Jeremy Baylis 2010-03-11T14:10:10-05:00
Hmmm, I love it. Can making your own Yoghurt poison you?

Jason Shinn 2009-12-21T19:43:00-05:00
Going to try my first batch tonight, prompted by this product. If it turns out well, I may be in for a pre-order myself.

Roesann Bourke 2009-12-15T19:17:43-05:00
Bruce good on you...product looks great. If I order one could it be delivered to Australia? BTW, ignore all the negative comments on here. Don't know why people have to be so negative or jealous or whatever they are. Being positive is so much easier and nicer :-) All the best.

Michael Cavada 2009-12-10T16:34:52-05:00
@bruce... QVC?! Oh wow! If we could squeeze our way in there, sales would be explosive! I once new some there 10 years ago. They demonstrated tools on TV, but they're long gone.

bruce gilardi 2009-12-10T14:11:38-05:00
@alan, scott, adam & ryan - thanks for your good words and insight. indeed, i have contacts at both williams sonoma and sur la table . . . but was waiting to see how far this could go in presale before approaching them. much more powerful to have the item rather than just an idea . . . quirky was supposed to do press releases this week - and i'm very curious to see how sales react to that - but it got postponed due to the 'petal drops' project. once that's done, then i'll approach w/s, slt, etc. as well as discuss with my contacts at qvc an hsn. the first quirky product on those shows will bring massive new members. i went to the open house for petal drops last week. as usual, the team was relentlessly upbeat and working furiously (incredibly positive energy). a film crew was recording the whole event, and hopefully will be broadcast. ben showed me some screen shots of the new site, and it's a HUGE improvement . . . in a few weeks . . . patience.

Ryan Quarles 2009-12-07T18:06:22-05:00
Anyone making more money on Quirky than I am want to buy this for me as a present...anyone. Well when cordies and beamer ship I should have enough. Until then I will lust.

Adam McKerlie 2009-12-07T11:31:57-05:00
I'd have to agree with Scott. IMO, this product is meant for a different market. If you could get this into a store it'd sell out so quickly.

Scott Shay 2009-12-06T18:05:43-05:00
Very interesting discussion on here re market research, quirkiness, getting to the sales phase, etc. I do hope this makes it out of pre-sales (I am an avid yogurt maker myself!) I think that for items like this, Quirky needs a slightly different marketing model (online sales here probably won't cut it). Perhaps they are already doing this, but the real place to market such items is to retail stores such as the aforementioned Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma, etc. This'd fly off the shelves there! But if the pre-sales are only from the Quirky community itself (for the most part), it is probably harder to get such niche products out of pre-sales. Oh, and I agree--it'd be cool for Quirky to establish a user forum where we could discuss these issues. Best of luck Bruce! (and a shameless plug for my own invention--please vote for the current round of ideas if you get a chance, and I'd especially appreciate a vote for my creation, the JustInCase(iPhone case with integrated USB/electric cords). I do believe that this is a product that can do well on Quirky (though if I win, I do hope to get it into retail stores as well).

alan berriochoa 2009-12-05T18:29:43-05:00
Honestly, I dont see the point in this non-idea based nonsense. To be honest, I wouldnt care if Bruce was Arianna Huffington herself, its about the idea. Anyway, Ive committed to one now that my NameThis cash has come in, so heres to hoping this will actually reach production. Despite my questioning whether it will function in its current form, Im confident that the Q staff could make it work, and this is still a product I feel Id use quite a bit.

bruce gilardi 2009-12-03T23:11:26-05:00
@michael, you might need a chill pill? first you have about zero credibility since you said the huffington post acquired the nyt . . . oh, wait, now i get it - i just clicked on your link above and realize it's all a joke (btw, how do you get hotlinks in these comments? html?). quirky will continue to grow and get stronger the more different kinds of products it has - and different categories: workshop, scrapbooking, kids, games, etc. the more variety the better. over time, i'm sure people will be able to shop specific categories. good design is simply an elegant solution to a problem - as each of the products is. what ben figured out is that getting everything right 100% of the time isn't what matters, it's using the wisdom of crowds, which, over time will be very powerful. most importantly, it's about community - and as i've been assured, the new website (due in a couple of weeks we hope) will only make the community stronger, with forums for discussions like these (what's quirky? where is crowd sourcing heading? etc.). but what builds the community is people who contribute - ideas, votes, purchases - and yes, criticism . . . which, except for criticism, none of which you seem to have done? my guess is that michael smith is a pseudonym and you've got another email address where you're doing the voting, etc? silly, no? whence the bitterness? focus your energy on industrial design, coming up with a great name, or thinking of a better mousetrap you can submit?

