QSR Magazine is shining a spotlight on pizza robots, kiosks capable of making a pizza in a few minutes.

PizzaForno, based on technology developed in France, is a “kiosk complete with a 32-inch touchscreen, robotic arm and a convection oven that bakes artisanal pizzas in about three minutes. Currently, customers have eight types of pizza options, from classic pepperoni to flavors like honey and goat cheese.”

The first 50 PizzaForno locations were in Canada, although kiosks are now in several U.S. states. “Key markets of growth include Northern and Southern California, rural Texas, Miami and more,” according to the magazine.

Pizza Jukebox “involves the sight of a robot making your pizza with a high-tech ‘pizza jukebox’ that spins the pizza, assembles the toppings and pops it in the oven, ba-da-bing ba-da-boom, one to three minutes later, pizza is ready to go,” according to Dallas Culture Map. Customers watch while listening to a song of their choice. Hence the name. The first location opened inside a Walmart in Frisco, Texas, this summer.

“Part of the fun of restaurants is going out. After the pandemic, people want a reason to come back out to restaurants, so we're trying this out with our friends at Walmart," said Sherif Mityas, the CEO of Brix Holdings, the parent company of Pizza Jukebox.

One automated pizza maker that is no longer around: Zume, which focused on making pizzas on the go. The company raised almost half a billion dollars starting in 2015 but closed up shop this summer. The technology was plagued by technical challenges, such as keeping melting cheese from sliding off while the pizzas baked in moving trucks,” according to Bloomberg.

Are you a food safety professional? Join your peers at the NACS Food Safety Forum, co-located with the NACS Show this October 3-6 in Atlanta, Georgia.