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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

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LG Appliances Will Automatically Cook Tovala Meals

LG announced today that it will integrate Tovala’s cooking technology into select LG ovens and ranges later this year. This means that people will be able to cook Tovala meals without the need for Tovala’s countertop smart oven in yet another move that makes the startup more of an open cooking platform.

Cooking Tovala meals with LG appliances will be a little different than cooking with the Tovala smart oven itself. Customers will scan the Tovala meal’s barcode with the Tovala mobile app, which will communicate the automated cook program to the connected LG appliance. What’s curious is that not all of the compatible LG models include a steam cooking function, which Tovala’s oven has, so we wonder how that will impact the finished product.

More importantly, however, is that this is the second move in as many weeks where Tovala has opened up its products. Last week, the company introduced the Scan the Store feature for its smart oven that allows people to scan the barcodes of store-bought foods and have the device automatically cook them. That move broadened the utility of the Tovala oven, and today’s partnership makes the company’s meal plans available to people who don’t own a Tovala. Though that potential audience can’t be very big, as I don’t imagine there are a lot of people without Tovala ovens clamoring for the company’s meal kits.

However, partnering with LG may not be about getting new meal kit customers, it could be making those meal kits more useful to existing customers. What isn’t mentioned in the press release is whether the larger cooking cavity of a traditional oven will allow people to cook more meals at a time. As my boss, Mike Wolf noted in his second-gen Tovala review, because the oven is small, it’s not as ideal for cooking for a family of four.

Tovala’s moves are part of an overall trend in opening up cooking platforms. The June smart oven has a dedicated Whole Foods button to automatically cook foods from that grocer, and will probably add more buttons. And instead of developing its own service, Brava offers accompanying meal kits from a number of different providers in its marketplace.

For its part, LG is racking up all kinds of outside software partners including Drop, Innit and Sidechef.

Tovala Becomes More Versatile with Addition of Scan-to-Cook Feature

While the Tovala has always been the most affordable of the new smart countertop ovens, the fact that it was tied to a meal subscription plan always made it feel constricting. The second-gen Tovala added more flexibility to the device itself, but it still seemed optimized primarily for making Tovala food. Yesterday, Tovala took another step towards broadening its capabilities by adding a new scan-to-cook feature (h/t to CNET).

Tovala’s “Scan the Store” works as you’d imagine. Buy a packaged item from the grocery store, scan the barcode on the item with the Tovala and the smart oven cooks the food automatically (no pre-heating required). Right now, the feature only works with Trader Joe’s frozen foods, though the company says it will be adding new brand partnerships (read: more grocers, more products).

Scan the Store puts Tovala at the center of two trends emerging in the smart kitchen space. First, barcode scanning to generate cook programs is being used by other appliances like the Alexa powered GE Scan-to-Cook microwave. The benefit being a more precise cook program tailored for each food rather than blasting everything with full power.

But like the June oven, Tovala is now setting itself up as a platform with brand partnerships. Last fall June added a Whole Foods button to its touchscreen menu for automated cook programs from that grocer. Tovala too will add more food from more grocers making it even more useful.

What the Scan the Store feature does most, however, is make the Tovala a more attractive device among the new wave of smart ovens. At $349, it’s cheaper than the June ($599), and the Brava ($995), and now those who buy it are now getting a more versatile appliance.

The Spoon’s 2018 Food Tech Holiday Gift Guide: Crickets, Coffee, Connected Ovens and More!

We at The Spoon write about food tech and food gadgets all year long. So when it comes time for the holidays, we want you to spend your money wisely, which is why we’ve put together our 2018 Food Tech Holiday Gift Guide. These are our staff recommendations for food tech products worth buying that people will love.

This year, we tried to break the list out in a realistic, real world manner. We’ve categorized our picks based on what you’d get for a co-worker (think: Secret Santa), a friend, a family member and finally, what you’d splurge on for a significant other/spouse/partner or even yourself.

If you wind up getting one of these items, drop us a line and let us know what you think!

Happy holidays (and holiday shopping) from all of us at The Spoon!

