[Black and White Cooking Robot]③Why Was the Much-Hyped Robot Chef Let Go?

Entry Barriers for Self-Employed Owners, the Key Customer Base...

Mismatch Between Demand and Market Offerings

Major Franchises and Direct-Managed Cooking Robot Stores Also See Minimal Results

"Development Must Address Needs Such as L

Editor's NoteOf the 800,000 restaurant businesses nationwide, a significant number are run by the owner, their family, and a few part-time staff. The problem is that this structure is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. Labor costs are rising, there is a shortage of workers, and even when employees are finally hired, they do not last long. Ultimately, it raises one key question: can kitchens that have relied on people be transformed into machine-centric operations? The Asia Business Daily examines the reality and future of startups and venture capital (VC) related to cooking robots in a five-part series.

Although still in its early stages, the cooking robot market is undeniably full of potential. The combination of rising labor costs, hiring difficulties, and demand for standardization has fueled expectations that this is a “future that will inevitably come.” Yet, the atmosphere on the ground remains lukewarm. Small business owners are still hesitant, and even large franchises pushing for commercialization have not achieved significant results. While the technology is promising, it is far from an “easy market.”

Self-Employed Owners Say "It's Convenient... But Labor Costs Remain"

Jae-Sik Lee (42, male) considered introducing a collaborative cooking robot (a robot designed to directly interact and work with humans in the same space) in 2023 in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, to help his parents, who have run a gukbap (soup with rice) restaurant for 30 years. The decision was made considering his parents’ age and the difficulty of hiring staff. After reaching out to business communities for self-employed operators, he even entered discussions with a collaborative robot company, but it did not lead to actual adoption.

Lee said, "At the time, there was no dedicated collaborative robot for gukbap, so I would have had to purchase a robotic arm and separately set up the software," adding, "The robotic arm alone costs between 40 million and 50 million won, and considering the need to secure space in the kitchen and the cost of remodeling, the burden was too great, so I gave up." As a result, kitchen staffing remains unchanged.

Mr. Shin, in his 40s, who runs a Mexican restaurant, tried using the automatic stir-frying machine ‘Robocook’ but ended up returning it. While it was convenient for stir-frying 2 to 3 kilograms of meat at a time, the more business picked up, the more operational efficiency dropped. When the menu changed, replacing and washing the wok took time, so as orders increased, food service times were delayed.

The decisive factor was labor costs. Although it was convenient, it was not enough to replace staff. Shin said, "After introducing Robocook, the work became a bit easier, but it was not to the extent that I could reduce staff," adding, "There was no labor cost savings worth spending several million won." In addition, because the franchise offered a one-pack system (pre-processed ingredients delivered in individual packs), Shin saw no need to use Robocook.

"Commercialization Still Far Off..." Cooking Robot Results Are 'Minimal'

Despite the vast potential market, the penetration of cooking robots remains slow, as business owners do not feel a strong return on investment. The achievements of cooking robot developers have also been minimal. According to the Fair Trade Commission’s Franchise Business Information Provision System, the number of “Robert Chicken” franchise stores operated by robot company Robot Arte increased from 8 in 2022 to 9 in 2023, but decreased to 6 in 2024. As of the 25th, only three franchise locations are listed on the Robert Chicken website. The stores are designed to be operated by a single owner with the “Robert-E” frying robot. The franchise headquarters reported an operating loss of 3.34 million won in 2022, 4.28 million won in 2023, and 1.33 million won in 2024. Attempts to contact Robot Arte for further inquiry were unsuccessful.

Large franchise deployment of robots is also sluggish. In 2020, KFC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hyundai Robotics to introduce chicken-cooking robots, but there has been no progress since. A KFC representative said, "At the time, discussions with Hyundai Robotics were held to examine operational efficiency and automation potential, but this did not progress to actual store implementation." They added, "Nonetheless, we continue to review the potential for adopting various technologies."

Kyochon Chicken also signed an MOU with robot manufacturer Neuromeka in 2021 to develop a frying robot. While the company has expanded the project to overseas locations, results in domestic stores have been minimal. Currently, only 23 domestic locations reportedly use robots. According to DART (the Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System), as of last year there were a total of 1,362 Kyochon Chicken stores in Korea, meaning that just about 1.69% have deployed the robots.

Experts: "Need to Consider Small Business Environments... Custom Robots Required"

Experts commonly point out that structure and environment matter just as much as technology. Lowering the entry barrier for small business owners is the top priority, but it is difficult to overcome the system of frequent part-timer turnover and low skill levels. Professor Soo-Han Park of the Department of Robotics at Kwangwoon University said, "For part-time workers who change frequently, having to learn how to use and maintain cooking robots every time would be cumbersome and inefficient," adding, "While cooking robots are convenient, they are not yet at the level to replace humans, so there is little incentive for small business owners to use them."

Namsoo Cha, head of policy at the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises, noted, "Securing space and incurring additional costs are required, and there are still no custom robots tailored to the characteristics of each business, so the current solutions do not meet the precise needs of small business owners."

Quality improvement is another key issue. Seonggeun Cho, Senior Investment Manager at Capstone Partners, stated, "Kitchen robots fall somewhere between industrial process equipment and home appliances," adding, "Given the high-quality standards expected of home appliances, kitchen robots should also demonstrate similar quality." The certification system for hygiene and safety of cooking robots is still in its early stages. Since the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety began a pilot program for safety management certification, only 10 products have passed certification in the past 1 year and 4 months. The safety management certification standards are based on NSF, the internationally recognized standard.

Impact on Service Labor Also Expected

Even if cooking robots overcome various challenges and become established, a range of new issues may arise. Changes in the labor market may occur, and the structure of food service entrepreneurship itself could shift.

First, the number of simple cooking staff is likely to decline, while the need for maintenance and operations staff could rise. In such cases, there are questions about whether existing workers will transition to these roles and whether overall labor demand will be maintained. Seonghyuk Kim, Director of the Korea Democracy Labor Institute, pointed out that if cooking robots become faster and more precise and are introduced on a larger scale in the long term, policies will be needed for workers who are replaced. Kim said, "Society will need to consider labor market policies such as supporting those whose jobs become unstable due to robots to transition into new fields or retrain for robotics and information technology sectors," adding, "Rather than replacing humans, it is necessary to design robots in advance to work in collaboration with people and establish social guidelines for robot adoption."

Additionally, the gap between small business owners could widen. Unlike in the past, the added burden of initial equipment investment raises the entry barrier, while the standardization and homogenization of food could intensify brand-based competition. Since brand marketing efforts also constitute a cost, concerns about polarization from the starting line remain. Sumin Park, Associate Research Fellow at the Korea Labor Institute, said, "If, after overcoming various prerequisites, cooking robots do become established, service polarization may occur depending on the direction each store pursues," adding, "If full automation is pursued, staff may be replaced, but for example, if a robot handles the initial grilling and a human provides tableside meat-cutting service, it would be possible to raise the service price."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.