The Premise. Who doesn’t get excited at the revolutions being made possible every day by advancements in the field of 3D printing? And who doesn’t want a personal robo-chef to crank out elegantly designed plates with no effort whatsoever? Here’s what happens when these two exciting ideas are combined.
The Product. Designed to make healthy eating easier and revolutionize the home cooking process once more, the pun-tastic Foodini is a consumer-grade 3D printer that is meant to bring out the best in fresh ingredients. Using a series of reusable capsules that food can be mashed or pureed into, and then after selecting a recipe and design, the Foodini goes to work. For those worried about how to operate a 3D printer, the Foodini has a touch screen panel on the front that connects to its own site where templates can be downloaded and used, recipes can be bookmarked, and even uploaded and shared. From there, Foodini says what to put in when and handles the rest.
The Pitch. Co-founder of Natural Machines Lynette Kucsma introduces us to the Foodini and initially shows that it can make something that looks like farmer’s market baby food, but as the video goes on, and through the campaign photos, it’s quickly mouthwatering just what can be made with this printer. Anxieties about learning a new kitchen tool are also laid to rest with simple diagrams outlining how easy it is to operate a Foodini. Natural Machines needs to raise $100,000 to put together the community site and begin mass production.
The Perks. Unsurprisingly, a Foodini will set backers back $999, $300 off the retail price, and can start impressing everybody else by January of 2015. Those who don’t want to wait can pay extra for an earlier production run, the earliest being available October 2014 for backers who pledge $2,000.
The Potential. It’s impossible not to be excited about the idea of having a 3D food printer in the home. While it’s still a ways off from replicating an Irish breakfast or even downloading pizza rolls, Foodini takes all the convenience of eating out of cans and boxes and brings it to fresh, healthy ingredients. The price point is enticingly low, especially considering that a microwave cost over $10,000 in today’s dollars when they hit the market. It may seem extravagant now, but this is a clear sign of a new era for stomachs everywhere.