Question: What happened when former Apple engineers decide to reinvent the kitchen? Answer: They designed a computer that cooks (and named it June).
The June Oven is a computerized oven that recognizes food, determines how it should be cooked, and sends a text when the meal is done. It also includes a HD camera to show a live view of the oven interior so the cook can see the meal in progress. June has the guts of a smart phone, is connected to the Internet, and even includes digital recipes and meal planning.
June includes a built-in digital scale, unit conversion, kitchen timer, carbon fiber heating elements, dual-surround convention, core temperature probe, touch screen, and food id recognition camera. The product will be available in the U.S. in Spring 2016 and will cost $1,495. The kitchen will never be the same.
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss competition and product positioning.
- Show the video of June in action:
- Bring up the June Oven Web site: https://juneoven.com/
- Divide students into teams. Have each team identify competing products and plot the competitors onto a positioning map.
- Debrief the exercise: determine how to market this product to the targets.
Source: Manufacturing Business Technology, CNN Money, Wall Street Journal, other news sources