Co-worker


Foodie Dice
Everyone needs a little inspiration for meal planning, which makes Foodie Dice ($24) a good all-around gift most people will appreciate. The set comes with five wooden “primary” dice that have protein, grain, herb and cooking-method options, as well as a mysterious “bonus” option, engraved on their surfaces. Four more dice feature veggies. According to the product description, there are 186,000 possible combinations which, if nothing else, will give cooking dinner a little shot of excitement. -Jenn


Manatea Infuser
Do you have one co-worker who’s never without his/her steaming cup of tea? This adorable manatea (get it?) tea infuser ($8) will brighten up their day and add a little spirit to their mug. In addition to being really cute and reasonably priced (especially compared to some of the high-tech tea contraptions out there), the infuser is also reusable, which means no more throwing out tea bags on the daily. Pair with a box of high-quality loose leaf tea for a coworker gift that you’ll actually see them use around the office. -Catherine


TRUFF Hot Sauce
OK. Yes. Fine. This isn’t any “tech” in this food. But try this once and you’ll swear it was invented by alien scientists from the future who wanted to craft the perfect hot sauce. Even Oprah named it one of her favorite things (which is too bad because that will probably make it harder to get). Truff is “a curated blend of ripe chili peppers, organic agave nectar, black truffle, and savory spices” that I’ve been slathering all over my pizza, mac-n-cheese, and just about everything else I’m eating. At $15, it’s a little pricey for hot sauce, but a steal when it comes to flavor. -Chris


Chocolate Crickets
While alternameats get all the press, there’s no question that bugs are going to be a big part of our protein future. You can help your burger-loving coworker make the bugs go down a little easier by adding a little chocolate and coffee flavor. Pick up a snack bag of these crunchy insects for $17.95, or splurge on a full pound for the bug-lover for $39.95. -Mike

Friend


Sudden Coffee Subscription Pack
Think of Sudden Coffee as an instant version of pour-over craft coffee. The company uses ethically sourced, top 1 percent beans, a special freeze-drying process, and a “secret method” to place the kind of coffee you’d get in a cafe into single-serve packs with a six-month shelf life. While there are multiple product options from which to choose, an eight-pack starter kit ($20 for a one-time purchase; $16 for a subscription) is pretty much a guaranteed win for coffee-drinking friends. Even the coffee snobs can get into this one. -Jenn


Bee’s Wrap Cheese Saver
It’s no secret that cheese can cost some serious cheddar. What you might not know is that cheese breathes like a living thing, and storing it in plastic wrap not only suffocates it, it also makes it taste like, well, plastic. Ideally, cheese should be stored wrapped in breathable paper like Bee’s Wrap ($18). Made from organic cotton and beeswax, Bee’s Wrap can be used to store a lot more than just cheese, but that’s my favorite way to use it. It’s also washable, reusable and compostable, so it cuts down on both food and plastic waste. Pair a pack of Bee’s Wrap with a few local cheeses and any cheese-loving friend will be happy. -Catherine


Dash Egg Cooker
Outside of the microwave, there is no kitchen device we use in our house more than this cute li’l egg cooker ($30). It’s not smart, it’s not connected, but it is a dead simple way to make half a dozen perfect hard boiled eggs, every time. No pots of water to boil. No timing to get just right. Just fill the included cup to the right level with water and pour it into the machine. Pierce your eggs, cover and 15 minutes later, voila! -Chris


“MiCURA” Craft Sake brewing kit
You know that mildly annoying (but still much-loved) friend who shows off their knowledge of sake every time you’re out for sushi? Time to show how much you appreciate them with a home sake brew kit. The “MiCURA” Craft Sake brewing kit is shipped from Japan with all the necessary ingredients to make real sake at home, including rice, yeast, and dried koji, the mold that powers the fermentation for this magical elixir.  It’s a bit on the pricey side (remember, you love this friend) at $188, but this will make the industrious sake-lover in your life very happy. -Mike

Family


Ember Coffee Mug
Ember had us all buzzing (literally and figuratively) around this time last year for their high-tech coffee mug that lets you regulate your drink’s temperature using an app. Yes, $80 and up is a lot of money to spend on a drinking vessel. But if you know someone in the habit of microwaving their drink multiple times a day to keep it warm, Ember might just be the gift for them. Plus, the company recently moved into the Apple store with an update to its app that lets users track their caffeine intake. -Jenn


Great Jones Cookware
Cookware may seem like a gift more practical than thoughtful, but I’m here to say that it can be both. If you have a family member that’s stocking a new kitchen (maybe their first?) or wants to get better at cooking, turn to Great Jones ($395). The company has been making waves lately by disrupting the cookware industry like Warby Parker disrupted glasses. Their pots and pans use high-quality materials and typically cost less than half of the cookware “royalty,” like Le Creuset. Plus they look really cool. -Catherine


Anova Nano
If you haven’t introduced your carnivorous friends to the magic of sous vide cooking — shame on you! But, all can be forgiven with the gift of the Anova Nano sous vide wand. This small but powerful device turns just about any pot of water into an elegant way to cook steaks (or almost anything, really) to a precise temperature. It talks to your phone so you can go about your business and get an alert when your food’s done. If you are cooking steak, after you’re done with the sous vide, give it a quick sear on ripping hot pan or grill, and you have tender, juicy meat that will be the star of any meal. It’s also just $75, so it won’t break the bank. -Chris


