THE first robotic beverage kiosk in Malaysia, known as GrabTea, officially opened in Gurney Plaza, Penang, tonight to a large crowd of customers.
State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage (PETACH) Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said Penang was proud to be chosen by Grab Tea Malaysia as the location for their first outlet.
“Penang welcomes artificial intelligence or AI development in the state. Today, we mark the start of the AI revolution in Malaysia’s beverage kiosk industry through the use of robot to serve customers,” said Yeoh in his speech at the opening ceremony.
He was representing Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who was unable to attend the event due to an official commitment.
“I would also like to congratulate GrabTea on being awarded The Malaysia Book of Record’s title of First Robotic Beverage Kiosk in Malaysia.
“As the Penang state executive councillor for Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage, I have always encouraged tourism players to be creative and innovative in promoting new products.
“This is to ensure that we are in tune with the current trend and technology to remain competitive in the consumer market, especially with Penang ushering in Experience Penang Year 2020.
“This initiative is also aligned with the Penang2030 vision to become a Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation as unveiled by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
“As such, we are pleased to see GrabTea taking the lead with AI for the beverage kiosk industry.”
Among those present at the ceremony were Pulau Tikus assemblymen Chris Lee Chun Kit, The Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) chief executive director Datuk Michael Tio, MBR chief operating officer Christopher Wong, MBR director of marketing solutions Jwan Heah, GrabTea founder Ang Wei Liang, GrabTea co-founder Ng Yew Keeng and GrabTea executive director Hong San San.
Tio said MBR supports Industrial Revolution 4.0 and people who invest in automation.
“Bubble tea is the in-thing now and there are a lot of competitions in that business. These (GrabTea) guys are very unique as they think out of the box. They did not just purchase one set of robotic equipment from one supplier. They sourced from some suppliers and fixed them themselves,” said Tio.
“That is their unique selling point. So, we recognise they are the first in Malaysia to achieve that. They think about creativity and how to deliver their services.
“One of the challenges in doing F&B is human resource, like the difficulty in finding people to work behind the kiosk. That’s why a lot of F&B operators hire foreign workers. But GrabTea uses innovation and creativity to overcome that.”
It took the three partners – Ang, Ng, and Hong – at least one year to conduct research on the business before deciding on the joint venture. They also pooled together their entrepreneurial spirit, electrical and electronic know-how and resources.
Ang is from Penang while Ng and Hong are from Kuala Lumpur. They have been friends for several years.
The idea actually came from Ang, who during a trip to Japan in 2017 with his wife, saw a robotic arm serving ice-cream to customers.
“The robotic arm is from Japan while some other parts are from Taiwan and China. So, we combined everything together and did it ourselves. We tested the drinks. Some of our drink ingredients are from Taiwan and some from local,” said Ang.
“Although my core business is in event management, I like to create something very new. We really love innovation and technology. And I believe this the future.
“We hope that we can expand to every state in Malaysia and we also hope other countries will buy our concept and our franchise.
“Now is the bubble tea trend. Touch wood, but if the trend is over, we can convert our robotic arm to sell coffee and ice cream. We just need to reprogramme it. We also hope others can buy our concept. We can provide them our service because of our company is focused on technology and innovation.”
Ng, who has the engineering background, said it would take about one and a half minutes for the robot to prepare a cup of milk tea and roughly two minutes for a cup of fruit drink.
“Our foremost concept is actually cashless payment, whereby people will just come and make the payment through either visa or credit card. And when the drink is ready, they just grab it and go.”
Hong believes that they are moving in the right direction as the Government has been talking about AI and the IR 4.0.
“AI is something we need in the market and it’s a culture that is coming. So, we have to be ready for it. GrabTea is something interesting. We’re the first (robotic beverage kiosk) and that’s more appealing,” she said.
“We saw so many shops facing workers’ problems. So, we thought this would be the solution.
“We feel that Penang, being Ang’s home state, is the best place to start. The robot arm is flexible. Our business does not have to be milk tea forever. That is the beauty of this technology.
“We will evolve eventually. But the key is the technology we are interested in.”
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi