How Instant Pot Became An Amazon Best Seller
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Robert Wang just wants to be the Steve Jobs of kitchen appliances.
And he may just achieve that. Much like Jobs with the iPhone and other Apple products, Wang has created a product with great attention to detail that has inspired cult-like devotion: Instant Pot.
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Millions of fervent foodies have purchased an Instant Pot multicooker, making it one of the top-selling products sold in Amazon's Prime Day sales events in July 2016, with 215,000 Instant Pot 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cookers sold, in 2017, and in 2018, when Instant Pot broke its own Prime Day record with 300,000 units sold over 36 hours. The company expects to be among the best-selling products on Amazon during the already busy holiday sales season too.
More than 5.5 million people follow an Instant Pot-related account on Facebook - 1.5 million follow Instant Pot's official Facebook page alone - where they gush over the product and swap recipes (from pot roast to cheesecake and yogurt) as well as user tips.
And recently, in a pitch-perfect example of how Instant Pot has penetrated the zeitgeist, rising young political star and newly elected New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (who's been dubbed the most relatable politician ever) has even started having Instagram Live conversations about politics with her 780,000 followers over an Instant Pot. Earlier this month she held court while making Instant Pot macaroni and cheese, and a few days later, she asked her 1.2 million Twitter followers to submit their favorite Instant Pot recipes for future chats.
If you're one of the few who has not yet used the gadget (as a rice cooker, yogurt maker, browning pan, steamer or warming pot, among its other functions), it's likely you've at least been on the receiving end of some Instant Pot proselytizing from one of its many devotees: a Bloomberg critic called it "a magical pot" and Slate compared the product's faithful following to a "religion."
This is all according to the master plan of Wang, 54, who tells CNBC Make It that, in addition to worshipping Jobs, he's also trying to follow the example of tech titan Bill Gates and "put Instant Pot in every kitchen" (a nod to Gates' famous promise to put a computer in every home in the early days of Microsoft).
"It was a very ambitious statement [and] kind of laughable at the time," says Wang, who made the proclamation in a 2013 mission statement when he had just four or five employees. "But now it looks very much attainable."
Today, Ottawa, Ontario-based Instant Brands (which changed its name from Double Insight in May 2018) has nearly 90 employees and there seems to be no end in sight to its record-setting sales.
But it all started after Wang lost his job in 2008.
Wang had been the chief scientist at a mobile messaging company he'd co-founded in 2000, but the company's CEO shut down Wang's division, putting Wang out of the job (the company, Airwide Solutions, was later sold off). Despite having spent 14 years working on telecommunications technology, Wang decided to turn his attention toward solving a personal problem he had been pondering.
Wang and his wife, Tracy, both worked full time in the tech industry (his wife at telecom Nortel Networks, where Robert also used to work), which left them with a very relatable problem: They had little time to cook fast, tasty and healthy meals for their two young children, who were then 4 and 8, he tells CNBC Make It.
"We did a lot of takeout, fast food. Kids really love fast food," Wang says. "But my wife and myself don't think that's the way to raise our kids. So, at that point, I was dreaming about an automated cooking machine, which will help me cook [a] healthy dinner after work."
Read more about Instant Pot and Robert Wang here: cnb.cx/2BAS2Hz
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How Instant Pot became a kitchen appliance with a cult following and a best-seller on Amazon | CNBC Make It.
He deserves it. Clearly you can see the time he puts in design and testing the prototypes and continuing development of the pot.
As a marketer, what a genius this guy is... Created demand for a product that people didn't even know they needed, only reads negative reviews to improve his product! Inspiration!
I work at an amazon warehouse and I see minimum 20-30 instant pot boxes per shift
Are you actually treated like a slave there?
That’s crazy.
@@DicerX depends how u look at it when ur young 18year old it's not like u need health care so it was worth it 2k a month for 10-13 hour shifts
cellophaneboy I work at a Gap warehouse and see a minimum of 100 thongs per shift
ze ez i agree. I just don’t like that they’re so strict with the minutes on breaks, etc.