Tovala Gen 2
One of the questions asked this year at SKS was whether, in a world where great food can be ordered with a click of a button, kitchens will even be necessary in the future? While some may see this choice between a kitchen/non-kitchen future as divergent, smart kitchen startup Tovala asks why we can’t live in a world where both food delivery and good home cooking coexists? We’ve tried the Tovala Gen 2, and found that for $349 (or $249 when you order 100 meals in advance), you get both an auto-piloted cooking appliance and a powerful steam oven for aspiring chefs in one tidy little package. -Mike

SO/Yourself/Partner


NutriMill Harvest Grain Mill
Baking bread may be a known stress reliever, but those of us who do it often come up against a couple frustrations: store-bought flour sucks, but versatile grain machines are expensive and hard to find. Enter the NutriMill Harvest Grain Mill, a countertop device that will grind soft or hard wheat, oats, rice, and just about any other grains, as well ad dry beans and lentils. So you can make bread to your heart’s content but also cereals and soup ingredients. Each machine is made from sustainably sourced bamboo, which makes it a nice-looking addition to the countertop, too. And at $229, it’s relatively affordable, depending on how avid you are about baking. Sure, bread has a lousy reputation nowadays, but a device that makes it easier to get your hands on fresh flour and other grains might just help change that. -Jenn

Joule + JouleReady bags
At $179, ChefStep’s Joule is not the cheapest sous vide on the market (that honor goes to the Anova Nano). However, it recently launched Joule Ready, a line of sous vide-ready bags filled with sauces like Thai Green Curry and Salsa Chamoy. Just scan the bag with your Joule app, fill with your choice of protein and cook for a pretty-finished meal, just add starch. Together, the Joule + Joule Ready combo would enable anyone — confident home cook or no — to make top-notch meals in under an hour. -Catherine


June Oven
Listen. The June Oven is big and it is not cheap ($600). But it’s actually seven appliances in one (oven, toaster oven, dehydrator, air fryer, etc.). To be honest, I don’t even use most of the functions because it’s become my primary oven. From salmon to chicken to leftover pizza, the June’s camera recognizes what you put in it and pre-set cook programs do the work for you (with no pre-heating!). It has changed my relationship to cooking, and by that I mean I actually cook now instead of ordering in. Plus, as the June becomes more of a platform (see: Whole Foods integration), it will only get smarter and more useful. -Chris


The Pizzaiolo Smart Pizza Oven
Ok, so it’s expensive ($800!). But if you really love that pizza lover (or yourself), you might want to sell that tanking Apple stock or Bitcoin and buy your loved one a Breville Pizzaiolo pizza oven. The new Breville Pizzaiolo can not only cook a pizza in as fast as 90 seconds using its three-element heating technology that can reach up to 750 degrees, but it can also emulate all your favorite pizza styles (wood-fired, Chicago style, pan and more). -Mike

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?

Tovala Introduces Second Generation Smart Oven for $349

When smart oven and meal delivery startup Tovala shipped their first generation oven in April of 2017, it was an impressive feat. Not only did the company deliver quickly and avoid the seemingly endless delays that often plague hardware crowdfunding campaigns, but the Chicago company also launched an accompanying meal delivery service for smart steam oven at the same time.

Since the quick execution on their initial product(s) showed Tovala doesn’t mess around, it’s perhaps not all that surprising the company is already back with act two: Today the Tovala unveiled their second generation smart oven, available immediately for purchase on the company’s website (and in a couple weeks on Amazon) for $349.

According to Tovala CEO David Rabie, a new and improved oven was always part of the plan.

“We’ve been working on this for over a year and its all driven by customer feedback,” said Rabie in a phone interview. “The whole idea was to put our product out there in homes, see what customers think, what they like and don’t like, and improve it.”

While Tovala has been able to improve the first generation oven over time through software and firmware upgrades, the company knew that there were some improvements that could only come in the form of an entirely new piece of hardware. So what’s different with the new Tovala?

Size. The first thing you notice first when comparing original oven and the new Tovala is the smaller size of the newer product.

“We heard over and over how valuable real estate was in the kitchen,” said Rabie.

The footprint of the new appliance is smaller than the original, 8 pounds lighter, all while keeping the internal cooking chamber the same size.

Steam Venting. While one of Tovala’s main attractions is its steam oven feature, the first generation Tovala vented a whole lotta steam during a cook session. Over time, that might be a problem for wood cabinets. With the new Tovala, they kept the steam oven functionality but have significantly reduced the amount of steam emitted by the oven.

Redesigned Interface. The biggest change with the Tovala is evident on the front of the oven. While the first generation Tovala UI was simple and sparse by design, it forced users of the oven to go to the app to do almost everything.

