Kickstarter is a wonderful platform where dreams can come true: Creators build campaigns to crowdfund their projects, users pledge, and once the campaigns’ funding goals are met, the real fun begins. Projects run the gamut — from all sorts of products to socially conscious ventures and even books. These are then sorted into one of 15 categories, and as you can imagine, we kind of have a favorite.
Here are 6 food-related Kickstarter campaigns we’re watching (and aren’t you?):
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1. Misen: Cook Sharp
Goal: $25,000
Funded? Yes!
Many kitchen afficionados spend a lot of time thinking about knives. A lot. But the folks at Misen are taking the obsession a step further by developing a chef’s knife that’s perfectly balanced, made of premium materials, beautifully designed for ease and efficiency of use, and also — get this — reasonably priced. Shortening the supply chain, Misen plans on selling directly to consumers, to the benefit of our wallets. Sound a little familiar? Brands like Warby Parker and Everlane have used the same model to great effect, and we’re watching to see if Misen can pull it off, too.
And in case that’s not enough, J. Kenji López-Alt, our nerd king, has enthusiastically given this knife his blessing.
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2. Choba Choba: A Chocolate Revolution
Goal: $47,353
Funded? Yes!
After years as executives in the chocolate industry, Christoph and Eric left their jobs. Wanting to focus their efforts toward empowering cocoa farmers, they teamed up to become co-owners of Choba Choba, a bean-to-bar subscription service that allows the farmers to be part of the business. Every two months, subscribers will recieve a box with three different bars (produced by Felchlin) made from the same single-variety, single-origin cocoa beans.
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3. Range Dial: A Better Looking, Smarter Cooking Thermometer
Goal: $60,000
Funded? Not yet!
With the goal of helping home cooks heat temperature-sensitive foods to perfection (without being confined to space right beside the oven), Supermechanical has developed the ultimate digital thermometer. Now it’s building an intutive, wireless dial so you can check your temperature on the go. With three different probes (a three-inch sharp all-purpose probe ideal for meat, a six-inch rounded submersible probe perfect for candy and brewing, and a four-inch needle probe built for heavy-duty grilling) and two probe ports (in case you’re cooking two things at once or need to check for ambient temperature), the dial can be set to a pre-determined temperature and alert you when it’s ready, both in person and remotely through your devices.
Walk away from the oven — you’ll still be able to read the temperature of that roast from another room in your home.
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4. Pickle Pipe: A Waterless Fermentation Airlock for Mason Jars
Goal:$11,200
Funded? Yes!
Masontops has been developing tools for home fermenters for years, and now they’ve come up with a simple airlock for anaerobic fermentation. The Pickle Pipe (first of all, how can you not love that name?) is a silicone lid for wide-mouthed mason jars with a small, one-way valve. By simply “burping” the top, built-up carbon dioxide, which is a by-product of fermentation, can escapes while oxygen and other contaminants (both of which could cause spoilage) are prevented from entering.
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5. New Living Wall Planters: Grow Your Own Veggies
Goal: $11,700
Funded? Not yet!
Plant lovers, rejoice! Plantaire‘s Living Walls make growing plants indoors — and on the wall, of all trendy places — a delight. Indoor plants can feed your family, naturally condition the air, and make your space look great. These planters come in different sizes, including two stand-alone window sill planters and two multi-planter wall units — for the latter, planters can be easily slipped in and out of the wall units for everyday use, making it easier to care for than typical custom wall plant installations.
A simple and efficient irrigation system ensures even and mess-free watering, and the planters support a variety of growing methods (including their custom-made grow medium), so you can plant to your heart’s content.
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6. Food City: Four Centuries of Food-Making in New York
Goal: $25,000
Funded? Yes!
Doria Santlofer is carrying on her mother’s legacy; Joy Santlofer passed away before seeing her book, Food City: Four Centuries of Food-Making in New York, go to print. Rich with photos, Food City recounts the long, forgotten history of food production in New York. Doria wants to do her mother’s vision justice, and launched this project to do just that. If the support of New York City’s food community is any indication, this book will be a must-read.
