You didn’t think that you were going to escape Foodie Friday without a missive from me, did you? This week our story is a little sad (OK, quite sad for those involved) but instructive as well.
You know that I’m a huge fan of sous vide cooking. In fact, I wrote all about those feelings just about 5 years ago after I received my first immersion circulator. To review, you French scholars out there will recognize that the term means “under vacuum.” You place whatever you’re cooking into a plastic bag, extract the air, and seal it. The bag (or bags) is placed in a water bath. The immersion circulator holds the water at a steady temperature which is the desired end temperature of the food.
All those years ago, immersion circulators cost around $1,000 and were not really marketed to the home cook. I remember watching the Top Chef contestants using them but not fully understanding that this was a tool that could be widely marketed to the home market as well if the cost could be brought down.
Enter our subject today. I’ll let TechCrunch take it from here:
Founded in 2012, Nomiku became a plucky Silicon Valley darling by bringing affordable sous vide cooking to home kitchens…The company was able to bring a cost-prohibitive cooking technology down to an affordable price point, only to see the market flooded by competitors.
This is a perfect case study for businesspeople. First, the company was founded to solve a problem the founders had. Importantly, they realized that many others – home cooks who were aware of sous vide but who couldn’t afford a $1,000 kitchen toy – had the same problem. They raised money (on Kickstarter), solved the engineering and production problems, and produced a beautiful product for $300.
Unfortunately, an immersion circulator isn’t really a defensible idea. Sure, you might be able to protect certain elements but as most computer manufacturers found out during the PC boom, there’s kind of a race to the bottom. I actually have two immersion circulators in my home now and neither costs more than $200. The Nomiku is still listed as costing more.
How does Apple manage to market products that cost significantly more than its competitors? Because they differentiate the bulk of their products. The function differently. They’ve got better security. For the most part, an immersion circulator does what it does. Sure, bells and whistles such as Bluetooth and timers can help justify a higher price, but sadly, not in this case.
Could they have foreseen that a lab products company would migrate into making products for cooks? Who knows, but it does remind us that having a great idea and even great execution isn’t necessarily enough. If the idea is great, competitors will be at your door quite soon. You must always be looking at how to stay one step ahead while building up defensibility on your rear. Easier said than done, I know, but the business world is unforgiving as these folks found out.
Consult Keith 