As Richard Gunther, a Kickstarter backer of the first oven, wrote in his review for the Spoon:

“For anything more specific or complicated than these slightly flawed Toast and Heat functions, you need to pull out your phone and use Tovala’s app.

…to use your oven.

If you want to, say, broil something for 6 minutes, you need to use the app. If someone in your household wants to heat something at 375° for 25 minutes, they’ll need to use the app. If your house-sitter or visiting in-laws want to cook someth—oh, let’s face it…they’re out of luck.”

Tovala heard the frustration voiced by Richard and other Tovala generation one users and completely redesigned the front of the oven, adding a significant amount of features that are accessible without the app.

“Sometimes people just want to push the button to broil or just want to bake without having to take out their phone,” said Rabie. ” We re-did the front of the oven so people can do that really easily.”

Results
While I never had a generation one, I’ve been testing the new Tovala for the past week (longer review to come) and my initial impression is the new oven strikes a nice balance between app control and on-device interface. With the app, I’m able to peruse recipes I can make by scratch and send optimized control instructions to the oven. I’m also able to track the process of a cooking session and get alerts. On the oven itself, I’m able to see progress of the oven via a on-device digital display, or see the temperature, I can also initiate baking, broil, reheat or steam functionality with a push of a button.

With the Tovala meals, you can also choose to forgo the app and simply hit the scan button and place the QR code on the package below the reader (though the appliance still needs to be connected to Wi-Fi to use read and cook a meal) and the oven automatically loads the multi-step cook session instructions. From there, you put in the food (usually two containers: a protein and a veggie/grain) and the oven will cycle through bake, steam and broil functions. I tested four meals and each were tasty and filling.

I also tried out one of the chef’s recipes in the app. While I like the idea of having ready-to-cook meals ready to insert into my oven, the reality is that I sometimes just want to make something quick and I won’t have a prepped Tovala meal to put into the oven.

I made an egg frittata, and liked how the app gave me a shopping list and instructions for preparing the meal. Once I had everything prepped and ready to cook in a small pan, I inserted it in the oven, hit “cook” on the app that sent cooking step instructions to the oven, which in the case of the frittata included bake, steam and broil.

In a few minutes I had my fritatta plated up and ready to eat.

While the Tovala isn’t as sensor packed as the June or offering any next-gen heating tech like the Brava, its comparatively lower price, steam functionality and meal service is something I think that appeals to a certain customer base. The oven is small and the packaged meals are meant for a single serving, so the night I tested out the Tovala I had to do four separate cooking session to feed my family of four (ed update: Tovala emailed and indicated it’s possible to cook multiple of the same Tovala meal at one time). While that’s obviously not ideal, my guess is the typical Tovala customer is someone who is looking for a way to make meals for one or two people quickly without a lot of work, and for that the Tovala does the job nicely.

Smart Kitchen Startup Tovala Opening Pop Up In Chicago This Summer

Tovala, a smart oven/food delivery startup from Chicago, is opening a pop up this summer in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of its home town.

The company hinted at their plans today via social media and indicated that the pop up would feature “classes, tastings, curated dinners and more.”

The move into creating an experiential consumer-facing locations is a trend that’s taken hold over the past year in the connected kitchen space. Fellow debuted a store-event space last year,  while Anova opened the doors to the Anova Kitchen in early June. Brava, another smart oven startup based in Redwood City, has plans to open a retail location in the next month in Palo Alto.

And now it’s Tovala’s turn. While the company isn’t sharing any additional details for now, it sounds like the space will be big enough for a variety of different gatherings ranging from dinners to demos to events.

We’ll update when we find out more about opening date and details about the Tovala pop up, so stay tuned..

Big Food Invests In The Future: A Talk With Tyson Ventures’ Tom Mastrobuoni

If you’ve listened to an investor conference call for a big food company lately, there’s a good chance you know the following:

  • Consumers are asking for healthier options and want to understand better where their food comes from.
  • The world’s population continues to grow in the face of an increasingly stressed food ecosystem.
  • Food brands are increasingly establishing direct relationships with consumers and exploring new business models that represent big departures from traditional food retail.

In short, big food is being forced to think about the future.

Some of the ways they are doing this are through partnerships, incubation and accelerator initiatives and establishing direct investment arms. Tyson Foods is doing all of the above, and one of the people at the heart of the company’s investment efforts is Tom Mastrobuoni, the CFO for Tyson Ventures, our guest for this week’s episode of the Smart Kitchen Show podcast.

One of the things I talk to Tom about Tyson’s recent investment in Tovala. The deal was interesting to me because it was Tyson’s first investment in a connected kitchen and food delivery startup, joining the group’s other investments in clean meat startups Beyond Meat and Memphis Meats.

