I started a robotics company that serves healthy smoothies through vending machines

In one line, what do you do and what is your most significant achievement?

We are using robotics to make healthy food more affordable and available to consumers. As the founder, it is incredibly rewarding to look back on our milestones and achievements. One of the most significant moments for our company came in 2021 when we formed a joint venture with a leading robotics company. This partnership not only brought new technology and advancements to our machines, but it also help us in securing $8 million in pre-orders for our machines.This was a significant achievement for us as it not only validated the demand for our product, but it also allowed us to expand our reach and bring our machines to even more customers.

Who are you and what business did you start?

Hello, my name is Mukul Bhardwaj and I am the founder of Hale Smoothies. We are a startup in Singapore that aims to make healthy food options more affordable and available to consumers. We are building Singapore's first fully-automated Smoothie vending kiosk, which is an innovative, autonomous, and contactless food automation platform that leverages on robotics to create food options made on-demand and customized to meet the lifestyle and taste preferences of individual consumers. Consumers can pick from a selection of pre-made recipes or customize their own. The machine uses nutrient-rich frozen fruits and vegetables and several toppings. Smoothies has no preservatives, making them 100% natural.

While our vending machine are powered by complex technology, ordering a smoothie is incredibly simple. Customers simply approach our vending machines interactive user interface, place their custom order, and watch as robotic systems create their blends from scratch. Within 2 min, the smoothie is ready at the collection point. The customer will be able to see the whole process from selecting the fruits to the blending through the transparent viewing area.

Unlike other dining experiences, our one-of-a-kind vending machine leverages robotics to remove inefficiencies in food prep to create delicious, wholesome, and affordable Smoothies and milkshakes. Hale smoothie's high-quality and great-tasting recipes like Chasing sunset and Hunkie junkie were handcrafted by our in-house recipe developer. While ingredients like these are typically only found in $7-10 dollar smoothies, we are able to keep blend costs at a fraction of this cost by utilising efficient technology. By leveraging robotic technology to make blends, we are able to offer consistently delicious, custom, environmentally sustainable meals to customers whenever they want it and in the fastest way possible.

What's your backstory?

Science fiction has long imagined a world where robots work alongside humans to achieve the impossible. Today you‘ll discover that this once imaginary world is actually now happening all around us. While some of the most prevalent robots on the market today may be without moving arms and the human–like attributes once dreamt up, their capabilities are proving powerful, particularly in the world of food automation where meals and beverages are becoming more accessible than ever before.

My background in the restaurant industry started with my family owning a restaurant and me running a cloud kitchen that serves 10 different brands. Through my experience, I have seen firsthand the challenges operators face, including rising food costs, hiring challenges, and wage increases. The Covid-19 pandemic added additional pressures, including the need for contactless ordering, assembly, and delivery.

I realised that the high costs of opening, operating, and maintaining traditional juice and smoothie stores, combined with limited available space, meant that many high foot traffic businesses like hotels, gyms, and airports were missing out on a valuable opportunity to service a popular, growing demand amongst health-conscious consumers. Additionally, many people are becoming more conscious of the food they eat and drink and are looking for healthier options that are convenient, easy to access and delicious. That's when it struck me ! What's been missing is a low-cost, small-footprint alternative that solves these problems while leveraging cutting-edge automation to increase efficiency.

What should be the first steps to take to enter your industry?

Alright, so you're thinking about getting into the food tech game? Awesome! Here are some first steps to take to get started

Do your research Find out what's currently happening in the industry - who are the major players, what are they doing well, and where do you see opportunities for yourself. This includes researching the existing players in the industry, their offerings, pricing strategy, target market, and their marketing strategy. This will give you an idea of what works and what doesn't, and will help you identify areas of opportunity.

Get to know your customers Who are you trying to reach with your food tech business? What do they want and need from their food options? Make sure you understand their preferences and what would make them choose your business over others. This includes identifying their needs and preferences for healthy, convenient, and accessible food options. Also, it is important to understand the target demographics such as age, gender, income, education, and lifestyle.

Stay on top of technology The food tech industry is rapidly evolving with new technologies and innovations. It is important to stay updated on the latest technological advancements and how they can be applied to the food industry. This includes automation, AI, Robotics, IoT, and 3D printing, among others.

Develop a unique value proposition Develop a unique value proposition that differentiates your business from the existing players in the industry. This includes identifying unique features, benefits, and services that your business offers to the customers. This will help you to stand out in the crowded market and provide a clear reason for customers to choose your business over others.

How did you spend your First 100 Days of launching your business?

During the first 100 days of launching my business, I focused heavily on understanding the robotics business and identifying potential target customers. I conducted extensive market research to gain a deeper understanding of the current trends and challenges in the robotics industry. I also interviewed over 200 people from various backgrounds and industries to gain a better understanding of their needs and concerns related to the use of robotics in food tech. This included speaking with business owners, industry experts, and potential customers. Through these efforts, I was able to identify key areas of opportunity in the market and develop a unique value proposition that addresses the specific needs and concerns of my target customers. This included developing solutions that address concerns such as cost-effectiveness, ease of use, hygiene and reliability. Additionally, this research allowed me to understand my target customers more deeply, their pain points, their preferences and their potentials, which helped me to create a more effective marketing strategy, pricing strategy and to improve my product/service offerings. Overall, this extensive research and customer engagement was critical to the success of my business as it helped me to establish a strong foundation for my business that set me up for success in the long run.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain partnerships/customers?

