Zwilling, the company that owns the Henckels knife brand, is taking a 25.1 percent ownership stake in guided cooking startup, Cuciniale, the two companies announced today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Cuciniale system uses a combination of induction cooktop, temperature sensor and app-delivered instructions to digitally assist people each step of the way through the cooking process.
Both Zwilling and Cuciniale are based in Germany, and the partnership will provide the literally centuries-old Zwilling with the technology to move beyond standard housewares and into the intelligent cooking space. At the same time, Cuciniale will get a boost from the global reach and brand recognition of Zwilling.
This deal isn’t the first partnership for Cuciniale. At the Eurocucina fair in Milan last month, Italian kitchen hood manufacturer Elica showed off a demo of a smart induction cooking system powered by Cuciniale’s technology.
As digital recipes become the center of the action in a connected kitchen, guided cooking will become increasingly important. Once you have all the ingredients, you’ll want to make sure everything is prepared correctly, which is where companies like Cuciniale come in.
But they aren’t the only ones. The Zwilling/Cuciniale announcement follows a number of partnerships between big brands and startups to deliver guided cooking to home kitchens. Whirlpool bought and integrated Yummly’s software platform into its devices. Electrolux will equip some of its home appliances with Innit’s cooking software. LG is adding both Innit and SideChef for similar integrations. And the smart cooking division of Meyer, Hestan Smart Cooking, has started injecting its cooking smarts into high-end appliances such as induction and gas cooktops.
Cuciniale launched in the U.S. as a Kickstarter campaign in 2016. That campaign was halted part way through when the company found a partner.
You can be sure I’ll be asking what this new Zwilling partnership means for Cuniciale when its CEO, Holger Henke is on stage with me at our Smart Kitchen Summit in Dublin on June 11. Get your ticket today to hear what he has to say, and to rub shoulders with all the important food tech players from around the world.
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