Tom and I also talk about how Tyson and other companies are thinking about technologies such as AI, Blockchain and much more.

Have a listen below, download here or subscribe on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).

Tyson Bets On Home Food Delivery & Smart Kitchen With Investment In Tovala

Today Tyson Foods announced they have invested an undisclosed amount in Tovala, maker of smart steam ovens that pair with ready-to-cook home delivered meals. The investment comes on the heels of a $9.2 million series A announced in December. As part of the deal, Tyson will add an observer to Tovala’s board in Tyson Ventures managing director Reese Schroeder.

According to Tovala CEO David Rabie, the deal made sense for them as they started to look toward expanding the Tovala platform beyond their own meals.

“Over time, we will have other brands on the platform where we can automate the cooking, similar to how it works with Tovala meals,” said Rabie in an interview with The Spoon. “This (Tyson) is the first brand and harbinger of what’s to come.”

The move comes at an interesting time for big food companies like Tyson. Consumer packaged good providers are continuing to look for ways to reach the consumer as Amazon continues to wreak havoc on the retail landscape and consumers are increasingly exploring fresh food choices. Home food delivery is seen a potentially interesting – if still yet somewhat unproven – route to the consumer. The move by Tyson follows investments by other big food companies like Nestle, Unilever and Campbell into the home food delivery space.

What’s different about the Tyson’s investment is that with Tovala, they are also moving into the connected kitchen space. Tovala, an alum of the 2016 Smart Kitchen Summit startup showcase, is part of a growing trend of startups looking to pair food delivery with a smart cooking appliance.  Sous vide circulator startups like Nomiku and ChefSteps have both ventured into food delivery, and just this week Suvie, a new startup from the founder of Reviewed.com, is kicking off a Kickstarter campaign for a cooking robot that pairs with the company’s own meal kit delivery. Smart kitchen operating system startup Innit has hinted they will be working with white-label meal kit company Chef’d later this year.

It will be interesting to see where this trend combining automated, assisted cooking combined with meal delivery goes. For companies like Tovala and Suvie, meal delivery provides a form of recurring revenue that more hardware-specific startups like June struggle with. On the other hand, the logistical challenges of building out meal delivery services add more complexity to creating a company. Long term, all of these companies are chasing the idea of creating greater convenience for the consumer. It will no doubt be interesting to see which companies get the combination right and begin to see traction in 2018 and beyond.

The Founder of Reviewed.com Wants To Reinvent Cooking With This Robot Cooking Appliance

A hypothetical question: What do you do for a second act after spending a good chunk of your teens and twenties building one of the leading product review sites in the US?

You start a company to reinvent one of those product categories you used to review.

At least that’s what you do if you’re Robin Liss, cofounder of Suvie, a Boston based startup that is creating a next-gen cooking appliance. Liss, who started what would become Reviewed.com in her basement at the tender age of 13, sold her company to USA Today in 2011 and managed and grow the site as part of Gannett until she left in 2015.

While she didn’t leave Reviewed with plans to create a cooking appliance startup, it didn’t take long before Liss and her cofounder, Kevin Incorvia, conceived of what eventually became Suvie.

Robin Liss and Kevin Incorvia, cofounders of Suvie

“When I was leaving Reviewed.com, I thought I was going to enjoy my time on the beach,” said Liss when I sat down with her this week to talk about her new company. “But when I was at Reviewed I was really into sous vide cooking, and I thought how can I take this to the next level?”

That next-level cooking idea rolling around Liss’s head eventually crystallized into the Suvie, an ambitious new take at a countertop cooking appliance that includes multiple zones for each staple of a typical dinner: proteins, vegetables, starch, and sauces. Put simply, the Suvie cooks each staple separately using optimized processes for each (sous vide for the protein, steam for veggies, a water dispenser/chamber for starches) but syncs the process across the different cooking chambers so they are finished at the same time.

To top it off, Liss and Incorvia insisted on creating an appliance that enabled “cool to cook”, which means the Suvie would keep food chilled all day and initiate a cook remotely via an app. To do that, they started looking into adding refrigeration.

After looking at a variety of cooling methods like thermoelectric cooling (the cooling technology used in wine coolers and, somewhat notoriously after this Wired review, the Mellow), they decided the Suvie would use a compressor. Compressors are standard in most refrigerators, but the problem was they couldn’t find a compressor small enough for their countertop cooking appliance.

Eventually, they worked with a large appliance maker to have a custom compressor made for the Suvie.

“We have a custom, small compressor, which is one of the key parts that make this work,” said Liss.

But unlike a fridge, which cools by forcing coolant into coils and absorbing heat, the Suvie team decided to use water to cool the food. They came up with a novel water-routing concept that takes cold water from a water chamber and distributes it to water jackets in each of the four zones and chills the food until its ready to cook.

