Automation is rolling into the sushi industry.
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Americans love sushi. And increasingly more.
There are approximately 23,000 Japanese restaurants in the U.S., according to JETRO, the Japanese government-affiliated organization. As of 2022, California had the largest number of Japanese restaurants with 4,995 establishments. Even Wyoming, which had the fewest restaurants in the country, saw a dramatic 500% increase from four to 24 in 12 years.
Sushi is a major attraction at these Japanese restaurants, but there is only a limited supply of sushi chefs.
To become a decent sushi chef, you need to go through strict training for years. Also, for qualified sushi chefs from Japan, it is getting harder to get a U.S. work visa.
But not all restaurants require a highly skilled sushi chef, unless you run a high-end sushi bar. With the rapid development of robotics these days, it makes sense to automate sushi production.
The question is, how good can machine-made sushi be?
“At this point, the quality of robot-made sushi is comparable to what is produced by humans. You would not notice the difference by tasting the airy mouthfeel of sushi rice, for example. Also, the production speed by robots is much higher than humans and the consistency of quality is robots’ another crucial advantage,” says Taka Tanaka, CEO of AUTEC Sushi Robots based in California.
Operating top-tier sushi robots is straightforward. For instance, to make maki rolls with AUTEC’s models, you choose the key factors like thickness, length and density of the rice on the control panel. Then simply drop the rice in the hopper, press the button and a fluffy sheet of rice comes out of the machine within as little as 6 seconds.
AUTEC’s Nigiri robot.
AUTEC
By the way, AUTEC has a unique history. It was founded by Audio Technica, the 62-year-old Japanese company that designs and manufactures a wide range of high-quality audio products, such as headphones, turntables and phono cartridges. In 1984, when business was sluggish as records gave way to CDs, the company developed and launched a sushi robot in the Japanese market, which became a huge hit.
Anticipating the expansion of the sushi market, the company established its US subsidiary in 2000. The beginning was a struggle and the company decided to pull the plug on the U.S. operations, but Tanaka, then an employee, did not give up. He asked the company to let him buy out the U.S. operation in 2010.
Now Tanaka runs AUTEC successfully, selling over 1,000 models annually to more than 10,000 clients in North America, with branches in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto.
The company’s most popular model is a maki roll maker, ASM895A. AUTEC’s maki makers are priced around $17,500 to $22,500 and Nigiri makers are around $17,000 to $18,000.
Takayuki Tanaka, CEO of AUTEC Sushi Robots.
AUTEC
Quality Endorsed By Michelin-Starred Chefs
AUTEC’s clients are diverse. Its restaurant clients are mainly 100 seats with 4000 square feet or more; chain stores have 50 seats with 2000 square feet or more. As for retailers, there are many takeout sushi kiosks with less than 600 square feet. LA Sushi CO, which serves as the official sushi vendor of SoFi Stadium, BMO Stadium and Angel Stadium, is also AUTEC’s client.
You would imagine that prominent sushi chefs disdain the idea of sushi-making machines, but some chefs see it differently.
One of them is Takashi Saito, who is the chef-owner of Sushi Saito in Tokyo. He earned three Michelin stars for 10 years but requested to remove the stars in 2019. He has been developing a sushi robot himself for his own kitchen for the last few years and recently became AUTEC’s brand ambassador. He has even co-designed limited-edition sushi robots (the models ASM890A and ASM260A) with AUTEC, which will debut at Sushi Saito in Japan later this year.
Sushi robots seem to have established a solid presence in the sushi industry. What is their future?
“Sushi robots are not substitutes for sushi chefs. They are a platform for making sushi culture evolve around the world,” says Tanaka.
“Sushi is a rare type of food whose price points can range from less than a dollar to several hundred dollars. It is for everyone and there is a lot of room for creativity. Our corporate slogan is ‘You be creative, We do the rest.’ We would like our clients to infuse their local food cultures and regional ideas into their products to make sushi universally approachable and enjoyable, like sushi that pairs well with fried potatoes and Coca-Cola in America.”
Andy Matsuda, founder and instructor of Sushi Chef Institute in Los Angeles, also envisions a vast potential in sushi robots.
“The demand for sushi is skyrocketing. There will be more supermarkets, school and corporate cafeterias and other places that will serve sushi. But the supply of skilled chefs is diminishing. Inevitably, we will soon need to rely on sushi robots. In fact, many large-scale restaurants have already adopted various sushi robots in the kitchen,” says Matsuda.
“I see the U.S. sushi industry 30 years behind Japan. Based on what has happened in Japan, I predict the U.S. sushi industry to be divided into two: premium sushi bars run by skilled chefs and casual, approachable outlets.”
There is healthy competition in the sushi robot industry. AUTEC’s rivals in the U.S. market include Suzumo Machinery and Top USA.
You may have been eating sushi made by robots already.
Future restaurants may see a coexistence between human sushi masters and robots.
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