Introducing… Ventu

IMPRESSED. Please O Please include a video like this with every release – especially Leveler and Fort Factory!!! Seeing is believing on a deal like this. Great job – many props.

@Tyrel: Thanks! When we can, we definitely will. We’d love to do this for every product, but prototypes this pretty are dang expensive!

The product is superior and the video is excellent! Now that is how it is done!!

How can you clean what you can’t see?

Beautiful product. The video is a huge leap forward! More please, and not just for the new products, but for those sitting in pre-sales that need the help.

@Jess – I understand that those prototypes are expensive. But that video was the ONLY reason I bought this thing. 1) I had my doubts with this product leaking. Seeing is believing. 2) The quality of that video combined with the prototype absolutely sell the thing. I believe this product will hit threshold twice and fast simply for those reasons.

@Tyrel you are right! Most people will not even buy a product, that is retailers and consumers without a proof of concept and the cost of this prototype will be worth the upfront cost and be a huge success because Quirky did this right!

Prototype was very very expensive, it works, I got to try it out! Quirky rocks!!! AND THE COMMUNITY FOR STAYING WITH US ON THIS!!

Sweet baby Jesus, I wanna hang out and party with Ventu!

Jess,

Not every product needs a “finished” demo video though. Some could work using working protoypes first doing their thing, then do a nice slow dissolve from prototype to your rendering to give the “finished look” of the product.

It will help you customers see the complete package “look this product really works!” to “Wow it will LOOK cool too!”

Cheers

@Jason

I’m pretty sure slow dissolves a criminal offense. They can only be used for ironic purposes…

Heh. True. Just smash cut then

This is a thing of absolute beauty. Excellent job to Quirky and the inventor.

I am going to put this in my glass case next to my Mata Ortiz pottery.

Stainless and cut fruit? Stainless and lettuce- cut lettuce oxidizes and browns from contact with each other. That’s why salad bowls and colanders for cut fruits and vegetables are not metal.
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Even if you don’t believe me, overcoming that with public education will be costly and have an impact on sales. Ever had fruit or salad in a metal dish in a restaurant? NO, for good reason. You should have spoken to a cook or chef!

@AMP
We are well aware of the oxidizing that happens over time from the contact between cut fruit/salad and metal. We have a good amount of experience in our department working on kitchenwares.

Ceramic was out of the question due to manufacturing tolerance issues- the USP of the bowl is a tight seal from a moving armature which requires controlled tolerance- and a plastic bowl of this size would of been cheap-looking and not a high-end presentation material story.

As always, the material decisions had to be made based on the whole scope of the project.

@Jason, Tyrel, Ken: Trust me, I hear ya! We’re definitely moving in the direction of launch vids for every product. It’ll just take some time.

The decision to make this out of stainless has moved it into the realm of commercial use. Bravo!

Instead of speculating as to what the ‘public’ might think of the product (or the materials choice) why not do some market research now?

Take the sample to a BB&B and a small questionnaire. You spent tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of man hours (zero marketing man hours of course) on it so you would think a few interns for a day or two in the field is a small price to pay.

For my 2 cents – it looks heavy but that might just be the prototype. how much will it weigh?

OK if you are not going to go into store at least let me work on a questionnaire that you can e-mail out?

@MichelleB
Confused… what makes you think we did zero market research for this? Assumptions are a terrible thing.

Wow really – well you know I’m firmly against assumptions so you have my apologies. Dare to share the research? I’d love to see it.

@MichelleB
Just wanted to call you out on your assumptive statement of ‘zero man hours of course’.

Michael posted a link talking about the SS issue, it should be included in marketing material.

Now ABOUT NO LID:

The cost in lost sales due to no lid- with the investment you are going to make in marketing money is
****incredibly shortsighted****.
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Whaddaya gonna do, spend scads More money to try to reach everyone you lost over this LATER– to grab their lost business because of the missing lid? Spending the money to reach Every person who reads an article, sees it on tv or the internet and say -”(hey, Now we added a $1.00 plastic lid” – is lower than a rookie mistake. It’s cutting off your nose to spite your face, for a buck.
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Let me say this clearly – the profits made from one bowl sold with a lid will pay for the manufacturing of how many lids? One lost sale costs X in profit, which is the equivalent of Y number of lids. OMG, volume sales will lower your materials and manufacturing costs and wash this out in short order.
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Why design something beautiful and functional and chop off it’s opportunity to reach its whole potential at the knees????
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Add the lid and raise the threshold for God’s sake. A retailer will buy it, complete, not HALF ASSED !!!!!!
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— Ben, I want to hear from you on this. Profits from One lost sale, mine, would have paid for how many lids? Why don’t you survey the community and ask to commit to an order with lid or without and see what the feedback says? We are trying to help you dude!
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Face it, without a lid, it’s a pretty colander with an added feature. With a lid, it’s a prep bowl, collander, serving and storage container.

You know Gaz – I think I’ll reply privately.

Gaz, what was the reason why no lid, I did not get an answer on that, would love to know! I love the bowl, but it would be nice to know that answer for the crowd…thank you!

Wow Gaz, what an unexpected response to Michelle from you.
QDS usually has no reason to hide its competency.
If you did market research, just say so.
If you didn’t, just say so.
But why the “assumptions” red herring?
It makes QDS appear as disingenuous and defensive as some of the less competent departments at Q.
They are snarky because they fail. You don’t, so there’s no reason to pick up their attitude.

I really like this and after seeing the current trend cache of acacia wood, feel strongly that it needs a higher price point and a lid. Lids for leaving food out at all day parties, to stack another item on top for carrying together for serving, since it has such nice handles. – (added benefit of a tray almost).
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The article on SS should be included in the product description, to educate consumers like me. It was enlightening.
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Does the moving handle have a lock? If a kid reaches and grabs for it at the table, there could be a disaster without it.

VERY NICE! Great job QDS!

Read through these comments..I love the look and function, but there seems to be some valid points raised that make me step back from my gut reaction of “I LIKE!”. I don’t want to stir the pot further, but I hope these points get hashed out.

Nice looking product. I hope it sells well.

I don’t mean to be a buzzkill, but this thing goes against all the culinary training I received from watching Molto Mario on the Food Network. Mario teaches us to use a pasta strainer, as opposed to a colander, so that we can preserve the pasta cooking water (for re-use, or for using the pasta water to “loosen” the sauce). Take your basic spaghetti and marinara: the strained pasta gets poured into the pan that the “condimento” (marinara sauce) is prepared in, and gets mixed together. Once the pasta and sauce are in perfect harmony, then you transfer it to a serving plate, garnishing with perhaps some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

The Ventu’s draining function seems like it also could pose a scalding risk if hot pasta water is drained via depressing the handle; it put the user’s hand very close to the exiting hot water and steam. I’ve sustained many burns from using an ordinary colander, with its handles even higher than Ventu’s.

As an amateur, but passionate cook, I wouldn’t be interested in this product, since I already possess a pasta pot/strainer AND a colander, AND serving dishes. The potential improvement of this product over existing cook/serveware is mainly to eliminate washing one bowl or plate, but at the cost of losing all the hot, starch-laden pasta water (and we all know how long it can take to bring all that new water up to a boil again). Maybe it’s more useful for salads and fruit. It just doesn’t seem fully resolved in my opinion.