Report: Chick-fil-A’s lemon-squeezing automation cuts more than 10,000 hours per day

Atlanta, Georgia based Chick-fil-A Inc. has cut nearly 10,000 man-hours per day at its locations by automating lemon squeezing, which produces the juice used in one of the fast food chain’s most popular drinks, according to reports.

The company, which has the slogan “Eat More Chicken,” has a factory just north of Los Angeles with machines that take up more space than a typical Costco wholesale store, Bloomberg reported.

The same machines occupying the space are tasked with squeezing up to 1.6 million pounds of lemons before the juice is packaged and sent to Chick-fil-A locations across the country. Once at the restaurant, employees add sugar and water to create the company’s trademark lemonade.

Before robots were integrated into the process, employees in restaurants were responsible for squeezing lemons, which sometimes resulted in injured fingers.

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By taking the task out of employees’ hands and simplifying it through automation, the company hopes to make working at its sites more attractive.

“If you start doing the math, there won’t be enough team members,” Mike Hazelton, Chick-fil-A Vice President of Procurement and Supply Chain Operations told Bloomberg.

The lemon pressing site is said to have 120 employees to maintain the equipment and ensure that the juice produced meets quality standards.

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Once the truckloads arrive, an employee signs for the shipment before machines begin processing it from fruit to juice.

Even the oils from the peels are extracted during the process before being sent to cosmetics and fragrance makers, bringing a new revenue stream to Chick-fil-A.

Nearly all of the lemons are used when processed at the facility, resulting in roughly 40% higher efficiency than squeezing lemons, Bloomberg reported.

Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for more information about the process and what it means for the business.

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Chick-fil-A isn’t the only company looking for ways to use technology for automation.

Last year, yum! Brands, operator of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill, has begun embracing the technology with plans to… “AI-powered” fast food, According to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Joe Park, chief digital and technology director at Yum, told the newspaper that the company is working to increase investment in technology and automation, as about 45%, or $30 billion, of sales are digital, nearly double what they were in 2017. 2019. This is almost double the 2019 level.

This move came at a time when states such as California raised the minimum wage. In California, pay for most fast food workers rose to at least $20 an hour when a new minimum wage law went into effect in April.

As a result, most restaurant operators have begun turning to artificial intelligence to cut costs and increase sales, the newspaper reported.

For fast food giants like Yum, the use of AI aims to go beyond mere optimization Customer experience.

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Yum! It has a mobile app for restaurant managers called SuperApp, which the Wall Street Journal reported is testing generative artificial intelligence, allowing team members to ask operational questions like how to set oven temperatures. The app, which is used by more than 8,700 Pizza Hut and KFC establishments, can also be used to purchase ingredients and schedule employee shifts, Park told the newspaper. A new augmented reality feature can help teach workers how to set up new menu items.

Fast food chains have also been investing more in technology such as digital ordering and more delivery services since the COVID-19 pandemic.

While some worry that artificial intelligence may take over the need for human workers, Yum! “Its employees will always play a critical role,” a company spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.

Pilar Arias of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.