Category: Food and Beverage

Categories
Food and Beverage Technology

Barobot mixes drinks from up to 12 bottles at once, won’t hear your sob story

The Premise. Getting home from a hard day at the office or throwing a party for friends would be better if nobody had to play bartender the whole night. One can always pour their own cocktails, but getting the ratios right can be difficult and what should be refreshing can turn out overpowering.

The Product. The Barobot is a shelf-top device for top-shelf liquor that can hold up to 12 bottles and pour perfect shots into a cup as it moves it back and forth down the alcoholic assembly line. With an open source, open platform design, the Barobot is completely customizable — from the LED lighting displays to the touch-screen interface that makes ordering any drink a snap. New cocktails can be added to the menu easily, and for those that want to have a drink waiting for them, a tablet can be used to place a drink order so that by the time the walk to the Barobot is completed, so is the beverage.

The Pitch. The Barobot pitch is just like its design: colorful, playful, and inviting. The idea alone of a robot that makes drinks for an entire party is something to smile about. The Barobot team is wise not to get too involved in the technical side of things, going so far as to compare assembling the device to playing with LEGO. Barobot is looking to raise £90,000 to handle production of the device.

The Perks. The Barobot is available to supporters for £774, complete with all of the necessary hardware in choice of color, and the app. For those that doubt their construction skills, the fully assembled version is available for £1,479, and those that want a one-of-a-kind personal touch can have their Barobot customized for £3,499. The first batch will ship in August, with more in September of 2014.

The Potential. Between the high-class image that comes with owning a bartending robot, the quality parts, and the open source design, the Barobot is a very tempting item to consider owning. The price point is a little high for a device that moves cups and pours shots, however, no matter how trendy it looks. It’s a shame to be turned off by the price alone when the rest of the machine is extremely likeable, but it will probably prove to be a price point too high for all but the most affluent of home technology show-offs.

Categories
Food and Beverage Health and Wellness

Podlife Shaker serves up pods to help your bod

The Premise. Many believe that one key to optimal workouts is nourishing your body with the correct supplements. With proper nutrition, your muscles are better able to bulk up the way you want them to. You also avoid the dangers of becoming undernourished or dehydrated.

The Product. Taking a cue from popular single-cup coggee brewers, Podlife offers several different supplemental powders featuring different flavors such as Whey Protein in Chocolate & Vanilla, Thermogenic Fat Burning Whey Protein, Pre-Workout in Tropical Pine, Nootropics Pod, and SuperGreens: 100% Vegan Superfood. With the 300ml Podlife Shaker, health nuts can keep a pod safe in the bottom of their bottles and then simply push down to release the powder into the water and shake to mix it up. The Podlife Shaker looks like a simple, clear water bottle with black trim. It comes apart and is dishwasher safe for easy cleaning.

The Pitch. This Australian-made product’s video shows Podlife being used by beefy Aussies in the gym. The rest of the campaign talks about the products, shows the different pods being sold as well as pods that are slated for manufacturing in the future. Podlife is also donating 30 grams of rice to Rice for Cambodia for each pod sold. The podophiles hopes to raise $55,000 USD in a  45-day Indiegogo campaign.

The Perks. For $38, backers can enjoy the Podlife Shaker and a box set of 12 assorted pods. Higher reward tiers offer lots of bulk packages of pods and shakers alike. All tiers include free shipping to the US and Australia.

The Potential. People seem to love anything that combines health with convenience. Other bottles like the PROMiXX offer safe supplement storage, but don’t come in conveniently portioned out pods. PROMiXX, however, doesn’t rely on shaking, but has its own agitating device to make mixing easier. Based on the success of Keurig machines that offer coffee, tea and iced tea beverages, Podlife could have strong appeal to gym rats to keep themselves supplemented up before and after exercising, but of course one key will be making it easy and affordable to get the pods.

Categories
Food and Beverage

SnacDaddy lets your hot wings put their fire in the hole

SnacDaddyRibs, chicken wings, shrimp cocktail, and olives are all great foods to serve at parties. The only problem is that all leave behind inedible waste. SnacDaddy is a food platter perfect for these types of foods. It has slots to separate foods such as ribs, but that also won’t get in the way for other goods. A hole in the middle can hold sauce and also accesses the bottom layer that holds waste. Simply drop your bones, shrimp tails and pits into the hole so that they’re out of sight until clean up time. SnacDaddy costs backers $20 for delivery in July 2014. This platter hopes to gather $9,000 on Indiegogo.

Categories
Food and Beverage

The Shot Timer makes for spirited drinking games

Shot TimerIt’s amazing what idle minds can dream up. And the creators of The Shot Timer aren’t wasting any time capitalizing on a new way to encourage party memories that might be warm if they weren’t so fuzzy. The hourglass shaped imbibing tool can be used with any drinking game and beverage of attendees’ delight, whether alcoholic or not. A participant’s game activity must be completed before the “libation” drains from the top shot glass to the bottom one. Once it hits bottom, so does the player, who must then gulp one down and pass it around to the next player. For $5, backers receive the glass festoon with an expected delivery of July 2014.