When Liss started thinking about her new company, there were a few underlying trends she felt made it the right time to try and reinvent cooking. One was the ubiquity of mobile phones. She saw mobile was becoming more important in people’s lives as a way to not only discover food but would also become they way control their cooking appliances.

She also saw the growth of precision cooking techniques like sous vide and connected appliances as a signal that things would change drastically in the consumer kitchen in coming years.

The last trend she focused on was the rise of meal kits, as she watched the emergence of first generation meal kit companies like Blue Apron and started to think about how they could incorporate meal delivery into their offering.

And it was this last trend that led to her other big idea. Unlike meal kit providers like Blue Apron that have their own warehouses and pack food for shipment, Liss wanted to create a product that they could open to a variety of food packers and distributors as a way to sell their products as part of a meal kit. In short, she saw the beginning of what could become a new distribution platform.

“[Meal kits] are the first step of what will eventually become a platform,” said Liss. “What we’re trying to do is build an appliance that can bridge the technology gap between existing food suppliers and the appliance that can cook it intelligently.”

This early focus on using a variety of food packers and distributors forced the company to make an open approach integral to the design of the Suvie appliance.

“There were some restrictive rules I put on our engineering team at the beginning,” said Liss. “One was we don’t want us packing our own food. The reason we did that is we wanted to make sure the existing food supply chain could easily pack for their device using the equipment on their floors.”

In a way, Suvie is emblematic of a new trend in the smart kitchen space where startups are looking to pair recurring meal subscriptions with smart cooking hardware. Tovala, Nomiku, and ChefSteps are other examples of companies going down this route but, according to Liss, Suvie has a bigger vision.

“That’s really important when you think about the business and platform because that way if new food brands want to pack for Suvie, they don’t have to build new cooking methods, they don’t have to precook stuff. The raw veggie guys don’t have to think about how long it takes to cook the chicken. They can just pack their raw vegetables like their doing now because of this platform.”

To assemble the final meal kits, Suvie has partnered with a local mission-driven organization in the Dorchester area of Boston that employs economically disadvantaged workers.

Liss said the company plans to launch a Kickstarter in February and plan to ship the product by the end of this year. If successful, the campaign will add to already $3.75 million in seed funding that the company has raised. Pricing for the Suvie will be announced next week when they unveil the Kickstarter campaign.

After more than two years working in stealth, Liss is excited to get what she unabashedly calls her “robot multizone cooking appliance” into the world.

“It’s so exciting and so much fun,” she said. “I do wish we got as much attention as the robot cars. I think it’s just as important a category as self-driving cars.”

You can listen to my full conversation with Robin Liss, founder of Suvie, below (or through Apple podcasts).

No End in Sight for Innovation in the World of Food Delivery

Commerce’s path, from mall-based retail foot traffic to the ‘90s bloated iteration of digital shopping leading to Amazon’s far-reaching store-to-door tentacles, may appear to have taken a circumventurous route. The exact opposite is true. From the early days of the web to today’s AI/VR-powered shop-on-voice command, the value proposition remains the same—convenience.

The major change from clunky versions of e/t/m/d-commerce (electronic, TV, mobile, digital) to a more transparent experience results from a focus on partnerships and a more realistic view of the value chain. Amazon, as an example, understands that it cannot alone drive the future of purchasing goods and services; the Seattle-based giant has amassed an array of teammates from grocery chains to CPG manufacturers to department stores with Alexa-powered kiosks. There was a time, not so long ago, when Apple, Amazon, Google, and Apple wanted to own every building block from manufacturing to consumer products. Time and a lot of failed experiments had led to more realistic aspirations in the world of commerce.

Grocery delivery is a case in point. Early 2018 points to some dramatic changes in the world of home shopping. Players in the space—big and small–are breaking the meal journey down to micro inflection points to hit consumers when they are taking actions (or inactions, as the case may be) where ordering fresh food and pantry staples are likely to take place. For example, the term “shoppable recipes” is especially buzzy as it refers to turning the passive act of reading a recipe into an actionable event. Companies such as Chicory, Fexy, Serious Eats, Amazon, and Kroeger are using technology to allow home cooks to order ingredients in real time for a given recipe while scanning the step-by-step process of making tonight’s dinner.

Another key inflection point in the meal journey is the delivery process with a focus on the delivery of groceries (and other items) to residences when no one is home to accept packages. Amazon’s 2017 announcement of its Amazon Key at-home product/service raised significant skepticism but “homeowner not present” delivery services are gaining traction in the new year. With an understanding that in successful partnerships each party does what it’s best at, lock maker August (owner by lock giant Assa Alboy) is expanding its August Access delivery service which allows delivery to homes where the owner is away. Teaming up with Deliv, a UPS-backed delivery startup, grocers (using the Deliv Fresh service) and other retailers can securely open the front door of a home to drop off a package.

