Categories
Food and Beverage

PopcornBall s a sphere of cheer to season salty snacks

Popcorn comes in many different flavors. With the help of seasonings, spicing up popcorn is simple. Mixing the seasonings in, however, can be a bit more difficult. As a lightweight food, popcorn doesn’t ever want to stay in the bowl when being tossed. The PopcornBall is designed specifically for mixing popcorn and other foods as well. Simply put the popcorn and seasoning in the ball, close the lid and spin it around. The popcorn can be eaten directly out of the ball. One will cost backers $15 which includes seasonings for estimated delivery in May 2015. PopcornBall hopes to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter.

PopcornBall is one of those products that may make food preparation easier, but clutters up the kitchen. While it may make popcorn up-spicing easier, the space it takes up may not be worth it. However, PopcornBall would make a great gift for anyone who consumes large amounts of popcorn.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Connected Ozz mixer gets lit up before you do

Unless you’re a bartender or, dare we say it, mixologist, making cocktails can be a bit of a mystery. There are so many recipes to try and getting the exact measurements for several ingredients can be tricky. Ozz helps you embody your inner Moe. This product features a lit up drink stand that monitors the ingredients going into your drink with an Android and iOS compatible app. This app features recipes, reviews, your own custom drink list and suggestions for how to fix a drink. It tells you to add a little bit more of this or that so that you have the perfect cocktail. One will cost backers €99 with estimated delivery for April 2015 from the Netherlands. Ozz is hoping to raise €150,000 on Kickstarter.

Ozz is a rather fancy and somewhat pricey way to make drinks. Still, it presents endless possibilities for novice drink-makers and even for bartenders looking to up their game. This product offers fun training with the even more fun reward of a perfect cocktail at the end. Some may ponder the need for such a first-world niche product, however others will certainly be on board with adult drinks made better by smart technology.

Categories
Kids/Babies

Quix baby bottle makes parents twist, quiets baby’s shout

The Premise. Powdered baby formula and being mobile just don’t go together very well. Of course, there’s always the premade canned stuff that’s far more expensive. Leave it to prolific parents to come up with a much more workable solution for busy parents and baby caregivers.

The Product. The Quix baby bottle claims to reduce stress and mess by offering a baby bottle that keeps powder and water separate until the demand to blend arises. The two components are stored in one convenient baby bottle container, but are separated by a closed valve. Before rushing out the door with baby, powder goes in the bottom portion, water in the top portion, and ring, nipple and plastic cover seal the top. Then when you’re on location and baby decides that it’s time to eat, mom, dad, or perhaps a helpful sibling opens the valve, shakes, and baby gets the easily digestible version of bone apatite. Aaah, hear that? Peace and quiet for all involved.

The Pitch. The cost of a music license is likely all that kept the old 1961 Twist and Shout song written by Bill Medley and Bert Berns  out of the campaign vid/eo. Maybe some major company will pick up on that if this product makes it out of the crowdfunding stage. Anyway, thiere is nothing quixotic about the Quix. In fact, it’s so user friendly that, uh, yes, a child could do it. So, a great deal of detail really wasn’t needed to explain this product to viewers.

The Perks. There are 11 tiers from which backers may choose. For $25, backers get one Quix baby bottle and a guarantee of radically reduced crying…until it’s time to change the diaper anyway. Expected delivery for Quix is October 2014.

The Potential. As new parents are tirelessly reminded, breastfeeding is best, but there’s still a huge market for baby formula. The Quix seems to uniquely solve a problem common to many parents of babies, a group that’s always looking for a little extra help wherever they can find it.