We bought one five years ago. We have been using it since then. We cook Chinese herbal soup, beef stew, Hainanese chicken, steamed fish, buffalo wings, and more. We definitely love it.
My mom has one, she only makes rice with it lol
Same. $200 cheaper than the Zojirushi pressurized rice cookers.
Still can't hold a candle with the steamed rice it makes compared to a Tiger or Zojiurshi with induction heating. I do prefer to make rice porridge in the Instant Pot though.
lol we Iranians have "instant pots" since 10 years but no one advertised outside Iran which we use to cook rice. tourists who visit Iran usually buy one and take with them for like 10 euros, but I must say this instant pot is a much more advanced one with programs, the Iranian version just has a temp degree I guess.
@@sweetdreams1DIAM0ND yea its not a clay pot that you have to bury in the sand to heat up.
Kevin Hernandez definitely not , Pars rice cooker costs 1/10th of this and technically does 98% the same thing and built similarly but the only difference is that the temperature stays the same and there are no programs and it just has a timer but you can regulate the temperature by attaching a timer on the plug itself turning off and on the rice cooker to regulate the temp. So what this guy did was simply try making all types of foods in it by regulating the time and temperature and saved the info and then put it in the software for his 100 dollar cooker which is a lot of work honestly but you are paying more than half of the price just for the programs so there is no real high tech thing going on , and have customers who eat mcdonalds for breakfast and dinner and drink starbucks sugar and think it’s coffee and eat fake foods and gmo products and think the rest of the world is cooking in clay pots which I personally would prefer if possible compared of non stick pans like tefals.
If only Apple can be like him and read the feedback to improve the products. Kudos to him though, I’ve had one for a year and it’s great.
If e-hailing like Uber is like him, drivers don't get terminated so easily!
I don’t think Apple has much issue, there products are great and serve there customers well. The only issue is there price....
@@sondrejohansen48 missing headphone jack and taking off everything in their laptops and putting two usb cs ports instead... When people buy their laptops for editing and using sd cards with it...
Chimmey Chime I agree with both you and sondre. Nothing wrong with Apple but the price and taking away the headphone jack, those aholes. I’ve been an iPhone user since gen 1, and on average, upgraded every other release, until the iPhone 6s. Haven’t had a need to upgrade to a POS with no headphone jack.
Hahahahahahahahahaha good one!
300K$ in the savings account! Thanks for depressing me......
Chris Willis financial planning and knowing how to save is an amazing skill!
If by the time you reach to the age of 40 and you don't have 300k in your saving. You must be doing something wrong in your life.
Maybe he had mortgages or sold his parent's house after they passed away.. who knows?
K L
Wow! What a broad stereotypical claim. How exactly does this work for “everyone” sir? Not everyone can afford college, there’s families who experience unforeseen tragedies like a sick child racking up medical bills. Finally, there are people who wash your car, pick fruit and can vegetables, work as X-Ray and nursing technicians, secretaries and paralegals, wait on you at a restaurant and then clean the plates, bring you the mail, serve in the military and other every day jobs that would not give you the opportunity to save $300,000 by the time you are 40.
Yeaaaaaaaaaaa…… I pretty much stopped watching after I heard that.
If he didn’t lose his job he wouldn’t have become a millionaire selling pots.
commenter78 don’t be fooled.
The guy took $300K from his savings account. Meaning he had more.
Yea 300k is a lot
@@hadialthawab8123 300k is nothing.
@@animerocks2468 yup, savings is part of the culture for east asian families, even a janitor could easily come up with 100 grand. trust me.
Warren S. how much have you got? Poor people are the ones always belittling money, wealthy people value any amount
Instant Pot's success/craze is not as instantaneous as withdrawing $300K from savings account...there is more than a decade of struggle behind!! Anyways, mindful hard work has paid-off in the long run!!
