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The Red Box of Frozen Yogurt: Industry CEOs Sweating Out the Rise of Robofusion?

Red Box flipped the movie rental business on its head—and nobody saw it coming. Now the same is happening in the yogurt industry thanks to a hip blend of color and technology spun by Robofusion, Inc.

Author: Jan Noel Madraga
Date: Sep 26, 2012 - 5:49:16 AM

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It's the kind of socially hip development that makes CEOs sweat. The kind of thing that one person mentions, then another, then another—and before the world knows it, an entire business model goes the way of the dinosaur while a rockstar replacement arises. Red Box did it in the movie rental business. Now Robofusion is doing it in the yogurt business, albeit coyly.

“That’s not something we can comment on at this time,” said a high-ranking Robofusion employee on the condition of anonymity. “Red Box is an amazing product. We are flattered to be compared to such a successful innovation.”
That product is Reis & Irvy’s frozen yogurt kiosks ( http://www.reisandirvys.com/ ), which can best be summed up in a phrase: "Let a Robot serve you Yogurt."

The process is as simple as one-two-three:
1) Customers tap in what they'd like on their four-layer treat.
2) Next, they choose a "robot character" on the touchscreen to build it for them.
3) Then they smile as a robotic arm swings here and there while creating a cup of fresh frozen yogurt goodness.

Having already placed kiosks in leading waterpark resorts and other themed attractions, and having signed an exclusive deal with Topema in Brazil for expansion there, Robofusion appears to have set its sights on large scale expansion with upcoming installations with some of the major institutional feeders. Folks who don't recognize the Robofusion brand now, soon will. What does this mean for the business world of frozen yogurt? Perhaps nothing.

Or perhaps everything—kind of like that little sensation known as Red Box.

“Robofusion mirrors the Red Box blue print in that we’re technologically advanced, convenient, and incredibly fun and super simple to use,” said the Robofusion ( http://www.robofusion.com/ ) employee. “And, based on our success and pipeline, we plan to create a lot of fun in 2013.”

The question, then, is: Will Reis & Irvy’s kiosks rock the yogurt industry just as Red Box rocked the movie rental industry? Time will tell.

In the meantime, industry CEOs might need a cool frozen yogurt treat to stave off their sweat.

View all articles by Jan Noel Madraga

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<a href="http://www.dime-co.com/food-and-drink/The-Red-Box-of-Frozen-Yogurt-Industry-CEOs-Sweating-Out-the-Rise-of-Robofusion.shtml">The Red Box of Frozen Yogurt: Industry CEOs Sweating Out the Rise of Robofusion?</a>

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