Kiwibot and Sodexo partner to deliver food safely at DU
Starting today, students, faculty and staff at the University Denver (DU) can have food delivered safely via a cute robot anywhere on campus. Kiwibot, DU and Sodexo have officially partnered to launch food delivery service as a part of DU’s reopening, offering added convenience and safety.
This launch is the product of more than a year of hard work by the Kiwibot team, Sodexo, Lunchbox, and the DU Innovation Lab. Last year, Kiwibot approached DU and Sodexo with a unique deployment plan on campus. It was quickly implemented and resulted in more than 800 real deliveries in less than 6 weeks in its beta phase.
“Delivery is expected even more by customers for the convenience and safety it provides,” said Kevin Rettle, vice president of offer development of Sodexo Universities. “We partnered with the University of Denver and Kiwibot to create a safe, reliable, cost-effective and fun way to not only meet the needs of our time, but continue building on our track record of campus innovation.”
Across the world, schools are wondering how they’ll be able to safely reopen. At the University of Denver, they found in Kiwibot a steadfast partner who’s been open to innovative approaches and as a result, Kiwibots are expected to reduce lines for food, enable safe social distancing protocols, create STEM opportunities for students, and bring a bit of novelty to an otherwise wearisome time.
Best Experience for students and DU community around campus
Kiwibot’s setup pilot at DU took place from February-March 2020. In this pilot, 290 safety test deliveries were carried, followed by 800 real deliveries to actual students and members of the surrounding community — the service was highly rated and the average delivery time was 45 minutes.
One of the biggest innovations on Kiwibot, DU and Sodexo’s strategy is that EatsDU (DU’s official ordering platform, powered by Lunchbox) will be available for anyone in the coverage area with a smartphone and a credit card. The cost per delivery is $2 and a monthly, and monthly pass is $15. The first available location will be Einstein’s Bros Bagels, with many more to come.
What’s Next
While we’re incredibly excited to go live at DU, this launch marks the beginning of a long and exciting partnership between Kiwibot and Sodexo. In the next 12 months, we plan on deploying on multiple other campuses to help keep students well-fed and safe.
To power that rollout, we’re currently raising a round on Wefunder. Give it a look and consider becoming a part of the most loved robotics company, now at the University of Denver.
Felipe-CEO