Saving requires work and discipline that most people can't pull off
Squares, that’s very true!!
You know you have to put money in to make money right? It doesn't take $0 to make money.
@@jmelon7476 thats very true. this guy put $300K and taking back few millions. thats awesome.
Instant pot craze came to Russia at least as early as 2012 from what I remember.. at least that's when I got mine
I would give up my microwave before I would let go of my Instant Pot. I live alone and I used to buy a lot of microwave dinners. Now I make delicious, healthy, fresh food so easily. The thing I like the best is I can put the food in and walk away; forget about it until I'm ready to deal with it.
HE'S FROM OTTAWA???? I'm so proud :))
What???? He is from Chin@!!!!! What!!!!
ORoxy 5575 he’s obviously born in China but he works in Ottawa. (Btw he’s a family friend)
I am not if people cares that much about where this guy come from
One of the nicest guys I've ever met and honestly a good guy. I hope everyone supports him!!
A computer scientist being a travelling salesman, ha that's fun
I bought one for $40 on prime day not knowing it was so popular. I moved out into my apartment and found this to be the best because it does everything and I cook everything in it. Cooked to perfection and easy to use, I don't think I'll need to buy a set of pots in the future. It really is all I need.
I bought one 2 days ago on recommendation from a friend with a great track record 😊And I’m officially addicted 👍🏿
I asked my mom for money to buy instant pot. Now im in rehab
🤣
So you did not buy it?
Its a crock pot right?
lmfao
@@kentchan2244 crackpot
... he lived in canada.. had 300k in his savings. how much was he making before selling pots. LOL. what a G
I bought one a year ago....It's a great cooker and I use it all the time. Makes the most perfect fluffy quinoa every single time.
on that note, I'd like to see a video on what ever happened to the Instant Pot of the 90s, the Foreman Grill
I still use my George Foreman Grill.
Love how he opened plant in ontario.i will be buying an instant pot very soon
His daughter has a good taste. Hope she becomes a chef or food critic
“Traveling sales man” I died from this inside joke
This is the first I’ve heard of it and I’m sold
I'm from Gemrany and I've never heared of it. I only know the Thermomix and that has been around since 1982.
but the thermoMix is ridiculously overpriced....
Instant pot became popular because everyone thought they would be getting high.
lol
Me before video: Wow yes I have heard about these funky little machines.
*Clicks video*
*Realizes we have had one sitting in our kitchen for a good five years and we barely even use it to make rice*
😱
Wang is a Icon. Thank You Mr Wang.
Never heard of it. But I want it for my bedroom now.
GoobNoob should be in kitchen
I have one in my bathroom and I love it!
@2:08 "$300K from his savings"......wait, what? I thought they said he was a techie who was laid off lol
She said he worked for 14 years before being laid off. If youre not saving 300k in 14 years as a computer scientist specializing in AI with a PHD in the private sector, youre doing something wrong or have some rare circumstances.
As a vegetarian and a hardcore bean eater, I am forever grateful for the Instant Pot. Now I can buy lots of dried beans instead of canned beans.
And they say selling pot won’t get you rich.
This pot is actually amazing, I'm a college student and can't really have a kitchen do to fire hazards and this pot cooks everything without me needing to be there to watch.
Reads the negative reviews and tries to improve....yes the man will be successful.
This felt like a commercial to me, I’ve never heard of it before but now I need one
Never thought something good could come out from 2008's economic collapse. Well truly, necessity is the mother of invention.
Never thought I'd live a day to see an instant pot being more popular and sought after than an iPad.
