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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Podcast

Podcast: Digitizing The Kitchen

Four years ago at the first Smart Kitchen Summit, Kevin Brown and Eugenio Minvielle got on stage to unveil their new company, Innit. The idea was essentially this: they wanted to create a platform to digitize the kitchen.

It made sense. After all, as digital subscription services abounded for things like entertainment and home security, but the kitchen was in stuck in stasis. Since that time, the company has done their part to push the kitchen digitization cause forward by partnering up with plenty of appliance makers, acquiring another startup to shore up their grocery shopping game and even powering customized meal kits.

For this week’s episode of the Food Tech Show, I decided to catch up with Brown to hear how this journey to digitize food and cooking is going. You can hear our conversation just clicking play below, finding it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or play/download direct to your device here.

Editor Roundtable Podcast: AI Everywhere, CBD Crackdown & Finding Love in a Fridge

Sure you’ve tried Tinder or Bumble, but have you looked for love with a fridge?

Now you can, kinda (not really), with Refrigerdate.

Samsung’s gimmicky smart fridge dating service is just one of the topics we talk about on our latest Spoon editor’s roundtable podcast edition of the Smart Kitchen Show.

Other topics include:

  • The growing number of AI-meets-food stories and whether the term AI is being overused
  • The pushback by local city and state governments against the use of CBD in beverages
  • The foodtech accelerator trend (including agtech) and why the new BSH Appliances smart kitchen accelerator may be a new angle for the appliance industry

Joining me on the podcast are the usual cast of characters: Jenn Marston, Chris Albrecht and Catherine Lamb.

As always, you can download the episode, listen to it on your favorite podcast app like Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Soundcloud, or just click play below.

Podcast: How Tech is Changing The Job of the Kitchen Product Reviewer

No matter what publication a kitchen product reviewer writes for, one thing they all have in common nowadays is the need to consider is how technology is changing the way people cook. At SKS 2018, I sat down with four of the leading reviewers in the business to talk about just that.

On the panel were:

  • Lisa McManus – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Joe Ray – Wired
  • Ashlee Clarke Thompson – CNET
  • Wilson Rothman – Wall Street Journal

Among the topics we discuss are whether you should control everything through an app (or just be able to turn the thing on), how to tell when a new category is about to break out, and just what qualifies as kitchen tech?

Bottom line: If you make kitchen products for a living, this is a must listen.

You listen to the podcast by clicking play below, downloading it directly or on your favorite podcast apps such as Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. And oh yeah – if you’re a visual person, you can watch the video of the panel here.

Editor Roundtable Podcast: Gather ‘Round the Botfire

Each week, our editors get together for an planning call where we discuss topics, trends and stories we want to cover on The Spoon. Since we always have a blast talking foodtech, we thought we’d double-dip this week and also record the conversation.

So here it is, the first Spoon editor roundtable podcast!

The topics we discuss include:

We had a lot of fun recording this, and may turn it into a regular thing. Let us know what you think on Twitter and in the comments below!

As always, you can listen to the pod by hitting play below, downloading it direct or subscribing on Apple podcasts.

Podcast: Let’s Talk About That Alexa-Powered Microwave

In this special episode of the Smart Kitchen Show, Chris Albrecht and I catch up with our good friend Stacey Higginbotham of the IoT Podcast to talk about the big Amazon Alexa devices event in Seattle today.

Stacey was on hand as Amazon unveiled a slate of new devices, including an Alexa powered microwave and the second generation Echo Show, so listen in as we discuss what it all means for Amazon and the smart home market.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking play below, downloading it to your machine or subscribing in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast player.

Podcast: Talking Food Delivery With Freshly’s Michael Wystrach

A few years ago, Michael Wystrach had left a career in finance and was looking to get healthy.

The problem? He hated cooking.

Lucky for him, not only did he own a restaurant, but he also had a good family friend who could design a healthy meal plan for him. He soon had his own chefs preparing nutritional meals for him, and it wasn’t long before he was in the best shape of his life.

