SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 3, 2017) - Generation NEXT Franchise Brands announced that it has acquired the intellectual property assets of South Carolina-based Robufusion, Inc., a developer of robotic-kiosk vending technology. As a result of this mutually beneficial deal, Generation NEXT will provide Robofusion a cash payment of $420,000, issuance of a three-year, $2-million note and warrant consideration of 1,520,000 five-year warrants with a strike price of $.50 per share. Furthermore, certain Robofusion Officers, Directors and Shareholders will be subject to a five-year, non-compete agreement.
Among the other key assets in its holdings, Generation NEXT now owns the following intellectual property: Reis & Irvy's trademark (U.S. Patent & Trademark Office trademark registration number 4530264); U.S. utility patent number 8,989,893; U.S. design patent number D647,926; and U.S. patent application numbers 20140120235 and 20160242434.
Earlier last year, Generation NEXT launched its newest franchise concept, Reis & Irvy's, a brand and technology originally licensed exclusively from Robofusion.
The ground-breaking technology serves two different flavors of frozen soft-serve desserts as well as a swirl option, all available with six toppings in under 60 seconds and showcases the world's first soft-serve, robotic vending system. With the exclusive ownership of these assets, Generation NEXT is now exploring ways to leverage this technology for the development of future concepts that will expand its business.
Upon receiving the technology from Robofusion in February of 2016, Generation NEXT brought together a team of engineering professionals to upgrade and streamline the hardware, the software and overall mechanics of the Reis & Irvy's "Froyo Robot" in an attempt to develop a completely redesigned unit that has been modified on almost every level. A completely customized double-barrel, soft-serve unit located inside the robot will ensure the product is delivered at the perfect temperature and consistency. The user interface and software has been completely redesigned with telemetry software, allowing ease-of-use for our current and future franchisee operators. For example, the robots will electronically distribute multiple daily reports to the franchisees, providing highly beneficial information such as product temperature, consumable levels and daily, weekly and monthly financial sales performance. This is all accomplished by Generation NEXT adding temperature and product level sensors throughout the technology.
Since customer satisfaction and safety are a top priority, Generation NEXT put its new design through the rigorous NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) and UL (Underwriters Laboratories) certification process to ensure the robots meet the highest standards in food safety and overall design for manufacturing. In addition, Generation NEXT has completely re-designed the self-cleaning mechanism. After every use, the robot cleans and sanitizes the dispensing spigots to ensure no residue is left from the previous order. This patent-pending, self-cleaning design opportunity is just one of the many examples of Generation NEXT evolving and elevating this technology as it prepares for multiple opportunities both domestically under the Reis and Irvy's brand and abroad via licensing agreements.
Finally, with entertainment, novelty and the customer experience being a priority, Generation NEXT added proximity sensors to the robot. This allows the robot to sense when customers are nearby with the completely redesigned robotic arm moving into action by dancing and lighting up, making it very difficult for consumers to avoid the "wow factor" when walking past or approaching the unit.
To allow Generation NEXT the opportunity to take advantage of both domestic and international sales opportunities in the form of franchising and licensing, the company has implemented and contracted third-party manufacturing, distribution, installation, training and a service network to support its customers in over 140 countries around the world.
