Developed for food and beverage entrepreneurs connected to the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center, Robin uses AI to simplify early-stage nutrition labeling and HACCP planning
HONOLULU, June 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Smobler today announced the launch of Robin AI, a free, AI-powered educational tool designed to help early-stage food and beverage entrepreneurs in Hawaiʻi navigate one of the most complex steps in bringing a product to market: food safety and compliance documentation.
Associate Professor at University of Hawaii, William Castillo (left) and Dr Loretta Chen, Chief Operating Officer of Smobler (right)
Founder of Hawaiian Vinegar Company Brandon Askew (left) with Dr Loretta Chen, Chief Operating Officer at Smobler (center) with guest, Summer Le at the soft launch of ROBIN AI at Hawaii Tech Week
The platform was created to support entrepreneurs connected to University of Hawaii - Leeward Community College's ʻĀina to Mākeke food business program and the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center, helping founders take an important first step toward developing retail-ready products.
Many food entrepreneurs begin with a strong recipe, deep community connection, and a compelling product story. Yet, the path from kitchen concept to commercial launch often requires navigating nutrition labels, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans, regulatory requirements, production processes, sourcing decisions, and market readiness. In Hawaiʻi, these challenges can be compounded by high operating costs, limited access to specialized expertise, supply chain constraints, and the realities of island-based production.
Robin AI was built to make that first compliance step more accessible. Entrepreneurs can enter ingredients, serving sizes, and production steps, then use the platform to generate draft nutrition labels and HACCP plans in downloadable PDF or Word formats. As recipes evolve, documents can be refreshed, giving entrepreneurs a faster way to learn, iterate, and prepare for expert review.
"Robin was designed as a practical bridge between innovation and market readiness," said Dr. Loretta Chen, Founder and CEO of Smobler. "Food entrepreneurs in Hawaiʻi are building products rooted in culture, local agriculture, and community. Our goal is to give them an accessible AI tool that reduces friction, supports learning, and helps them move with more confidence toward expert validation, production, and launch."
Robin was developed with direction from William Castillo, Associate Professor at Leeward Community College who understood the challenges facing Hawaiian entrepreneurs faced and articulated the concept by Robin AI, "The Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center provides entrepreneurs with access to product development consultation, lab testing, production kitchens, and food manufacturing resources. Robin AI complements that pathway by helping users organize their early compliance thinking before consulting with WVAPDC experts, who can review and verify documents, provide lab-tested nutrition facts, and help refine products to meet retail and regulatory standards."
Castillo also helped Smobler organize focus groups with local entrepreneurs, notably Brandon Askew from Hawaiian Vinegar Company, Len Gonzales from Galleon Chocolate, and entrepreneurs connected to Mana Up, a Hawaii-based consumer product accelerator and venture fund. Their insights helped shape a tool focused not on replacing human expertise, but on giving founders a clearer, faster starting point before they work with product development, food safety, and regulatory professionals.
"The best AI tools do not remove people from the process. They help us arrive better prepared without exorbitant costs and wasted time," says Askew. "Robin gives us entrepreneurs a way to learn the fundamentals of food safety and compliance while allowing us to focus on product innovation, storytelling, and growth."
Robin represents the first phase of Smobler's broader vision for AI-enabled food entrepreneurship. Looking ahead, Smobler is exploring ways to expand the platform beyond compliance documentation into product development, local sourcing, equipment recommendations, production planning, and go-to-market support.
The company is also working with food entrepreneurs Nichol Ng and Nicholas Ng, who run the 92-year-old Singapore legacy business Food Xervices, to build and scale Forage AI, a Smobler venture focused on modernizing B2B food trade through AI, workflow infrastructure, verified networks, and embedded financial tools.
Together, Robin AI and Forage AI reflect Smobler's belief that the future of food innovation will depend on both local empowerment and global infrastructure: helping entrepreneurs bring culturally grounded products to market while building more intelligent systems for sourcing, distribution, and trade.
Smobler is a frontier technology venture building at the intersection of AI, blockchain, immersive infrastructure, education, and enterprise innovation. Founded by Dr. Loretta Chen, Smobler develops practical, future-facing tools that help organizations and entrepreneurs turn emerging technologies into real-world impact. Its work spans AI-enabled platforms, blockchain infrastructure, digital experiences, education, and strategic innovation.
About Robin AI
Robin AI is a free, AI-powered educational tool designed to make food compliance more accessible for early-stage food and beverage entrepreneurs in Hawaiʻi. The platform helps users generate draft nutrition labels and HACCP food safety plans, supporting entrepreneurs as they move from product idea to expert review, production readiness, and market launch.
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