Wystrach knew not everyone could have chefs prepare food for them, so he started thinking about how others like him could get healthy food delivered to their home and soon the idea for Freshly was born.

In this episode, I catch up with Michael and talk about those early days, how Freshly differentiates from others in a highly competitive market, and where he sees both the industry and company headed in the future.

You can listen to the episode below, download it here or subscribe in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast service.

Podcast: Designing Products For The Smart Kitchen With Matt Rolandson

What does a robot barista, smart oven and precision heated coffee cup all have in common?

They’re all technology-forward food products that product design firm Ammunition Group had a hand in creating.

I recently caught up with Matt Rolandson, a partner with Ammunition Group, to talk about designing new products for the smart kitchen and the future of food.

We’re kicking off our new season of Smart Kitchen Show, so make sure to subscribe in Apple podcasts and check out past shows here on The Spoon. You can listen to the show below, download it here or listen to it wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast: E-I, E-A-I, Oh! Connecterra’s Deep Learning Helps Dairy Farmers

Don’t call Connecterra a Fitbit for cows. The Amsterdam-based company’s “Ida” product is actually a complex artificial intelligence platform to help diary farmers manage their farms.

Why does a dairy farmer need AI? Well, until now, a lot of farming practices have been passed down through generations. Today we live in the age of data, so sensors on cows and complex algorithms can help dairy farmers see which of those practices are actually useful, and which need to be changed.

Connecterra just raised €4.2 million, which seemed like a good reason to sit down with its CEO, Yasir Kokhar, for a fascinating deep dive into the overlap between AI and agtech. We touch on how Ida helps improve animal welfare (early disease detection), dairy farm productivity (improved yield!) and even the lives of dairy farmers themselves (more sleeping)!

The Automat is The Spoon’s weekly podcast about food-related robots and artificial intelligence. Subscribe to it for the best conversations and insight into how automation is changing the way we eat.

Podcast: The Personalized Kitchen

Advancements in molecular sensors, real-time analytics and food production are laying the foundation for a world where consumers will consume food tailored specifically for them based on their own biomarkers, past behavior, and environmental data.

And while we may not be living in a futuristic world with personalized food manufacturing machines just yet (though we are getting closer), there’s no doubt one of the year’s biggest trends in food innovation centers around personalization.

Which is why I was excited to take the Smart Kitchen Show on the road last month to talk about the personalized kitchen.

My guests for this live taping of the Smart Kitchen Show at Target’s Open House in San Francisco included Shireen Yates (CEO of Nima), Kevin Brown (CEO of Innit), and Jae Berman (Head Coach and lead nutritionist for Habit). Friend of the show Brian Frank of FTW Ventures also stopped by to help with interviewing duties.

Enjoy the podcast by clicking below, subscribing in iTunes or downloading directly.

Podcast: What Caught Our Eye at the Housewares Show

The International Housewares Show is big. Very big. More than 60,000 professionals from all corners of the world convened in Chicago last week to check out the latest and greatest products coming soon to a home near you (or to your home).

Whether you attended in person, or missed it this year, we’ve got you covered. Mike Wolf and I walked the show floor to find the best bits of connected kitchen tech.

In this podcast, we talk about how the whole smart home industry is maturing, the prevalence of connected devices, and the very cool things we came across (precision heated plates and baby bottles!).

Podcast: The CES 2018 Smart Kitchen & Foodtech Wrapup Show

CES 2018 is in the books. It was a hectic week packed with smart kitchen news and showcases. Mike was on the floor in Las Vegas and reveals the big trends (voice activation everywhere!), the cool news stuff (guided cooking!), and the countertop dishwasher he calls “sexy.”

Take a listen for all the in-depth analysis you need. You can also subscribe to the Smart Kitchen Show in Apple Podcasts or download it here.

Smart Kitchen Summit 2017 Director’s Cut Edition Podcast

It’s time for Mike and Ashley’s annual post-Smart Kitchen Summit wrapup where they talk about the talks, the startups, cooking tech and all the behind the scenes happenings.

It’s required listening, an indispensable “director’s cut” accompaniment to the Smart Kitchen Summit.