SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for produce packing. The application places discrete items, such as oranges, apples, and pears, into clamshell packages and snack boxes, and portions scoopable produce, such as corn and peas, into trays before packaging. These applications support retail grab-and-go products, airplane meal kits, hospital and care facility meals, and school lunch boxes.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Produce packing has historically been difficult to automate. Unlike grains or sauces, whole fruits and vegetables are rigid, irregular, and vary in size, surface texture, and placement in a bin. At the same time, these items are packaged in containers such as retail clamshells, snack boxes, and portioned meal trays, which require strict placement consistency and presentation quality. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to handle produce items reliably at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor.

To address this, Chef built its produce packing application on two existing capabilities—piece-picking and scooping—depending on the ingredient. For discrete items such as whole fruits like oranges, apples, pears, and kiwis, the piece-picking capability uses AI-powered computer vision to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time, enabling Chef robots to choose how to pick and place it precisely into the tray. For scoopable produce such as corn and peas, the scooping capability portions ingredients by weight and places them accurately using Chef’s tray-tracking vision system. Both capabilities are built on Chef’s physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments, allowing Chef robots to adapt to variability in how produce sits in the pan with no pre-sorting or fixed pan placement required.

The produce packing application introduces three distinct placement capabilities. First, Chef’s camera system identifies the exact center of each tray or clamshell and uses it as a reference point for picking any item. Each item is deposited at a predefined offset from the center. For example, in a three-fruit arrangement, the robot places the first piece at the center, the second 10 centimeters to the left, and the third 10 centimeters to the right, ensuring every pack has a uniform, retail-ready layout regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor. Second, Chef robots can place multiple pieces of produce into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing the full tray assembly without any manual intervention between picks. Third, for deep trays that require items to be stacked, Chef robots arrange produce in layers. For example, the robots can be configured to place four pieces across the bottom, then carefully stack four more on top, without damaging the layer below.

For food manufacturers, the produce packing application offers higher throughput, lower labor dependency, and consistent portion presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without making any infrastructure changes to their production lines.

Chef’s produce packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

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SOURCE Chef Robotics

SHANGHAI, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On Earth Day, global travel lifestyle brand NINETYGO, in strategic partnership with Covestro, a world-leading supplier of high-tech polymer materials, unveiled the R-GO Coffee Journey Series prototype at CHINAPLAS 2026. This next-generation luggage concept represents a breakthrough in circular design, with a commercial launch expected to debut first on Amazon.com in Q4 2026.

From Success to Revolution: The R-GO Evolution

Building on the global commercial success of NINETYGO’s first-generation coffee luggage—currently available across North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia—the new R-GO Coffee Journey Series introduces a radical upgrade in material science.

While the original series pioneered the use of recycled coffee grounds mixed with polycarbonate (PC), the R-GO prototype integrates Covestro’s premium post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials to reach a new frontier of environmental performance:

Carbon Footprint: Shells of a standard 20-inch carry-on  are engineered to produce just 1.19 lbs (0.54 kg) of carbon emissions—a 67% reduction from the 3.4 lbs (1.54 kg) generated by traditional models.

Technical Benchmark: According to Covestro’s technical data, this is achieved by utilizing Makrolon®PCR solution, which reduces carbon emissions from 3.4 kg to 1.1 kg per kilogram compared to the virgin Makrolon® material.

Plastic Efficiency: These shells cut virgin plastic usage by 33.3% per unit.

Certified Integrity: All PCR materials used are validated by UL ECV Environmental Claim Validation and the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), the industry’s most respected benchmarks for recycled content.

A Journey of Balance and Innovation The R-GO series is designed to prove that eco-conscious engineering can coexist with premium durability. In rigorous internal laboratory simulations designed to replicate extreme travel conditions, the R-GO series demonstrated durability performance exceeding the key performance benchmarks of mainstream industry standards by 200%. These evaluations covered critical performance areas including structural impact resistance, telescopic handle fatigue, and multi-terrain wheel endurance—ensuring the series meets the brand’s uncompromising quality benchmarks.

“Why NINETYGO? Because 100% is a destination, but 90 is a journey,” stated a NINETYGO spokesperson. “100% implies something finished and static. We adhere to long-termism, focusing on constant innovation that evolves with the traveler. Our collaboration with Covestro allows us to achieve a seamless balance between environmental stewardship and high-performance engineering. We believe true sustainability is only achieved when eco-friendly innovation meets uncompromising durability and functionality.”

Availability The production version of the NINETYGO R-GO Coffee Journey Series is expected to debut first on Amazon.com in Q4 2026, with broader global availability to follow.

For more information and updates on the journey from prototype to launch, visit www.ninetygo.com or follow @Ninetygo Luggage on Facebook and @ninetygotravel on Instagram.

About NINETYGO and Korrun

NINETYGO is a global travel lifestyle brand owned by Shanghai Runmi Technology Co., Ltd., a majority-owned subsidiary of Korrun Co., Ltd. (300577.SZ).

Founded in 2005, Korrun is China’s first A-share listed company in the luggage and bag industry. Driven by the vision of becoming a great innovative consumer goods company, Korrun operates across two segments: B2B and B2C. In B2B, Korrun is a global strategic partner to world-class brands including Nike, Adidas, and Decathlon, with advanced manufacturing bases in China, India, and Indonesia. In B2C, the company operates its independent brand, NINETYGO, partnering with top-tier suppliers like Covestro, DuPont, and YKK to deliver cutting-edge innovation and quality to travelers worldwide.

CONTACT: ninetygo.marketing@runmi.me

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SOURCE NINETYGO

Next‑Gen Instagram Growth Platform.

NEW YORK, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hexrate, Top AI-powered Instagram growth platform in 2026, today announced an expanded suite of targeting and engagement capabilities designed to help brands and creators grow their Instagram presence organically. The update positions Hexrate as a safer alternative to the crowded market of services where users buy Instagram followers – a category under increasing scrutiny for delivering bot accounts and followers that disappear within weeks.

The 2026 update introduces refined AI targeting across niche, geography, and behavioural signals, plus a new engagement analytics dashboard that measures engagement quality alongside raw follower count. In internal benchmarks, accounts using Hexrate’s targeting see engagement rates of 5 to 8 percent, compared with 1 to 3 percent for accounts relying on bulk follower purchases.

“Creators and brands are rejecting the buy-and-disappear model of traditional follower services,” said Vlad S., Head of Growth at Hexrate. “Our AI doesn’t send you a batch of random accounts – it identifies real people in your niche and puts your profile in front of them, so they can choose to follow. The difference shows up in engagement and retention.”

Why the Update Matters

Instagram’s detection systems have grown significantly more aggressive in 2024 and 2025, removing bulk-purchased followers and sometimes penalising accounts with unnatural growth spikes. Services that rely on genuine audience targeting – rather than delivering pre-assembled batches of accounts – are increasingly seen as the safer long-term strategy for creators and brands who want to buy Instagram followers without risking their accounts.

Hexrate’s approach differs in three concrete ways:

Real users, not batches. The AI identifies audience segments most likely to engage, then puts the profile in front of them. Resulting followers are real people who choose to follow.

Permanent retention. Because followers arrive organically, they stay at natural rates – not the 20 to 40 percent drop-off typical of bulk services.

Zero password exposure. Hexrate never requires Instagram login credentials.

Pricing and Availability

The platform is available at Starter ($29/month), Premier ($59/month), and Scale ($129/month), with 30 percent off the first month. A 7-day money-back guarantee applies across all tiers. Visit hexrate.io to get started.

Press Release Service provided by 24-7PressRelease.com.

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SOURCE Hexrate