“Through this unique partnership, we are bringing a bit of magic to the shopping experience,” said Daphne Carmeli, CEO of Deliv, in a statement. “Deliv provides the last mile fulfillment solution for a broad retailer network across the country while August Home supplies the technology to take the final step into the home for a totally seamless experience, start to finish.”

Other early stage opportunities in the meal journey take a series of inflection points and bundle them into a single solution. Tovala, a Kickstarter-funded manufacturer of smart ovens, tackles the chore of meal prep and the hassle of buying/ordering groceries by selling prepackaged meals that are geared to work with their appliances. A frozen meal’s barcode is scanned into the Tovala and the oven takes care of the rest.

All of these developments take us back to the value proposition of convenience as it relates to the meal journey. Consumers want to save time and have the ingredients for tonight’s dinner (or the dinner itself) magically arrive at the door (even when they are not home) but at what cost.  And who bears that cost? And how much are today’s busy millennials willing to spend? In the ultra-competitive grocery world Albertson, Kroger, Whole Foods/Amazon, Sprouts, and others may be willing to absorb the cost of home delivery just to win market share. On the other hand, if you buy a meal kit or want a hot meal delivered to your door, the cost hits your pocketbook with a premium for the convenience. For consumers engaged in the ever-changing meal journey, the cost-convenience continuum is at its earliest stage. Like the halcyon days of premium channels on cable, subscribers loaded up on Showtime, HBO, Cinemax and a few others only to be hit with the budget–blowing cable bills. In a world where the click of a mouse or a few kind words to Alexa can bring Peking Duck to your front door, or your 10th week of a meal kit service, everything is fine and dandy until your credit card bill arrives.

Yes, life sure was convenient—but at what cost?

Drop Kitchen Nabs $8 Million In Funding As Kitchen Tech Investment Heats Up

Drop Kitchen, a smart kitchen software startup based in Ireland and San Francisco, just received an $8 million Series A funding round led by Alsop Louie Partners. The round, which also included investments from Frontline, WI Harper and Irish celebrity chef Ross Lewis, brings the total investment in Drop to nearly $12 million.

According to Drop, the company plans to use the funds to “continue development of Drop’s KitchenOS platform for connected appliances in the smart kitchen of the future as well as to support the company’s partnerships with appliance manufacturers worldwide.”

The news is further indication the market for kitchen tech investments is heating up. Just yesterday we heard that June had received additional investment through Amazon’s Alexa fund, while a couple weeks ago The Spoon broke the news that Tovala had raised $9.2 million in Series A funding.

For Drop, the funding is a validation of the company’s new strategy, which marks a departure from the company’s initial focus on creating its own hardware (the Drop scale) and instead focusing on developing a software platform (Drop KitchenOS) for partners such as Bosch and GE.

As part of the announcement, Drop also indicated that well known venture capitalist Stewart Alsop, founder of Alsop Louie, will join the board.  The company also indicated that Chef Ross Lewis will help lend his expertise in developing the company’s platform and wants to utilize Drop technology in his own kitchen.

“I have always known that smart technologies were going to become incredibly important in the kitchen — so much so that I built my own digital recipe system for Chapter One’s kitchen,” Lewis told The Spoon. “When I saw Drop’s app, I knew it was the future and I wanted to integrate it into our kitchen here. I am working closely with the team to share my culinary expertise to guide all future developments, and look forward to adding recipes myself.”

I had a chance to ask Drop CEO Ben Harris a few questions about the news. You can see our interview and the full announcement below.

You indicated the capital will be for further expanding Drop’s kitchen OS and to support its appliance partners – can you be more specific on this? (hire headcount/developers, etc)?

Harris: We have been incredibly efficient with the small bit of capital we have brought in to date, by working both hard and smart. We intend to continue in that vein by investing in areas that we feel is most important to our partners and users.

There seems to be an increasing number of efforts to provide kitchen software platforms to big appliance makers. How is Drop different from other companies in terms of technology?

Harris: The kitchen is getting more and more complicated, not less. We have cooking food processors, pressure cookers, temperature probes, steaming ovens – and much more to come as more sensors are being added to the kitchen. Yet recipes (one of the most popular content medias online) know nothing about individual kitchens or their owners. They are therefore only shared with the lowest common denominator of functionality, leveraging the most basic and generic of appliances e.g “roast in an oven for X time at temperature Y”. Even non-connected kitchen appliances are capable of so much more. Drop’s responsive recipe format and technology adapts recipes to you and your kitchen – to allow those you and your appliances to shine. Through this adaptation, we ensure users get to fully benefit from the decades of research and development that manufacturers have been putting into their appliances, and through an incredibly intuitive experience. Resulting in an equivalent leap of turning a featureful WAP phone into an iPhone.

