Theborn Korea partners with UNOX, Italian commercial oven leader with 530 billion won annual revenue

Theborn Korea, a restaurant franchise company, has signed a new cooperation agreement with UNOX, an Italian global commercial oven specialist. The partnership is expected to accelerate the adoption of cooking consistency and kitchen automation systems, key elements for multi-store franchises.

According to UNOX's official LinkedIn account on Nov. 5, Theborn Korea representatives recently visited UNOX City, the company's headquarters complex in Padua, Italy, and signed a cooperation agreement with UNOX CEO Nicola Michelon. UNOX said, "We are proud to start a new collaboration with Theborn Korea, one of the top restaurant franchise groups in Korea."

UNOX, founded in 1990, specializes in commercial ovens and food processing systems and leads the global restaurant and bakery markets. Last year, the company invested 100 million euros (about 140 billion won) in Padua, Italy, to open UNOX City, a 130,000-square-meter production, logistics, and research complex, significantly boosting its global production capacity. Its global revenue last year was 360 million euros (about 530 billion won), marking 17 consecutive years of growth. Cumulative revenue for the first three quarters of this year reached 250 million euros (about 370 billion won), up 5% from the same period last year.

UNOX has recently been focusing on building an automation ecosystem for the entire kitchen, going beyond simple cooking equipment. After acquiring food processing automation company Roboqbo last year, it continues to expand its smart oven lineup. CEO Nicola Michelon recently emphasized in public remarks, "The kitchen of the future will be an ecosystem where various technologies cooperate to autonomously manage each stage of the production process."

With this agreement, Theborn Korea is expected to actively utilize UNOX's technology to improve the efficiency of franchise store kitchens. Theborn Korea, which operates various restaurant brands including Paik's Coffee, Hong Kong Banjeom, and Saemaeul Restaurant, has been increasing the adoption of food tech such as cooking robots and smart ovens in response to rising labor costs and labor shortages. Given the nature of franchises, which must deliver the same taste across numerous stores, the role of commercial ovens that precisely control temperature and humidity is becoming increasingly important.

※ This article is an AI translation of the Korean original published by Korea Credit News; it was checked by automated quality guards and published by the English edition desk.