Brava Ships its Countertop Oven that Cooks with Light

Brava announced today that it has started shipping its high-tech countertop oven that uses light to cook.

The Brava oven differentiates itself from other countertop ovens on the market by using what it calls “Pure Light” technology to cook food. According to press materials, the Brava heating elements can go from 0 to 500 degrees in less than a second, and using a combination of sensors and a temperature probe, promises to automatically and precisely cook your meals. The Brava also features multi-zone cooking so you can cook proteins, veggies and carbohydrates on the same tray at the same time.

Brava’s announcement comes just one day after Tovala announced it is shipping its second-gen smart oven, which uses more traditional heating elements and steam to cook food. Though both companies are vying for the (limited) space on your kitchen counter through a combination of high-technology and convenience, they are approaching the market differently.

First, the two are priced at opposite ends of the spectrum. Brava starts at $995, while Tovala is just $349. Both companies offer meal kits customized to their device, but where Tovala is providing its own meal kits, Brava is building out a marketplace of third party providers. As part of today’s announcement, Brava said it has partnered with Atlanta based meal kit maker PeachDish to provide food for Brava customers. PeachDish will join Brava’s other food partners, Good Eggs and Greensbury in Brava Marketplace by the end of this year.

More broadly speaking, Brava is part of a wave of new connected countertop cooking devices hitting the market and aiming for your kitchen. In addition to Brava and Tovala there is the second-gen June, the forthcoming Suvie, Amazon’s Alexa-powered Microwave, and the Rotimatic, just to name a few.

We got to see the Brava in action at our recent Smart Kitchen Summit and the results were quite good. Now that it’s shipping, the question is whether the light-based tech of Brava help it break away from the pack and generate light-speed growth?