Michael Smith 2009-12-03T14:58:21-05:00
Bruce. Let me get back to your suggestion above I'd "might be happier in a different community". I tell you, I might not. I know, my opinions do not to fit in your designated "clean" image you would like to present the users. This is the reason why I do understand you to get me out of this community. But it's not me who doesn't understand crowd sourcing just like you said above, maybe you? Let me explain why. Crowd sourcing is a principle which is moving all the time and has to move all the time to fit the wishes and needs of users and (especially on Quirky) those of the customers. Therefore crowd sourcing needs to regulate itself and needs criticism... just like mine. If products (I'd better say ideas) like the majority of the ideas on Quirky do not find their way to production then we, the crowd, need to reconsider what the reasons may be, which consequences should be taken (I made some suggestions) and what the final solutions are. It doesn't help if we deny problems, go on as before and pat on our backs how great we are. It also doesn't help and change anything if we do say constantly "but this one will make it... (hopefully)". Your idea maybe smart but it's not quirky - sorry if I recur. Your idea got stuck at 120 (+/-10) - even black friday didn't get the count up very much and THAT must alarm us. I believe, Quirky will only have a chance if the products we create together are really "quirky". If they aren't (just as I explained above) we are not more or less than a "simple shop" like millions out there. Look at the digidudes, the split stick, the scratch-pad etc. - do you see the difference to yours? They ARE quirky... Btw, the fact that I don't have influence in any product is no reason not to show criticism - it's rather a voice of so. from "outside" who's not this involved like many others here.

bruce gilardi 2009-12-03T10:16:16-05:00
another point - i recently made yogurt using fage as a starter. on the label, it states that has active cultures of l. bulgaricus and s. thermophilus. it turned out very bland - which, i realized, is why it's so popular in the u.s.: americans don't really like sour. when yogurt was introduced in the u.s., it was full of sugar (and still is). but slowly, the sales of plain, unsweetened yogurt have increased. using plain dannon, which has l.acidophilus bacteria, makes a more 'yogurty' yogurt . . . i.e., more sour. also, the longer it's incubated, the more sour it becomes . . .

bruce gilardi 2009-12-03T08:12:25-05:00
here's an interesting data point: an article in the wsj on 1 dec about a 'bagel guillotine' said that one maker of a bagel cutter consistently sold 80,000 units per year. the bagel market is just under $600mm per year. in comparison, the yogurt market is $15bn per year . . .

Kehl Petersen 2009-12-02T01:17:43-05:00 | 1 Replies
Wow ... I hate to add to this thread (but I will until that idea of separating the "how to make Quirky better" content exists). I am fairly new to Quirky so here is a few thoughts from this thread; 1. There is a lot of quality input and dialogue on this potential product and competitive information – I don’t think we want this to change and generally it is very healthy for the Quirky community. 2. I like this particular idea – it is appealing and I think a case has been made that it has significant upside to its competitor (not that it is always required). It has the foodie, health, sustainability, and independence (DYI) aspects all wrapped up nicely. Bruce, you have done a great job from what I can see. Much of the conversation is more of a lesson in selling ideas than the idea itself. It seems that the distinct value in this product is better, cheaper homemade yogurt (subtext – health). I also do not think we should underestimate the value of a well constructed and design product no matter what is on the market. We just need to consider how easy would the competitor put out a me-to version. 3. The one aspect that I am a bit fascinated by is that most of the discussion is coming from a personal viewpoint – which is almost always the root of good ideas – “I like …”, “I would use it if …”, “people would not buy this because I …” – these are good starting points to look deeper into a perspective – but I think we have to look at what the potential market thinks – the customers … maybe this is a process that happens later that I don’t understand but it is critical to any mass market item. I spent some of my career in the software Product Management world and there is a saying that I think is useful here – “your opinion, although interesting is irrelevant” – not to say that our opinions are not useful – they just need to be validated against a much larger market size to be representative … 4. Quirky as a model is a great idea, and it needs all of this attention to get better – I like the debates (most of them)

W.B. Pescosolido 2009-11-27T13:05:47-05:00
@Bruce. Oh, I agree with you. The Easiyo is nothing like your product. With the Easiyo, one cannot actually make real yogurt. You can't use milk for starters. So how is it yogurt?

