November 21, 2013

Best Pot Pie

Description: A pot pie maker
Main Pitch: "Enjoy homemade pot pies as good as grandma's -- and it's faster than frozen"
Main Offer: $10 for a 2-pie tray, 2 crust cutters, recipe guide
Bonus: 2nd tray, Lift & Serve Spatula (just pay processing)
Starring: Chef Tony Notaro
Marketer: SAS Group
Website: www.BestPotPie.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

I have two criteria for success in this category: Either the cookware must solve a problem (e.g. Orgreenic, Perfect Meatloaf), or the food it makes must be something you can't easily find at the store (Perfect Tortilla). I have observed that items that don't meet these criteria fail.

For example, every attempt at selling a pizza maker on TV (e.g. My Perfect Pizza, Pizzalicious, Perfect Pizza) has failed because pizza is so easy to order or pick up from the frozen food section. Pot pies are easy to find in that same section -- the commercial acknowledges as much with the line "faster than frozen" -- and are not nearly as popular as pizza.