The history of kitchen appliance development

Where did the idea come from?

It all started on that quiet summer evening when one of my colleagues and I were sitting on the terrace talking. He, who has been hunting and fishing for a long time, regularly shared his adventure stories with me.

 

 

Of course, this story is not about killing a deer! A person who walks in the forest, hunts or indulges in fishing will, in any case, acquire expertise in gastronomy as well.

And while walking in nature, we unintentionally become experts in forest fruits, plants, and natural spices sooner or later.

 

 

And then there is mushroom picking and gathering, which can make our forest walk even more special and valuable.

It follows directly from all of this that the fisherman, hunter, and gatherer must excel not only in hunting, processing or preparing a feast but also in long-term be professional in safe food storage.

Although the latter is a highly diverse topic, it is generally agreed that knowledge and use of vacuum packaging are essential.

Although our fellow hunter was already a frequent and experienced user of the so-called electric household vacuum packaging machines, he came across an inventive, simple, cheap solution that complements the aforementioned vacuum foil method.

This combines a vacuum pump and a vacuum valve, with which mason jars can be used as vacuum containers. And in these, we can efficiently store valuable food ingredients or even ready-made meals.

 

Controversial experience with a product already on the market

What a surprise, it was an imported product sold for 30 £, and only the vacuum valve cost nearly 2 £ each. That inspired us to browse the Internet to find cheaper options immediately.

 

After a short time, we found it on Amazon for £15 (half the price above).

Luckily, my younger brother was finishing his PhD studies in England, so we asked him to bring one for our dear friend, thus saving the shipping cost.

This kitchen tool was excellent and worked well for a while. Later, unfortunately, the handle broke after a few weeks of use and therefore had to be thrown away.

 

Our inspiration and ability to design and manufacture plastic products

We put our heads together with our hunting friend: what should we do?

• We cannot justify a guarantee,
• It would cost a lot to buy a new one in Hungary, and we would not have liked to do it because of the disappointment.
• The Takaje valves remained unusable on us.

 

However, we have experience in designing and manufacturing plastic parts. We decided to produce a better, cheaper and widely compatible practical kitchen tool.

The idea was brilliant: replacing expensive vacuum storage containers with mason jars. Thus, let's make vacuum storage available to less affluent consumers who are sensitive and demanding food quality.

 

We were motivated to save food with a better and cheaper tool.

An interview we were listening to on the radio at the time also increased our commitment.

A conversation with a Hungarian Food Bank Association employee drew our attention to food waste. A lot of food is destroyed by not reaching consumers in time.

And this is just a logistical and storage issue. With more extended shelf life, we can reduce the amount of spoiled food!

 

Market research and analysis of existing solutions

After short market research, we found at least 50 types of similar vacuum pumps. With the possible exception of one, these could only be used for wine corks, venting wine bottles and vacuum vessels with a special valve.

Each manufacturer strove to ensure that their devices could only be used within their systems, i.e. never in the others.

So that a purchased vacuum pump cannot be used for another brand of plug or container!

We even came across a ridiculous solution where the mouth opening of the pump and the associated wine seals or valves were designed to have a square cross-section.

This makes compatibility impossible.

 

In contrast, our design principles were the followings:

 

Our design principles

• the most excellent possible compatibility: interchangeability with the products of other manufacturers and also within the own system, i.e. the valve can be used on the cork and mason jar as well,
• searching for the cheapest solution: both in terms of our products and the vacuum tanks that can be used,
• the lowest shipping cost: for valves and vacuum stoppers, ensuring the lowest possible weight and the possibility of shipping in an envelope. (traditional corks cannot be delivered due to their size, as they cannot be sent through a mailbox)
• production flexibility: i.e. providing as many colour variation options as possible. The other manufacturers usually have 1 to 3 colours.

 

Result

We have achieved our goals.

Our vacuum pumps are compatible with those of most competing manufacturers, our prices do not differ from the market average, but in terms of design, only we ensure that you can choose from so many colour combinations.

At the same time, you can also use our vacuum valves with another brand's already-purchased vacuum pump.

In any case, we received feedback from our hunting colleague that he has been using it with satisfaction for more than two years, even though he received one of the very first versions as a gift during development.