I have an Instant Pot from 2010 - it doesn't have _all_ the features or accessories of the newest versions, but it still works. I didn't even know at the time that it was such a "new product", or even Canadian - I bought it in Canada, but from an Asian grocery store, with packaging and manuals clearly oriented towards Asian consumers, so I figured it had been around for a while and was popular enough in Asia to be worth importing for Asian expats. It's been a little weird seeing it suddenly trending _now,_ after all this time. Friends raving about how easy and convenient the Instant Pot is, alerting me when they go on sale, etc., and I'm...a hipster who had one before it was cool. Dammit dammit _dammit._
Instant pots (or мультиварки) had been a craze in Russia too, right around the time when I got my first one... in 2012.
When I came to the States in 2013 no one could understand what I was talking about or why I was so excited.
When you are working for ppl its hard to show your talent .
When your back is against the wall is then majority of ppl talents appears im glad he made it out the rat race
In China, it is cheapest model of what we called Electric pressure cooker. It only sales for 30 US dollar, usually to some peasants and low-income middle aged workers. He simply found a OEM manufacturer and renamed it.
Such a beautiful family and inspiring story
so true. i especially liked the daughter. she seems hardworking and successful!
Sunbeam Mixmaster. S. W. Farber, Inc. produced the first stainless steel electric frying pan in 1954.
It’s a electric frypan pressure cooker with handy electronics .
Next we need a 1 or 2 quart 12 volt instant pot for people living in their car .
"I'm so glad we have an instant pot" - Jack Pearson
I just got my instapot a month ago and I cannot live without it at this point and it's as vital to me as an organ.
Thank you Mr. Wang for solving a problem for the family to have a cooked meal at home. There is a learning curve, but with time, I should master it.I like the fact that you can take it any where you have electric.And yhe food tastes great!
Wow who knew this idea was born in Canada that's amazing. Reading feedback is such a great way to stay grounded and make improvements. Kudos to him.
Interesting... I never knew what a instant pot was., now i want one. Lol look at that. Go figure.
We own the similar Crockpot version and we love it. If the instant pot is as good or better I understand completely why everyone loves it so much. The device itself is very versatile and simple to use. We chose the Crockpot version because my wife likes it, I guess its because we've always had and used a crockpot and so did our mothers. Name recognition can go a long way. But like I said, we love it and we use it to cook our dinner in at least twice a week sometimes more.
would that be consider ip theft?
take my money, i just realized, i need one.
it’s a pressure cooker. in the US, we have used one at home for 5 years! lol. it’s relabeled... “insta-pot”
Love this machine!
I have one, it cooks sooooooo fast, the pressure cook mode is AMAZING! I'm just in love!
It's tough to get this in the UK.
Ridwan Jaafar I can forward u one - middle man type thing. I normally only ship plants but can definitely do instant pots lol
Amazon Uk sells it, bought mine on Black Friday and it changed my life
Vanessa Lin Wow. I missed it. I will see if they do anything for Christmas.
2:58 '' And people didn't believe me''
So, it's an electric rice cooker with additional menu items.
Wow can't believe he's from my town! Pretty inspiring. Would love to work for this company.
Haha I just ordered this cause I was looking for a new rice cooker and it was on sale for black friday. The one I have is crap, and yes I was already cooking meals in it. I don't think it's anything new, but with the online community coming together making recipes helped him a lot.
It's a really good rice cooker. That's about all I use it for.
One infomercial style item that actually works. Its great.
the pressure cooker feature is the bomb!
it sure can be... unfortunate choice of words there!
Its great for people who don''t really like to cook, or don't view cooking as something they look forward, and people who view cooking as a chore.
创业历程包装的真好, 美的贴牌美的专利美的生产
这玩意纯属懵老外啊，国内只要400块，出国直接翻一倍
有关于他和美的的文章吗?像了解一下
I have one and it's truly amazing... and Marketing 101 that other competitors would copy this idea.
In my opinion the instant pot is just a cheaper copy of the Thermomix by Vorwerk in Europe.
300k in savings account...
it would be cool if you talked about what the price was for the instant pot on each one of the prime days and what the price was without the prime day discount.
also just talked about how the features have changed if at all.
also over the years has the cost of the instant pot gone up or down or stayed the same
Why?
im going to make a negative review just so wang can read my comment
Wtchya planning to write?