W.B. Pescosolido 2009-11-27T13:01:21-05:00
@Bruce, I'm new to Quirky so I apologize if I repeat something said before. But I love the idea of your product. I make my own yogurt weekly and am addicted to its fresh flavor. And your system seems like it would be a much easier way of doing it. Especially the incubation. I also love that you have included a straining system to allow one to make a greek style yogurt without the mess of cheese cloth. A few points about yogurt making that might be of interest (I'm sure you already know most of it): The milk is heated for two reasons: One, to pasteurize it and kill off all the other bacteria in the milk so that the yogurt culture will grow. The US government requires milk to be pasteurized by bringing the milk to 161ºF for 15 seconds. Two: The heating of the milk also starts to break down the proteins in the milk (the whey protein and casein) allowing the yoghurt to set in a smooth, custardy set, instead of clumping up. This happens at about 180ºF and ideally the milk should be kept at that temperature for 30 minutes. Thus there is no real reason to heat the milk over 180ºF, and I would think that doing so might start to "cook" the milk and perhaps change the flavor of the finished yogurt. I would love to see the next generation "Yogurt By You" have a heating element and a thermometer, so that the yogurt maker could control the high end temperature and the low end temperature. I have found from my own experience, the finished yogurt tastes much different if it incubated at 110ºF, or 115ºF, or 105ºF. So having the option of adjusting that to taste might be useful -- although perhaps too esoteric an adjustment for most. I look forward to seeing the "Yogurt By You" in production!

Stacy Prince 2009-11-27T08:38:26-05:00
@Bruce, I think it's great the idea guy could be so involved in the industrial design process! Would you mind answering a question: Does the milk or yogurt come into contact with plastic? When cold or when warm?

bruce gilardi 2009-11-26T23:26:39-05:00
for those of you who missed, please try making yogurt: it's very simply - scald 1/2 gal of milk to 190°F (do not let boil). remove from heat and allow to cool to about 120°F (you don't need a thermometer for either. milk is scalded when it steams, has small bubbles around the edge, and skin on top - which you should leave; it's about 120° when it's very warm to touch). scoop about 3T of plain yogurt into a small bowl, and whisk in 1/4c or so of the warm milk to thin. add another 1/2 cup or so to thin more and stir into pot with rest of milk. cover and put in oven with only the light on for 8 hours or so - overnight is easiest (or wrap in a towel and leave in a warm place - some use a radiator, a modem, etc.). line a colander with a linen napkin (or dish towel, cheese cloth, etc) and place in sink or in a large bowl to catch whey. scrape in yogurt with a spatula - at first a lot of whey will flow out. how firm you want the yogurt is up to you. after i dump the initial whey, i put the colander and catch-bowl in the fridge for several hours until it's very thick and creamy - sometimes i just leave it till the next morning, and it's ultra thick.

bruce gilardi 2009-11-26T23:24:20-05:00
@jason - when i met with the quirky team here in ny the week before last, we discussed including a thermometer. they thought it would be a good idea, and i'm pretty sure they could source one in china for next to nothing. i'll be talking to them on monday to find out and will post. thanks for your question. but you know - you don't really even need a thermometer - yogurt has been made for over 4500 years (according to anthropologists). clearly, most didn't have a thermometer. milk is 'scalded' when it's steaming, has small bubbles around the edge of the pan, and has a skin on the surface. scalding changes the shape and nature of the proteins in milk, which allows for thick, consistent yogurt. milk is 120°F when it's hot to the touch, but you can leave your finger in. as peter sharp suggests - try it out with pots and pans. you'll be astonished by the results. and then think - WOW, with yby, it'll be so easy.

Jason Xue 2009-11-26T17:48:12-05:00
is there a built in thermometer?