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Breaking news: The robots are taking over!
Well, maybe not right away, but Singapore’s getting there, though.
Food robotics startups have always struggled to expand, with Silicon Valley firms CafeX and Eatsa Automat finding it hard to stay afloat. Apparently, android chefs and baristas haven’t exactly set taste buds tingling in the West.
So it may come as a surprise that Southeast Asia’s food robotics scene seems to be growing steadily.
My colleague, Tian Wen, takes a look at what’s spurring this push in this week’s Big Story.
The Covid-19 pandemic has shifted customer F&B preferences – contactless options seem more attractive as they’re perceived to be more sanitary.
Additionally, restaurants are struggling to keep up with customer demand amid labor shortages across Southeast Asia. There are over 70,000 F&B jobs in Singapore that went unfilled in April 2022, and that number could balloon 3x by 2028, Tian Wen’s notes in the premium story.
Experts say that revenue in Southeast Asia’s food robotics scene could double or triple within the next few years. Early players are already making moves, and more entrants should be expected soon.
Regardless, competition will be fierce in this nascent market.
That aside, stories like this remind me that we’re already in the future.
There’s no doubt that the digital era has redefined both work and leisure. Personally, I could spend hours behind a screen without ever being bored. It seems that companies are now testing how far consumers will go along – and evidently, holidays are in for a makeover too.
How would you feel about sauntering in the streets of Spain from the comfort of your own home?
In this week’s Making Waves, Tian Wen also explores the virtual tourism frontier and how digital vacations could make the travel industry layoff-proof.
THE BIG STORY
MAKING WAVES
FYI
NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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