The Australian office of French company Groupe SEB is busily preparing for a massive product launch in early 2015, an all-in-one kitchen appliance called the Tefal Cuisine Companion, which will compete with the much-loved Thermomix.
Made in France, the Tefal Cuisine Companion is a “kitchen wonder machine” which Groupe SEB says will replace up to ten appliances. It can chop, whip, mix, knead, cook, steam, blend, stir, emulsify, whisk, sear, crush, mill and heat. The machine will come with a “one million menus” recipe book.
Groupe SEB is building the pre-launch excitement with a teaser site where consumers can register their interest in the product which is already generating a lot of buzz on Facebook and Thermomix forums.
“We are excited to bring the Tefal Cuisine Companion to Australia. To encourage at home cooks of all levels of experience, Tefal has developed this new all-in-one wonder machine that will assist consumers to develop their culinary talents at home, day after day,” said Wivina Chaneliere, managing director for Groupe SEB Australia.
This relatively low profile product category came to mainstream attention last year when the market leader Thermomix was ‘awarded’ a Choice Shonky Award for not informing consumers that a new model of the almost $2,000 appliance would soon be released. Adding to Thermomix’s annus horribilis was a product recall on its TM31 machine.