Categories
Connected Objects Food and Beverage

Pizza Bite Button summons extra cheese, avoids extra effort

Pizza Bite ButtonItalian eaters and pizza enjoyers usually order pizza quite a bit. The worst part about ordering is trying to talk to your favorite pizza joint over the clanking of pots and pans and angry Italian patrons. The Pizza Bite Button is a magnetic button that, when pushed, orders a preset list of items to your favorite local pizza place. This button even pays automatically as well. Backers must shell out a whopping $100 for this product with an estimated delivery date of September 2014. Lazy pizza eaters may opt to just pick up the phone instead. The Pizza Bite Button hopes to raise $56,000 in its 45-day Indiegogo campaign.

Categories
Arts Cooking Food and Beverage

Cinnibird lets you draw faces in your froth

CinnibirdFor those who never really listened when told to quit playing with their food, CinniBird will appeal to that inner child, or maybe artist, or better yet, prankster although some practice is likely needed to create the fine art . When this kitchen gadget is filled with cinnamon (and AA batteries), food and beverages become a small canvas for creativity, provided the user has a steady hand and a sense of a smattering of talent and creativity. For $10, backers get one Cinnibird pen with an expected delivery of June 2014. If backers live outside of Hungary, an extra $10 will be needed for international shipping costs.

Categories
Food and Beverage Kids/Babies

Sili Squeeze is just the container for when you’re feeling mushy

The Premise. Children or recovering medical patients tend to stick with smoother foods, like purees and sauces. The only problem with eating these is that they can be really messy and are definitely not portable. Food manufacturers offer foods that come in these pouches, but are always disposable. This can result in a solution that’s less ecologically friendly and offers less choice.

The Product. The Sili Squeeze is a silicone food pouch designed for smoother foods. The removable lid makes it easy to wash the pouch and dispense food into it. The spout has a cover on it to prevent messes. This product comes in several different colors and one other variation called the Sili Squeeze with Eeze which is a more free-flowing version.

The Pitch. For a relatively wet product, the campaign video is a little dry, but does go into some cool details about how the Sili Squeeze is (accidentally) great for medical patients and special needs children. The campaign also shows prototypes and pictures of some adorable kids using the products. Sili Squeeze is aiming to raise $25,000 in a 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. The 2 oz. Sili Squeeze goes for an early price of $15. A 4 oz. version costs $19 and a 6 oz. only $20. Other tiers offer different combination packs of these pouches with an estimated delivery date of July 2014. Reward tiers go up to $100.

The Potential. The pouch is perhaps the least appreciated food receptacle. As mentioned in the campaign video, food manufacturers offer disposable pouches, but these can be quite expensive. Similar products, like the Squooshi Reusable Food Pouch offer food pouches in the same way, but are geared only towards children and customer reviews show that they’re hard to clean. The Sili Squeeze offers a unique and portable way to eat pureed foods over and over again. Its added benefit of accessibility to toddlers, hospital patients and special needs children makes it all the more versatile.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Muddle Buddy makes mixing muddled drinks less yucky

Muddle BuddyA muddled cocktail may be one of the more messy things that a person can order from the bar. Either the juice splashes out of the glass as the bartender pounds away, or the bartender puts their hand over the glass during the pounding process, which means that any germs or bacteria that happen to be on the bartender’s hand are dripping into the drink (that is, if the bartender’s blender happens to be broken). Though alcohol kills germs and bacteria (which may mean the mixed drink is better sanitized than the burgers assembled by a teen at a favorite burger joint) Muddle Buddy may be appreciated by bartenders because of its splash shield mess reducing design. For $15, backers get their very own buddy to muddle, with an anticipated delivery of September 2014.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Kickstick mixes a bottle and straw for imbibing fun

KickstickMost people have no trouble drinking shots or mixed drinks, but in case you’ve ever run into trouble, try Kickstick. This versatile product is a mini liquor or energy drink holder. By removing the bottom, the drinker can shoot whatever is in the tube or easily mix the liquid into another drink. The top functions as a straw and makes it easy to drink on the go. Kickstick is perfect for frat bros or college students who need to get liquor into their bodies even faster than normal. The fun but brazen campaign doesn’t say this, so we will… drink responsibly. One of these receptacles costs backers $25 with a delivery date of July 2014. Kickstick needs to raise $10,000 in its 30-day campaign.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Off Piste Shot Ski Holders brings ski parties to dizzying new levels

Off Piste Shot Ski HoldersCongratulations! You didn’t bust your leg out on the slopes today. Time to celebrate with a friends by imbibing from shot glasses resting on a ski. The Off Piste Shot Ski Holders is here with that task. Rubber grommets will keep your glass from tumbling, and the blocks will keep it level on the ski while you pour. The double sided tape on the bottom makes for simple mounting. If you want to make it a double on party tools, Bong Along offers a “new and improved” beer bong. For $55, backers get all the pieces to the product for their assembly pleasure. Expected delivery is July 2014.