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GOURMET NEWS MARCH 2015 www.gourmetnews.com Small Electrics SMALL ELECTRICS 4 1 Sponsored by S M A R T A P P L I A N C E S Smart Appliances Offer Convenience, Problem Solving and a Glimpse of the Future BY AMBER GALLEGOS The dawn of smart kitchen appliances has arrived, and it is not just for large items like refrigerators or stoves either. Over the last few years, products labeled as "smart" have been on the rise. Initially based in the tech- nology category of phones and tablets, the label is gradually seeing an increased pres- ence in a variety of categories throughout the home. Now, small electrics are getting the smart treatment, acting as the gateway appliance to the eventual connected home. For some, it may be difficult to grasp the value of a kitchen appliance that connects to an online app. Retailers might ask themselves or find cus- tomers wondering precisely what the point is: "Will they be more expensive?" "Do I really need those features?" However, the aim of the smart appliance is ulti- mately to solve problems encountered in everyday life in a way that does not add extra effort to the situation. Rather, these appliances blend seamlessly into a lifestyle by adding conven- ience. Belkin is a definite proponent of this stance. The company's WeMo™ system started out with smart plugs in 2012 that are app-controlled, so any appliance can be plugged in and then accessed through the WeMo app by phone or tablet. Belkin got word that customers were using the setup for their kitchen appliances. and after en- countering Jarden Corporation at the Con- sumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the idea for the Crock-Pot ® Smart Slow Cooker with WeMo was born and then brought to market this past fall. A Mr. Coffee ® 10-Cup Smart Optimal Brew™ Coffeemaker with WeMo was rolled out shortly thereafter. The Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker al- lows consumers to adjust, manage and monitor their slow cooker from anywhere using a smartphone or tablet. The first smartphone-controllable slow cooker, the WeMo app enables users to receive notifi- cations, change the cooking time, adjust the temperature, turn the slow cooker off or check the status of their meal quickly and easily from anywhere at any time. It has a 6-quart capacity and retails for $129.99. With the Mr. Coffee Smart Coffee Maker, users can brew, schedule and monitor the device through the WeMo app. A week's worth of brew times can be scheduled, and users can check to make sure the cof- feemaker has a full tank of water or that the carafe is in place. One can also remotely set up reminders and receive alerts when the water filter needs changing or the cof- feemaker needs to be cleaned. It has a sug- gested retail price of $149.99. The WeMo-enabled appliances give the customer all the information they would receive if they were standing next to the machine but from wherever they might be. If you are late coming home from work, simply adjust the Crock-Pot temperature to avoid disaster and still come home to a per- fectly cooked meal. If you feel like sleeping in on Sunday morning, change the brew time on the Smart Coffee Machine from your phone while still in bed. Plus, all WeMo devices can be con- trolled through a single app, so customers can sim- ply add on appliances as they grow their connected home. "WeMo is the most ap- proachable entry point to the connected home," says Peter Taylor, Director of Product Management for WeMo. "We're trying to ap- peal to those people who have yet to embrace the smart home by offering something truly compelling in terms of solving problems. Let's say you've got a bread maker, or you've got a little fan, or you've got some lights, you can control all of those with the same app that's control- ling your coffee maker. That's important be- cause consumers don't want to have to learn five different apps. They don't want to set up five different products in five dif- ferent ways. Our setup is the same for every product, and our app is the same for every product, so it just makes that whole jour- ney for a consumer a lot easier to get their problem-solving products in their life." Escali takes a different approach to everyday problem-solving through the SmartConnect Kitchen Scale – this time focus- ing on consumer inter- est in a healthy lifestyle and eating right. The kitchen scale sends wireless measurements to the Escali Smart- Connect app on mo- bile devices for detailed nutrition analysis, to create a food journal or simply measure in cups and tablespoons. The kitchen scale also con- nects with Escali's SmartConnect Body Scale in the app to help users realize the connection between their diet and their body. The app can calculate BMI and create a graph of the data based on the informa- tion from the body scale. Customers using both the kitchen and body scale can use one app to keep track of all the information they are collecting about their meals and weight. "Users can compare their diet to their weight because from what we understand, half of the effort in terms of losing weight or maintain- ing weight has to do with your nutrition and what you're eat- ing," says Noah Har- ber, Escali Marketing and Brand Manager. "We're just trying to make a connection between your diet and your body." The kitchen scale provides information on 35 different nutri- ents that are displayed similarly to the nu- trition labels found on packaged foods, adding familiarity for the user. Nutrition in- formation is based on a database provided by the USDA of over 8,000 food items. The scale has a Bluetooth connection to the app so that weights are displayed on the scale and in the app in real time. If you weigh out a portion of food and decide it is too much or too little, the app and the scale will re- flect any additions or subtractions as they take place. "We wanted to make sure that we were on the leading edge of scale technology. Our tagline is 'Measuring What's Next,' so we're always looking towards future trends and we saw that there were devices that started to become connected to apps," says Harber. "We also realized that by doing this you can update the app and thus update the prod- uct continually, even after it's been purchased by the consumer. So it adds a lot of value there." The ability for continual up- dates is a key fea- ture for Pure I m a g i n a t i o n 's Perfect Drink and Perfect Bake sys- tems. These devices are essentially smart scales that connect to an app using patented technology. However, they are so much more, as they also walk the user through the steps of making a baked good or cocktail without having to measure a single ingredient or flip through the pages of a recipe book. The apps tell users which component to add and then do all the measuring for them, sounding a ding to tell them when to stop. The apps display a vir- tual glass or bowl that fills up as ingredients are being added on the scales. Perfect Bake includes a smart scale, three color-coded bowls, an oven thermometer, tablet/phone stand and complete access to the app. Users can select a recipe from the hundreds included in the app, modify one of these recipes or add their own original recipe. Recipes can be selected by ingredi- ent or category or searched for by keyword to bring up suggestions. Users can also add items that they have on hand through the Pantry Feature, which will then suggest recipes they are able to make based on the ingredients they have entered. Perfect Bake will even scale recipes based on the bake- ware the cook intends to use. For example, if a recipe calls for a 9-inch round pan but only a 10-inch square pan is available, the recipe will be adjusted. And if a user has a limited amount of a certain ingredient, that component can be measured first and the app will then automatically readjust all of the other ingredient amounts and let you know how many servings you are able to make. Once a recipe and a quantity have been selected, the app will then walk the user through adding ingredients, telling them when to stop and start each as they go along. The included bowls are used for wet ingredients, dry ingredients and for mixing. Next, a mix timer will inform which attach- ment to use, what speed to set the mixer at, and how long to mix. Once the batter is Continued on PAGE 42

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