It feels like the number of new apps and tech-enhanced products are multiplying by the minute, regardless of whether they fill a need in consumers’ lives or are just jumping on previously prototyped trends. With this constant barrage of new tech, it becomes easy to lose sight of where the current Millennial consumer stands and what they are actually looking for in new products. Our latest edition of Ypulse Quarterly explored the major shifts happening right now in Millennials’ lives, including their new roles as parents, and the connection between these new parents and digital solutions. Millennials also want to play the numbers game, looking for ways to make their lives easier by understanding and using their personal data. This means new products for young parents must keep in mind that personal customization on the digital front is key. Keeping tabs on each of their toddlers’ screen times, simplifying traditional homemaking skills, and automating minute reminders throughout their day are all emerging needs among new parents. Instead of tapping into app after app (which defeats the purpose of tech made easy), the new products that make sense for new parents (who are increasingly Millennials) are those that roll many functions into one and humanize the “internet of things” experience.
Perfect Bake + Perfect Drink
Three in four Millennials say they like to cook and they’re cooking on average almost five days out of the week, but more than half still consider it a chore. Grocery delivery in urban, and even many suburban areas, is a way to simplify the process, but the back and forth between measuring, mixing, fixing, timing, testing, and cleaning could move any new parent to settling on takeout more nights than planned. Enter Perfect Bake, an app-enabled baking guide that removes the tedium of keeping the kitchen straight and instead provides an interactive step-by-step solution to baking. Don’t know what to make? Type your pantry items in to generate a list of recipe options for either a savory or sweet treat. Pour too much? The connected scale will detect it immediately and re-calculate the recipe measurements to match. Introducing kids to the kitchen is made easy with these features, along with video guides for different mixing and measuring techniques. Priced at $69.99 to include a food scale, set of attractive mixing bowls, thermometer, and device stand, Perfect Bake is the conglomeration of online recipes, tutorials, and tools to make bake time both kid-friendly and foolproof.
Along the same idea comes Perfect Drink, this time meant for after hours entertaining (past kids bedtimes). Wine is growing in popularity among this generation, and one reason may be because choosing a decent wine is a simple task, while making a good mixed drink at home is far more difficult. The app-controlled smart bartending system Perfect Drink aims to make any Millennial a mixologist by offering over 300 recipes curated by bartenders across the nation. Entertaining guests with the backstory of a drink is made easy when everything from pouring to shake time is visualized and measured by the app, whose instructions change based on ingredients and heavy-handed pourers. The Perfect Drink system is priced at $49.99, giving new parents an affordable edge for their next dinner party gathering.
Kurio Xtreme Tablet + Kurio Phone
The various apps available to control kids’ smartphones have yet to be resistant to manipulation and hacks by the kids themselves. While putting controls on teens’ phones (when they’ve had autonomy since receiving them) may prove to be difficult, introducing tech to younger kids with controls already in place would condition them to follow their parents’ rules from day one. The Kurio family of products is providing solutions for new parents that make tech accessible to kids while keeping it safe from an adult perspective. The Kurio Xtreme Tablet is first and foremost built tough, able to stand up the to wear and tear of a child’s daily play, and is also pre-programmed with motion sensor games that force kids to be active in order to play. Loaded with $300 worth of games, e-books, music, and more, it has the ability to connect, like any other tablet, to the Google Play store, keeping the parental controls separate from the child’s experience. The device can be manipulated by parents in any way, from monitoring and restricting screen time or app use for multiple users to filtering internet browsing content.
Similar control functions are built into the Kurio Phone, along with additional settings like geo-fencing that sends email alerts when kids are in unspecified areas. The phone acts like any other mobile device, letting them communicate with friends and view and share media, but with parental controls integrated from the start so that there is no question for what is or isn’t allowed on their personal devices. Both the tablet and smartphone are priced competitively at $129.99 and $159.99, respectively, and offer solutions for parents to establish tech restrictions on their kid’s devices from the get-go.
