The restaurant industry is struggling to find workers—even with monthly wages exceeding 3 million KRW. According to a labor survey by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the restaurant industry’s labor shortage rate is 6.5%, significantly higher than the overall industry average of 3.6%. Furthermore, a survey conducted by the Korea Foodservice Industry Research Institute found that 74.9% of restaurant owners reported experiencing manpower shortages. Because restaurant work is considered one of the so-called 3D industries—Dirty, Difficult, and Dangerous—job seekers tend to avoid it. This shortage worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to intensify in the coming years. In response, the government has eased restrictions on employing foreign workers by reclassifying the restaurant sector as a permitted employment industry, but this alone has not solved the problem.
[Fig] Restaurant Workforce Shortage and Unfilled Position Rate
Collaborative cooking robots are emerging as a promising solution to this labor shortage. Collaborative robots (cobots) are designed to work safely alongside humans. Unlike conventional industrial robots used for process automation, cobots are easier to deploy and require lower safety barriers, enabling use in various sectors. In the restaurant industry, collaborative cooking robots assist with labor-intensive cooking tasks, significantly reducing manpower requirements. Early-stage cooking robots were limited to simple tasks such as frying chicken or brewing coffee. Today, technological advancements have made it possible for robots to grill meat, cook pasta, and even prepare pizzas following recipes precisely.
[Fig] Example of a Collaborative Cooking Robot
AeniEye Co., Ltd. (CEO: Geonpil Hwang) successfully raised 15.7 billion KRW (Series A) for its collaborative cooking robot technology. The company manufactures hamburger patty-cooking robots capable of grilling 200 patties per hour. Its robots have been deployed in Lotteria and CryBurger, achieving the world’s first mass production of cooking robots. Based on this success, AeniEye plans to expand into the United States, the home of the hamburger, and is currently conducting performance tests with two U.S. franchise chains.
[Fig] AeniEye Co., Ltd.’s Patty-Cooking Collaborative Robot and Application Example
Other domestic robot companies are also actively entering the cooking robot market. The most prominent is RoboArte Co., Ltd. (CEO: Jiyeong Kang). Under the brand name “Robert Chicken,” the company operates a franchise business that minimizes labor costs by using robots to fry chicken. “Robert Chicken” currently runs 11 stores and is expanding into the U.S. market. RoboArte recently developed a dedicated frying robot that can be applied to various fried foods, enabling automation across diverse menu items and significantly improving productivity.
[Fig] Aniai Co., Ltd.'s Patty-Cooking Collaborative Robot and Application Example
In addition, Peoples League Co., Ltd. (CEO: Geonhee Ryu) is developing meat-cooking robot technology. The company opened a specialized meat delivery store equipped with its “MeatBot” collaborative robot. MeatBot can grill 100 servings of pork belly per hour, using visual sensors and AI to analyze fat and protein ratios and apply the optimal cooking method. Thanks to this automation, the store’s prices are approximately 3,000 KRW lower than nearby competitors, while maintaining higher customer ratings. Peoples League has also developed technology that adjusts cooking preferences based on user taste data, which is expected to be applied to precision-cooking robots such as those used for steaks.
[Fig] Peoples League Co., Ltd.’s Meat-Cooking Collaborative Robot “MeatBot”
The government is also providing strong support to foster the robot industry as a next-generation growth sector. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the “Advanced Robot Regulatory Innovation Plan” during the 3rd Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting. Given the rapid growth of the robotics market, the government plans to support 39 out of 51 key projects by next year. As the restaurant industry continues to transform, corporate interest in collaborative cooking robots is expected to become a major new business opportunity.
#CollaborativeRobot #CookingRobot #AeniEye #RoboArte #RobertChicken #PeoplesLeague #MeatBot
The restaurant industry is struggling to find workers—even with monthly wages exceeding 3 million KRW. According to a labor survey by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the restaurant industry’s labor shortage rate is 6.5%, significantly higher than the overall industry average of 3.6%. Furthermore, a survey conducted by the Korea Foodservice Industry Research Institute found that 74.9% of restaurant owners reported experiencing manpower shortages. Because restaurant work is considered one of the so-called 3D industries—Dirty, Difficult, and Dangerous—job seekers tend to avoid it. This shortage worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to intensify in the coming years. In response, the government has eased restrictions on employing foreign workers by reclassifying the restaurant sector as a permitted employment industry, but this alone has not solved the problem.
[Fig] Restaurant Workforce Shortage and Unfilled Position Rate
Collaborative cooking robots are emerging as a promising solution to this labor shortage. Collaborative robots (cobots) are designed to work safely alongside humans. Unlike conventional industrial robots used for process automation, cobots are easier to deploy and require lower safety barriers, enabling use in various sectors. In the restaurant industry, collaborative cooking robots assist with labor-intensive cooking tasks, significantly reducing manpower requirements. Early-stage cooking robots were limited to simple tasks such as frying chicken or brewing coffee. Today, technological advancements have made it possible for robots to grill meat, cook pasta, and even prepare pizzas following recipes precisely.
[Fig] Example of a Collaborative Cooking Robot
AeniEye Co., Ltd. (CEO: Geonpil Hwang) successfully raised 15.7 billion KRW (Series A) for its collaborative cooking robot technology. The company manufactures hamburger patty-cooking robots capable of grilling 200 patties per hour. Its robots have been deployed in Lotteria and CryBurger, achieving the world’s first mass production of cooking robots. Based on this success, AeniEye plans to expand into the United States, the home of the hamburger, and is currently conducting performance tests with two U.S. franchise chains.
[Fig] AeniEye Co., Ltd.’s Patty-Cooking Collaborative Robot and Application Example
Other domestic robot companies are also actively entering the cooking robot market. The most prominent is RoboArte Co., Ltd. (CEO: Jiyeong Kang). Under the brand name “Robert Chicken,” the company operates a franchise business that minimizes labor costs by using robots to fry chicken. “Robert Chicken” currently runs 11 stores and is expanding into the U.S. market. RoboArte recently developed a dedicated frying robot that can be applied to various fried foods, enabling automation across diverse menu items and significantly improving productivity.
[Fig] Aniai Co., Ltd.'s Patty-Cooking Collaborative Robot and Application Example
In addition, Peoples League Co., Ltd. (CEO: Geonhee Ryu) is developing meat-cooking robot technology. The company opened a specialized meat delivery store equipped with its “MeatBot” collaborative robot. MeatBot can grill 100 servings of pork belly per hour, using visual sensors and AI to analyze fat and protein ratios and apply the optimal cooking method. Thanks to this automation, the store’s prices are approximately 3,000 KRW lower than nearby competitors, while maintaining higher customer ratings. Peoples League has also developed technology that adjusts cooking preferences based on user taste data, which is expected to be applied to precision-cooking robots such as those used for steaks.
[Fig] Peoples League Co., Ltd.’s Meat-Cooking Collaborative Robot “MeatBot”
The government is also providing strong support to foster the robot industry as a next-generation growth sector. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the “Advanced Robot Regulatory Innovation Plan” during the 3rd Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting. Given the rapid growth of the robotics market, the government plans to support 39 out of 51 key projects by next year. As the restaurant industry continues to transform, corporate interest in collaborative cooking robots is expected to become a major new business opportunity.
#CollaborativeRobot #CookingRobot #AeniEye #RoboArte #RobertChicken #PeoplesLeague #MeatBot