When will we see GE and Bosch products with Drop software?

Harris: Right now you can connect and control over 100 models of GEA, Bosch, Siemens and Neff ovens from the Drop Recipes App, with more to come.

Amazon announced the cooking capabilities built into the Alexa Smart Home API today – how is Drop working to build in new interfaces such as voice to enable people to cook in new ways?

Harris: Right now, all I can say is – we understand how important voice is for the kitchen.

The Drop Scale is still available for sale on Amazon – is Drop continuing to produce its own hardware?

Harris: The Drop Scale is simply a reference design as to how well hardware and software should integrate in the kitchen. We are 100% focused on the software platform right now, with our appliance partners building the hardware.

Any particular plans or ways in which Chef Lewis will be involved?

Harris: Yes – Ross is now involved in our development cycles. His culinary expertise is guiding our features and appliance integration/control strategies.

Drop Kitchen’s Full Announcement:

Smart Kitchen Company Drop Secures $8M in Funding Led by Alsop Louie Partners

San Francisco, CA and Dublin, Ireland (January 4, 2018) – Smart kitchen company Drop, today announced that it has closed $8 million in Series A venture financing, led by Alsop Louie Partners with participation from internal investors Frontline and WI Harper, and Ireland’s top chef, the Michelin-starred Ross Lewis. Drop also announced that Founder and lead Partner, Stewart Alsop has joined the company’s board of directors.

The money will be used for working capital to continue development of Drop’s KitchenOS platform for connected appliances in the smart kitchen of the future as well as to support the company’s partnerships with appliance manufacturers worldwide.

In 2017, Drop launched partnerships with Bosch and GE Appliances, making it possible for owners of connected ovens to control them straight from a recipe on the Drop platform. This coming year, the company will be announcing multiple new partnerships with the world’s largest appliance brands.

“This investment will allow us to accelerate our trajectory towards becoming the de facto platform for the smart kitchen that empowers anyone to make delicious food at home,” said Ben Harris, CEO and co-founder. “We found the perfect investor in Stewart Alsop and the team at Alsop Louie, who bring experience in growing global platforms such as Twitch, and Stewart himself has a wealth of indispensable experience, leading NEA’s investment in TiVo and sitting on Sonos’ board for seven years.”

“We invested in Drop Kitchen because Ben and his team have a real vision for how to transform the basic cultural experience of cooking and consuming food in the home, as well as making it more entertaining and engaging,” said Stewart Alsop, partner, Alsop Louie Partners. “We think Drop can make that experience magical by partnering with every consumer appliance maker around the world.”

Tovala Raises $9.2M Series A Round to Fund Expansion

Tovala, the smart countertop oven plus prepared meal kit service, today announced that it has raised a $9.2 million Series A round of funding led by Origin Ventures. This brings the total amount raised by Tovala to $13.14 million.

The money will be used to grow both its user base and the company. In an interview, Co-Founder and CEO David Rabie said Tovala currently has 24 full time employees and will grow to 40 – 50 people across all departments over the next year. Additionally, Tovala will look to add a second production facility on the West Coast to reduce shipping times.

The funding comes at an interesting time for the meal kit space. Blue Apron has stumbled since going public earlier this year. Meal kit companies like Nomsly are becoming more specialized. And more companies like First Chop are offering a similar hardware and meal kit combination services. Oh, and giants like Amazon and Walmart are poised to make a huge impact.

Rabie, however, believes that Tovala has struck the right balance freshness, taste and convenience for customers. Unlike Blue Apron, Tovala preps and par cooks the meals for you, and the cloud-connected steam oven cooks the whole meal at once with the push of a button.

While he wouldn’t give specific stats, Rabie says that there are Tovala users in all 48 continental United States ranging from 23 year old grad students to 85 year olds. Tovala also plans to invest more in its community tools over the next year so people can share their recipes and experiences.

Our own experience with the Tovala was mixed. Writing for The Spoon, Tovala Kickstarter backer, Richard Gunther, thought the food was delicious but the functionality was limited and clean up was difficult.

Rabie said that they would be open to partnering with outside meal kit services and have gotten a lot of inbound interest, but it’s not a part of any near term plans. There are also no near-term plans for a second-gen oven. It’s something Rabie says they’ve thought about, but if they were to do something, it wouldn’t be significantly different.

The current Tovala oven sells for $399 as a standalone device, with the price dropping to $299 if you order four box meals and $199 if you order 24 box meals.