Love's Travel Stops Opens Jamba by Blendid Robotic Smoothie Kiosk in Williams, California

The First Jamba by Blendid Kiosk Location at a Travel Center Offers Motorists New Ways to Access Refreshing Smoothies on the Go

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and WILLIAMS, Calif., Sept. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Love's Travel Stops, providing professional drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, travel items, electronics, snacks, restaurant offerings, and more from coast to coast, today opened its first Jamba by Blendid autonomous robotic kiosk. Located at the rest area in Williams, CA, on I-5, Exit 578/Highway 20 just outside of Sacramento, the pilot location of the new Jamba by Blendid kiosk adds a refreshing and delicious option for motorists on the go.

"The official opening of our first Jamba by Blendid robotic kiosk is an exciting day for us and, hopefully, also for our guests! We hope customers visiting the Williams, California location enjoy this fun new way to quickly access refreshing, delicious smoothies on the go," said Joe Cotton, vice president of food services for Love's.

The Jamba by Blendid kiosk offers visitors at the Williams rest area smoothie options inspired by Jamba®, a global leader serving on-the-go smoothies, bowls and juices, powered by robotic food service solutions leader Blendid®.

Love's guests will have the opportunity to meet the new persona behind Jamba by Blendid's unique kiosks. "We began to notice that our guests were really interested in the robots, and created personas for them, as they watched them make smoothies and, yes, even dance," said Danielle Fisher, VP of Marketing for Jamba. It was that observation that led to engaging with Gestalt Brand Lab, where they created the robot's persona and built a distinct visual identity for the Jamba by Blendid kiosks. The robot is a friendly and funny personality and a mix master of delicious smoothies. And it now lives in an uplifting and colorful setting, adorned with the newest mural by artist Bongang, a street muralist who has frequently worked with the Jamba brand. The new branding features bright colors evocative of fresh fruit and an image of Jamba's friendly robot ready to make smoothies in a flash.

The self-operating kiosk will be open 24/7 for motorists, allowing them to customize their smoothie orders by adjusting ingredient quantities or adding boosts directly through the Blendid app. They can easily order on-site or schedule a preferred pick-up time in advance. 

"We are dedicated to meeting the rising demand for refreshing quick-serve options; our robotic kiosks give consumers, and now motorists, fast, customizable and delicious food choices," said Vipin Jain, CEO and co-founder of Blendid. "We hope that our Jamba by Blendid kiosks set the standard for the future of food service at rest areas across the country."

Jamba by Blendid kiosks leverage Blendid's contactless food automation platform foodOS^®, a patented machine learning, robotics, and artificial intelligence-enabled system, to provide motorists with easily accessible, refreshing food options made on-demand and customized to meet individual preferences at any time of day.

Love's Travel Stops is the nation's leading travel stop network with more than 590 locations in 42 states. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company remains family-owned and operated and employs more than 37,000 people. Love's provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, fresh coffee, restaurant offerings and more. Love's has over 420 truck service centers, which include Speedco and Love's Truck Care locations. Love's and Speedco combined is the largest oil change, preventive maintenance, and total truck care nationwide network with over 1,500 maintenance bays and 1,200 emergency roadside vehicles available for customers. Love's is committed to providing customers with "Clean Places, Friendly Faces" at every stop. To learn more, visit loves.com or follow the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Sunnyvale-based Blendid is revolutionizing the future of food service with its proprietary food automation platform (foodOS™), which efficiently and safely prepares and serves a range of healthy, fresh, and delicious food. A pioneer of the future of food service, Blendid's first concept in the market is an autonomous, contactless kiosk that uses robotics, machine vision, artificial intelligence, and healthy ingredients to create delicious smoothies that are customized to meet the unique health and dietary preferences of each consumer. Founded in 2015 by seasoned Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Vipin Jain, Venki Avalur, and Vijay Dodd, Blendid is improving the consumer experience by offering safe, cost-effective, and personalized food on-demand, while also reducing complexities and costs for the operators. Blendid has raised more $20M to date from a mix of venture and crowdfunding investors and is currently raising its Series B investment round. Visit https://invest.blendid.com/ for more information and to invest in the future of food service automation.

Jamba is the global lifestyle brand leader serving on-the-go freshly blended fruit and vegetable smoothies, made-to-order bowls, fresh-squeezed juices and shots, boosts and bites. Jamba has more than 850 locations operating in 36 U.S. states, as well as the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Japan. For more information and to stay connected, follow @JambaJuice on Twitter and Instagram or visit jamba.com.

Contacts:
Love's Contact:
Caitlin Campbell
[email protected] 
(405) 847-5263

Blendid contact:
Erica Camilo
Connexa Communications for Blendid
[email protected]
610-639-5644

Jamba Contact:
Lauren Phillips
[email protected]

SOURCE Blendid