HOBOKEN, NJ — Think lemonade stands are kids’ stuff? Good. That leaves a larger market share for an enterprising group of young inventors who recently launched the “world’s first robotic lemonade stand.”
According to the owners of the Robotic Lemonade Stand Co. – which is run by a team of 30 inventors between the ages of 9 and 14-years-old – their brainchild gives the old-fashioned lemonade stand concept a 21st-century squeeze. (See videos below)
“People think lemonade stands are a kid’s game,” said Kayden Jones, 11, a co-founder of the Robotic Lemonade Stand Co. “Well, that’s awesome, because drinks have a high-profit margin.”
The young visionaries behind the futuristic lemonade stand are members of the Rocket Club, a Hoboken-based robotics and coding program. Mentors at the club guided their protégées through the process with lessons on entrepreneurship, product development, market research and developing a financial model on “profit per cup.”
Here’s how it works:
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“The stand is designed with a self-autonomous robotic arm that continuously stirs the lemonade mix when prompted via switch, then self-pours into a cup that manually self-rotates on a conveyor belt-styled contraption. The robot was built entirely using pieces of Lego MINDSTORM EV3 kits and other mechanical parts.”
The young co-founders successfully unveiled their fledgling company at NJ Tech Council’s Venture Conference 2019 on April 11 at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. At the convention, they sold lemonade to potential investors at $1 a cup, with proceeds going to benefit St. Jude’s Research Hospital and Kode with Klossy.
The Robotic Lemonade Stand Company has already piqued the interest of Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran and Daymond John.
“I think it is fantastic for kids to get involved in business as early as possible, and that’s why I want to give a huge shoutout for the Rocket Club members,” Kevin O’Leary said.
The next step in the Robotic Lemonade business plan is to pinpoint potential locations for future expansion and explore merchandising opportunities, according to a news release from the Rocket Club.
Learn more about the company here.
“We knew our members would enjoy developing and coding the robotic lemonade stand, but we had no idea how excited they would be to do market research, design their own product, and discuss their company’s financials,” Rocket Club owner Alex Hodara said. “We are blown away by what our members have done so far with Robotic Lemonade, and we want to do whatever we can to connect them with industry leaders and push them to continue to hone these rare STEM and entrepreneurship skills.”
“Today they are building the world’s first robotic lemonade stand, but who knows what they will accomplish by the time they reach high school,” said Paulo Nunes, Rocket Club director and president.
So how exactly do you create the “world’s first robotic lemonade stand?” Check out the below videos that document the entire process, from development to launch.
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