge that gap. I don’t need anybody to be manning this machine, so it’s available to be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” Canadian Food Innovation Network CEO Dana McCauley said Canadian food technology firms continue to be leaders in innovation, despite often receiving limited recognition. “There are so many Canadian innovators that are so under the radar and so unrecognized right here in Canada,” McCauley said. “As these companies start to work globally, it’s even more difficult to get their names out there. We hope the Foodtech Frontier list brings awareness to these concepts and adds credibility to their work.”