Since launch, one of the key strategies that has worked to attract and retain partnerships and customers is our focus on marketing and offering high quality products and services. We have invested heavily in developing an effective marketing strategy that includes a mix of traditional and digital marketing methods such as social media, email marketing, and content marketing. This has helped us to increase visibility and attract potential customers to our business.

Additionally, we have made sure to consistently offer high-quality products and services to our customers. We have a strict quality control process in place and we make sure to only use the best materials, and we have skilled technicians working on the products to ensure that our customers are getting the best service possible.

This combination of effective marketing and high-quality products and services has helped us to build a strong reputation for our business and has been key in attracting and retaining partnerships and customers. Additionally, our ability to understand our customers' needs and preferences, and providing them with tailored solutions has helped to increase customer loyalty and retention. Our customers trust us with their needs and they know they can rely on us to deliver high-quality products and services that meet their expectations.

What has taken you from 0 to 100?

There are several factors that have contributed to taking my business from 0 to 100, but I would say that the two most important factors have been mentorship and networking.

Mentorship has been instrumental in my success, as I have had the opportunity to learn from experienced business leaders and industry experts. They have provided me with valuable guidance and advice on how to navigate the challenges of starting and growing a business. They have shared their experiences and mistakes which helped me to avoid them and made my journey much smoother.

Networking has also been crucial, as it has allowed me to connect with potential partners, customers, and investors. Through networking, I've been able to build a strong network of support that has helped me to secure the resources I need to launch and grow my business. Additionally, it helped me to stay updated with the industry trends and to learn from the others' experiences.

What is one underrated thing in your industry that business owners should start doing/using?

In my industry, one often overlooked aspect that business owners should prioritize is the customer experience. As an engineer, I used to primarily focus on the technology and product development, but my mentor reminded me that a product must be designed for the end-consumer, not just as a showcase of technology. It's not just about the product or service, but how it's delivered and how the customer feels throughout their journey with your business. This includes everything from initial contact to customer enjoying the product. By consistently providing great buying experience, going above and beyond to meet customer needs, and gathering feedback, businesses can create loyal customers who will continue to do business with them and recommend them to others. This can be achieved through investing in customer focus tech like the UI/UX, providing multiple channels of communication, and gathering customer feedback. Additionally, by understanding the customer journey, businesses can identify areas for improvement and optimize their operations accordingly.

What was one failure you had to go through that others in your industry should look out for?

Being a young entrepreneur is hard and we did the mistake of underestimating the time required to build a product like ours. When I first started, I thought that I could build the machine and have it ready for market within a year. However, I quickly realized that building a robotics machine is a complex process that involves designing, prototyping, testing, and refining the machine. It also involves obtaining certifications and approvals from various authorities, which added to the time required to get the machine ready.

I learned the hard way that it's important to be realistic about the time required to build a product and to factor in contingencies for delays. By planning for more time, businesses can ensure that they have enough time to develop a high-quality product that meets all the necessary requirements. This can help them to avoid delays and ensure that they're able to launch their product on time and within budget.

However, it's also important to note that this should not stop you from launching fast, failing fast, and learning fast. It's important to understand that failure is a necessary part of the business process, and it's important to be able to learn from it quickly and pivot as needed. By taking this approach, businesses can learn from their mistakes and improve their product or service to better meet the needs of their customers.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

We use a variety of platforms and tools to manage different aspects of our operations. Some of the key platforms and tools we use include

Google Suite We use Google Suite for all our office needs, including email, calendar, and document management. It helps us to keep everything organized and easily accessible to our team.

Adobe We use Adobe for designing marketing content and UI for our products. Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop are great for creating visually appealing designs, and Adobe XD for prototyping and testing the user interface.

SolidWorks We use SolidWorks for engineering and product designing. It's a powerful tool that allows us to create detailed 3D models of our products and simulate how they will perform in the real world.

All these tools and platforms help us to manage our business effectively and efficiently. We also keep an eye on new tools and platforms that come out and evaluate them to see if they can improve our current operations.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

Currently, things are progressing well for our business, and we are on track to launch our first smoothie vending machine in the coming months. The hard work and dedication put into developing a high-quality machine that meets the needs of your customers is paying off, and we are excited to finally bring it to market.

Looking ahead, our vision is to continue to grow your business and become a leading robotics company. We want to keep up with changing times and adapt to the modern trends. Be it for adding new ingredients to our palette, or to design thinking; we will clarify by researching the needs for our target audience, ideate to produce those exact ideas, prototype to gauge the effectiveness of the development stage and implement to communicate our goals.We have a clear understanding of the market trends and customer needs and you have ambitious plans to expand your product line. We have other innovative products like fresh soup and salad machines in our pipeline and we are excited to bring them to market.

To achieve these goals, we are dedicated to continuing to innovate, improve, and evolve our products and services. We are keeping a close eye on new technologies and advancements in the industry and are working hard to stay ahead of the curve. Additionally, we are committed to building strong relationships with our partners and customers by consistently providing excellent customer service, going above and beyond to meet customer needs, and gathering feedback to improve your products and services. With our dedication and hard work, we are well on our way to achieving our goals and becoming a leading player in the industry.