IFA follow-up: Herbs made from capsules and more…

Guest appearance at the IFA 2019: Six members of the PCV Group left the worldwide biggest consumer goods and home electronics fair in Berlin with some interesting impressions. Fred van Dijk, Bart Velthuizen, Stefan Ostermann, Jeroen Wijlens, Gerdjan Pape and Lex van Dockum took a look at the latest developments in the area of household technology. Some innovations stood out to them in particular:

In the kitchen

• The kitchen is getting greener: smart gardening is a very prominent trend at the moment. BSH, Tregren, Veritable and Plantui offer solutions for cultivating vegetables and herbs in your own home – even if you don’t have a green thumb. This is partly achieved with electronic support as well as with plant seeds in capsules.
• Smart kitchen apps continue being on the rise: the cooking processes keep getting easier to follow and more controllable. Recipes, status control, and process management with the help of apps are becoming the norm – from fridges all the way to air fryers.
• Other examples of innovative kitchen developments: an oven door that opens via voice control and a camera inside the oven that takes a picture of the food at 30-second intervals. Roast chicken selfies, anyone?
• Vacuum offers a whole new range of possibilities – from keeping food fresh for longer to preparing meals. Sous vide cooking is all the rage at the moment, as you could experience at the booth of Haier and several other manufacturers. By the way, this was only one of many more modern ways of cooking the team was able to experience live.
• The Miele Aura 4.0 promises light and air. This new kitchen lamp features an integrated air purification system.
• In the future, we will be able to keep food fresh for longer. The cooling process is full of innovation potential. Door Cooling (LG), Faster Cooling, Smarter Cooling are just three examples of technology that promises to triple the period of food freshness (with Bosch being one of the manufacturers).
• Vorwerk’s “Thermomix” is getting a new competitor made by Bosch. “Cookit” is supposed to hit the market in 2020. This multifunctional food processor is a pot that can sear meat at temperatures of up to 200 degrees celsius. The cooking gadget will be integrated with the Bosch “Home Connect“ app.

Coffee making doesn’t really offer any “groundbreaking” innovations; however, product optimization has taken on some interesting forms. Midea presents a tea machine which you fill with loose tea leaves.

• Midea presents a tea machine which you fill with loose tea leaves.

Home appliances

• Clean laundry and the lowest possible environmental impact caused by detergents: how can this be achieved? The manufacturers Electrolux/AEG, Bosch and Miele are facing this challenge with their new generation of washing machines featuring automatic dosing systems. Another fun feature: the washing machines and tumble dryers can communicate with each other.
• Miele enters the market of rechargeable, bagless vacuum cleaners. You can attach different handles to the suction unit. The general trend shows that vacuum cleaners are becoming cableless and robotic.

This list is entirely subjective and doesn’t claim to be complete. Did the PCV Group team miss any other household technology innovations at the IFA 2019? All who attended the event in Berlin are welcome to send their feedback and messages to info@pcvgroup.com