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Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

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Re: Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

#31

Post by bpicolo »

tansey wrote: post #28

I guess I don't understand what is really novel about this. Don't brands like Digiorno and Freschetta already have highly-optimized pizza assembly lines? Is it really that hard to make the topping/sauce dispensing dynamic instead of static? I also don't understand the appeal of having the pizza be super hot-n-ready. If you have an efficient baking-to-delivery pipeline, and an insulated container for the pizza, then h…

I agree. This doesn't look particularly innovative in that regard. Pizza sounds like a pretty easy food to assembly-line. I guess the difference is really fresh vs raw end goal?

Re: Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

#32

Post by coherentpony »

I'm genuinely curious, what's the difference between robots replacing American jobs and foreigners replacing American jobs?

Politicians go to great lengths to protect the sanctity of American jobs by passing strict immigration regulations and instantiating border checkpoints hundreds of miles inside the border. They don't seem to be mirroring their actions for robots.

Re: Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

#33

Post by kyledrake »

bko wrote: post #25
ghaff wrote: post #20

> "Just imagine Domino's without the labor component," said Garden. "You can start to see how incredibly profitable that can be." So that quote leads me to imagine crappy pizza that's maybe a little cheaper than other crappy pizza. Doesn't exactly make me want to rush out and try it.

It appears that millions of Americans prefer Dominos pizza considering they command 25% of the US pizza delivery market and sell 1.5 mm pies a day. Sorry their pizza isn't up to your standards. http://marketrealist.com/2015/03/dominos-pizza-serving-1-5-m...

Are they up to yours?

I agree with the spirit of the poster. Nobody's going to lose sleep with anticipation for a cheaper McDonalds (that delivers!).

Re: Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

#34

Post by grondilu »

coherentpony wrote: post #32

I'm genuinely curious, what's the difference between robots replacing American jobs and foreigners replacing American jobs? Politicians go to great lengths to protect the sanctity of American jobs by passing strict immigration regulations and instantiating border checkpoints hundreds of miles inside the border. They don't seem to be mirroring their actions for robots.

> what's the difference between robots replacing American jobs and foreigners replacing American jobs?

Complaining about the latter makes you sound xenophobic.

Re: Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

#35

Post by ratsbane »

hiou wrote: post #8

That robotic arm is the salary of a dominos employee for 10+ years.

There's nothing intrinsically expensive about a robot arm. It's few motors, sensors, metal, plastic, and something like a raspberry pi. With cheaper components and volume production a robot arm could cost less than a Domino's employee makes in a week.

Re: Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

#36

Post by vessenes »

tansey wrote: post #28

I guess I don't understand what is really novel about this. Don't brands like Digiorno and Freschetta already have highly-optimized pizza assembly lines? Is it really that hard to make the topping/sauce dispensing dynamic instead of static? I also don't understand the appeal of having the pizza be super hot-n-ready. If you have an efficient baking-to-delivery pipeline, and an insulated container for the pizza, then h…

So if you are a deep pizza nerd, the pitch that you'd have a neo-neapolitan style pizza at your door in short order is a great pitch.

The issue with fulfilling this pitch is that pizzaiolos are expensive, hot ovens are hard to get close to people, etc. etc. Trying to solve all this is probably at one level a 'passion project' for a Valley engineer.

A true 90 second Neapolitan pizza does not age that well, the crust is going to be soft under the tomato sauce, and it will get a bit nasty if it sits long. It's supposed to be oven to plate to mouth very quickly.

On the other hand, could this be a business, not a passion project? Most restaurant gross margin is under 50%, declining the fancier the restaurant. That's before labor and other fixed costs, meaning restaurants are generally a pennies business.

Pizza though, pizza has like 90% gross margin. If you could get rid of labor, you'd have a huge advantage economically against competitors.

Re: Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

#37

Post by bko »

kyledrake wrote: post #33
bko wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It appears that millions of Americans prefer Dominos pizza considering they command 25% of the US pizza delivery market and sell 1.5 mm pies a day. Sorry their pizza isn't up to your standards. http://marketrealist.com/2015/03/dominos-pizza-serving-1-5-m...

Are they up to yours? I agree with the spirit of the poster. Nobody's going to lose sleep with anticipation for a cheaper McDonalds (that delivers!).

I think Domino's pizza is great. I don't think you're the target market for McDonalds but they feed a lot of lower income Americans. If they can reduce costs and help those Americans save a little bit of money, it would be greatly beneficial.

Re: Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

#38

Post by tashoecraft »

tansey wrote: post #28

I guess I don't understand what is really novel about this. Don't brands like Digiorno and Freschetta already have highly-optimized pizza assembly lines? Is it really that hard to make the topping/sauce dispensing dynamic instead of static? I also don't understand the appeal of having the pizza be super hot-n-ready. If you have an efficient baking-to-delivery pipeline, and an insulated container for the pizza, then h…

The current pizza box design is horrible for pizza quality. It's one of the worse things to do to a pizza as it will sog the crust. Having it finish the car is a solid idea, and will lead to a much bette finished product. However it seems they are positioning against dominoes and such, which isn't what is want. A high quality pizza would benefit the most from this tech.

Re: Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

#39

Post by elicash »

tansey wrote: post #28

I guess I don't understand what is really novel about this. Don't brands like Digiorno and Freschetta already have highly-optimized pizza assembly lines? Is it really that hard to make the topping/sauce dispensing dynamic instead of static? I also don't understand the appeal of having the pizza be super hot-n-ready. If you have an efficient baking-to-delivery pipeline, and an insulated container for the pizza, then h…

What's novel is cooking in the vehicle while it's being delivered. With multiple vehicles circling around neighborhoods, that potentially cuts the time from order to delivery to ONLY the cooking time.

Re: Zume, a new startup trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics

#40

Post by CuriouslyC »

tansey wrote: post #28

I guess I don't understand what is really novel about this. Don't brands like Digiorno and Freschetta already have highly-optimized pizza assembly lines? Is it really that hard to make the topping/sauce dispensing dynamic instead of static? I also don't understand the appeal of having the pizza be super hot-n-ready. If you have an efficient baking-to-delivery pipeline, and an insulated container for the pizza, then h…

The beauty of getting a super fresh pie baked in a blisteringly hot oven must be experienced to be understood. The reason for this is that when a pie is fresh out of a super-hot oven, the exterior of the crust is very crispy, while the interior is so moist and light it's like biting through foam. As the pizza sits, heat continues to travel from the exterior to the interior, and moisture travels from the interior to the exterior, resulting in a crust that has a slight leathery character, and an interior that is firm and quite chewy.

Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent this process, heat retaining delivery bag or no. You just have to get it and eat it fast :)

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