Vending machines dispensing cakes, steaks and cocktails are the way of the future, say a new generation of Australian entrepreneurs, who are choosing robots over traditional retail outlets.

Customers can use technologically advanced vending machines to buy freshly baked cakes from Cake Mail in Sydney, cook instant ramen at Right Away Ramen in Brisbane, and soon, order cocktails from Tipsy Turtle in Melbourne.

The movement towards food automation is inspired by Japan’s vending machine culture, where more than 5.5 million vending machines sell everything from soft-serve ice-cream to fresh eggs.

In Japan, vending machines glow on street corners throughout suburbia. “It’s so smart,” says Cake Mail founder Jonathan Mussaad, who launched his Chatswood vending machine in June. “They don’t need staff to operate them, they pay barely any rent to store it there, and they’re open 24 hours.

“It’s expensive, but it’s half the price of fitting out and setting up a shop,” he says. “We’ve already had lots of demand to open more … it’s so convenient, it’s the way of the future.”

Automated drink vending machines are commonplace in Thailand, where Forth Corporation operates more than 6000 machines and continues to grow. In October, the company launched its first Australian machine in Melbourne, under the name Flying Turtle. It has since expanded to Sydney, and plans to open in Brisbane next week.

“It has been brought to Australia to address the issue of rising costs of operating traditional food and beverage businesses and the limited availability of these outlets, especially after hours,” says Flying Turtle managing director Panrapee Kwong.

Eventually, the company plans to launch a Tipsy Turtle vending machine in Melbourne, mixing alcoholic cocktails with Asian-inspired flavours such as yuzu and lychee.

Katelyn Matheson, the Melbourne baker behind Cake Creations by Kate, is a pioneer of the new-age vending machine. In 2023, Matheson launched Australia’s first cupcake vending machine in Caroline Springs, selling up to 500 mini cupcakes a day.

Matheson says the machine acts as a billboard for her Point Cook bakery, bringing in new customers, 60 per cent of whom purchase outside business hours.

But it hasn’t been an easy process. Sensor errors and squashed cakes led Matheson to upgrade the machine in May to a 600kg, $60,000 custom-made model from Italy, with a touch screen, robotic arm and conveyor belt to gently dispense cakes.

She also developed a new product, the “cake tub” (single-serve cakes baked in foil tins, with clear lids), in response to customer feedback.

“People wanted more affordable products, and something they’d be able to eat on the go. It tripled our sales overnight,” she says.

In Sydney, Chop Butchery founder Dave Funnell installed two meat vending machines to give customers an after-hours alternative to major supermarkets. The $50,000 machines, which hold about 120 trays of meat including wagyu steaks, instantly warns butchers if the product’s temperature rises above 4 degrees.

Food vending machines are popular with young professionals, families and students, many of whom film the process to post on social media.

“The hype was really crazy,” says Sam Li, who, with Nigel Yeap and Panashe Machingura, launched Australia’s machine dispensing boba tea (tea studded with tapioca pearls) at the University of Queensland in 2022. “Word of mouth spread like wildfire.”

But vending machines haven’t found universal favour, says Matheson.

“Some people are scared to adopt the new technology,” she says. “They’re scared it will take away jobs, and they say they don’t want to be served by a machine.

“In reality, we wouldn’t have been able to afford to grow and service their area without the vending machine. It actually increased the number of people we hired because we needed more delivery drivers and bakers.”

Next-wave vending machines

Sydney

Chop Butchery

What: Pick up a wagyu scotch fillet steak after work at this refrigerated meat vending machine. The $40 premium cut is the best-selling product, but the machine holds about 15 different cuts. It’s restocked three times a week from the adjoining butcher shop.

Where: 20 Forest Way, Frenchs Forest, and 166-172 Mona Vale Road, St Ives,
chopbutchery.com.au

Flying Turtle

What: Flying Turtle is an automated machine engineered in Thailand, capable of serving 200 hot and cold drinks within an average of 90 seconds. You’ll find 21 types of coffee (made with locally roasted, ground-to-order coffee beans), as well as sodas, protein shakes, teas, smoothies and “liquid desserts” such as strawberry cheesecake all for about $4.50. An inbuilt washing machine and UV light keep things clean between orders.

Where: Various locations in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, flyingturtle.com.au

Cake Mail

What: Sydney’s first cake vending machine uses a sophisticated robotic arm and conveyor belt system to safely deliver miniature cakes ($13) in flavours such as pistachio, birthday cake, and caramel chocolate. The refrigerated machine is restocked every two days, based on demand.

Where: Level 4, Westfield Chatswood, 1 Anderson Street, Chatswood,
cakemail.com.au

Ramen Auru

What: It might not dispense bowls of steaming ramen, but this ’80s-themed ticket vending machine gets you half the way there. It’s become the drawcard at Ramen Auru, the Japanese ramen hall from the team behind Yakitori Yurippi and Nakano Darling. Order using the machine’s big, backlit buttons, collect your ticket, and pay at the counter. In traditional Japanese style, you’ll need to remove your shoes before being seated at a tatami mat to devour your meal.

Where: Shop 2F, 6-8 Falcon Street, Crows Nest, instagram.com/ramenauru

PizzaBot

What: An industrial-grade robot arm inside this pizza vending machine can make your choice of four pizza slices within two minutes. But how it’s done? The pizzas are assembled and partially cooked before being loaded into the refrigerated machine. Once the customer makes their selection, the pizza is heated in “temperatures as high as a wood-fired oven” and packaged neatly in a cardboard box.

Where: The machine recently finished its stint at Broadway, but is expected to pop up again in August in an undisclosed Sydney location. pizzabot.com.au

Brisbane

Right Away Ramen

What: This instant ramen vending machine sells popular brands from across Asia, including Samyang Buldak, Nongshim and MAMA, priced between $5 to $7.70. The machines, a first in Australia, are equipped with a hot water system for on-the-spot cooking. It’s expected to expand to Melbourne this year.

Where: University of Southern Queensland campuses at 37 Sinnathamby Boulevard, Springfield, and 487 West Street, Kearneys Spring, rightawayramen.com

Boba Machine

What: This custom-made vending machine serves 24 flavours of fruit and milk teas, sodas and energy drinks. The machine is deep-cleaned and refreshed every two days. Next week, the team behind Boba Machine launches a new UberEats delivery service.

Where: Various locations in Brisbane, with franchises in Melbourne, Adelaide and the Gold Coast, bobamachine.com.au

Correction: an earlier version of this article stated that beverage company Tao Bin operated 200 vending machines in Bangkok. In fact, the parent company is Forth Corporation and they run more than 6000 machines across Thailand.

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