Developing a product for the kitchen of the 21st century
A food processor which can knead bread dough, weigh and mix the ingredients for a delicate sauce, cook the sauce and boil a litre of water rapidly sounds like something out of science fiction. But it is not: such a machine was developed by PA Consulting Group for Vorwerk, a leading German manufacturer of consumer appliances, and is now exceeding predicted sales for every country in which it has been launched.
Vorwerk approached PA to design and develop a next-generation version of one of its existing products, in effect a new product capable of taking the manufacturer into the 21st century in terms of design specification and performance. Starting afresh, PA agreed a brief that included a 'must' list of features the device had to have and a 'wish' list of features the client would like the device to have. PA and the client developed a user profile defining: who would buy such a machine, what they would use it for, typical recipes and preparations and different users in different countries having different needs and requirements.
The processor which PA developed is capable of weighing, mixing and cooking a very wide range of foods and food ingredients. It can blend delicate foods at 80 rpm and yet pulverise frozen fruit or sugar lumps at 10,000 rpm. This is achieved without the use of a gearbox, a feat which the client felt would be impossible at the start of the project.
The key issues which PA had to address also related to users. While the specification for the device was very demanding, requiring a 50-100% improvement in all areas over the existing product, it had to appear sufficiently similar to the existing product for users to feel comfortable buying and using it. Performance had to be improved with minimal increase in size and weight, controls had to be as simple to understand and use as the previous model, and the cost could not exceed a specific target.
Food technologists, materials technologists, software engineers and mechanical engineers all worked together to review the feasibility options, generate concepts and develop different design configurations. Eventually they produced two fully functional models with their associated electronic control systems for demonstration to the client.
In many ways, our response to the client's requirements demonstrated PA's unique capabilities. PA demonstrated an ability to understand and assimilate the complex interplay of appearance, functionality and the use of technology to create a product with charisma and presence that delivers the performance it promises. In turn the client has seen targeted production rates outstripped within only two months of the product's launch, has found sales exceeded expectations in every country where the product has been launched, and has received a significant boost to its international reputation for innovation in the design and manufacture of consumer appliances
