Story by
Paul Sawers
Paul Sawers was a reporter with The Next Web in various roles from May 2011 to November 2014. Follow Paul on Twitter: @psawers or check h Paul Sawers was a reporter with The Next Web in various roles from May 2011 to November 2014. Follow Paul on Twitter: @psawers or check him out on Google+.
It seems that the traditional French boulangerie has had a 21st century makeover if this contraption is anything to go by.
Jean-Louise Hecht, owner of numerous bakeries around Paris and Hombourg-Haut, decided that embracing the cultural shift in France was a far better idea than clinging to tradition with his fingertips. So he developed a vending machine that turns precooked bread into fresh baguettes.
His dispenser sold 1,600 baguettes in its opening month in January. This jumped to over 4,500 in July, which is a staggering 150 automated baguette transactions a day.
Naturally, many will fear that the popularity of this machine will herald the end of traditional French bakeries. But Hecht told the Associated Press: “This is the bakery of tomorrow. If other bakers don’t want to enter the niche, they’re going to get decimated.”
See how the machine works for yourself here…