Veg-O-Matic – 2012

Ronco utilized our design services to refresh a culinary classic, the Veg-O-Matic. This much loved appliance has been redesigned a few times over the years but never really functionally improved. We gave the design a more contemporary look as we carefully sculpted its surfaces with ergonomics and aesthetics in mind. A self-measuring container for catching chopped veggies is a major improvement for this generation, along with a weighted handle that assists the user and makes short work of even the hardiest produce.

Pizza & More | Compact Rotating Oven – 2016

Ronco approached us to explore a new paradigm in fast convenient cooking. They wanted a compact, rotating oven to replace a toaster oven for the end consumer. The design needed to be elegant, as this could be a product that sets on top of a counter in a high end kitchen. The oven was primarily intended for cooking pizzas, but has enough versatility to handle many dishes. Special care was taken by Propulsion to work with the manufacturer on several rounds of prototypes to get the details just right.

Although the oven was designed with pizza as the primary dish, we also created the device with other foods in mind. The Pizza Party can cook a variety of party snacks, such as buffalo wings, calzones, sandwiches and limitless others. The tray on the top can keep food hot that has been cooked in the oven, or warm dips and other sauces. Special care was taken to match the form and aesthetic of the oven.

We have developed a relationship with Ronco building products around two core objectives; elegant aesthetics, and solving packaging/storage challenges. The Pizza Party Oven packs a great deal of functionality and moving parts into a very small volume. A broad depth of engineering knowledge and manufacturing experience was utilized in taking the Pizza & More oven from concept to reality.

Here, you can see the pizza trivet in blue, sliding into channels we’ve created in the stamped walls. The channels guide the trivet down, and out of the way of the pizza tray (purple) which rests on the spider gear (green). When the pizza is pulled out, the trivet acts as a hot plate, keeping the tray elevated off of the counter. All of this happens while leaving room for the pizza, clearance for the open door and while keeping appropriate distance from the heating coils.