Imao imagine if he improved it based on your critique
needs AI. Like, hello Joe, your rice is ready. Or while your walking to the kitchen in the morning, it should say Rise and shine, it is 75 degrees right now and your commute is heavy.
@@jaydel3 Rice and Shine maybe?
put 1 star and say "best product evaaa hahahha but I need attention"
My mom has one, she's in love with it
300k in his savings account and not near his retirement age ..........
300K Canadian dollars, that like $68 US
@@goldenretriever6261 haha funny american cant count
My first instapot unit broke down within a year. Bought a new one and hopefully it is sturdy and reliable enough to last for few years. I love it tho, makes cooking faster and easier
how is this different from a pressure cooker?
I am looking for the same answer
You can't cook yoghurt it curries in pressure cooker
I get my food cooked in a regular pot, still delicious
Should have called it iPot.
w23857980 Just no.
That's a law suit waiting to happen from Apple 😂
Instant pot, not instapot. But I just call mine Freddie (Mercury).
This deserves more likes
w23857980 they were actually thinking about but like sang said they didn’t want to risk a lawsuit. How do I know this? He’s actually a good family friend.
Robert Wang is an inspiration.
Nice guy
It is definitely true Indians helped him rise to the top simply because Indians use the regular pressure cooker in most of their recipes, and in fact pressure cook model and yoghurt was introduced to cater to Asian needs. And if one Asian buys something, everyone copies that lol.
Beautiful video!
Much respect, Robert Wang.
*_Quagmire has left the server_*
On a serious note tho, this thing was actually really helpful to make borsch. Seriously, it would take hours to make just one pot of it and now it's reduced to about half and hour.
It's a pimped out rice cooker?
I was curious about this lol....Since my sister got 2 and my tenant also got 1 on Black Friday...
As simple as this kind of simple cooking appliance is a proof that the average American person is far less educated in terms of cooking. We've had this from early 1990s in far east.
Obviously Wang, from China, knew this type of device.
時岡さなえ are you saying there were programmable pressure cookers in 1990? Are we sure about this? Your criticism of American cooks is really unfair and irrelevant.
Yes, exactly , I have seen this kind of pressure coocker 15 years ago! My famaly had one a long time ago!
@@davidlang1125 gosh, this kind of program muti function pressure cooker is very common in China since early 2000!
@@davidlang1125 in China, such products exist for a long time. Really not a big deal. Perhaps taobao would provide more inspirations.
things like these pots appeared more than a decade ago, why suddenly it got so much famous??? my family's pot is about 6 years old this year and it our second purchase.
Dunno. These things always seem like a waste of electricity to me.
It's a lot more energy efficient than the conventional stove top. You just don't notice it
Excellent cooking device. Very happy with that cooker.
I guess that Indians like this because many Indian dishes are stews and this pot is suitable for stews.
Slo Mo not true, I cook ribs , roasts, chicken,and so much in my instant pot. You can make cheese cakes and so much more in an instant pot.
@@rplittle66 I was referring to the statement at 4:38 that "The Indian community has taken a particular liking to the instant pot."
The issue that no one tells you is, it takes a long time for the pressure to depressurize. Or if you do the quick release, it shoots out steam like scary crazy loud and fast. So no, cooking ribs doesn't only take 20min.
Work on your editing, the discrepancy in volume is infuriating
so he took the pressure cooker and added a timer with it. we indians have been using it for decades. we use it to make all type of curry .
I just bought instant pot form amazon 😂
Fast food? Take out? That should be a treat for kids not something they eat on a regular basis
Capitalism promoting innovation and creating jobs all the while making our lives easier.
r u single?
@@richlizard709 I'm married and have a little daughter lol, why?
just curious. 🤭😆
wait. I had one of these in my family kitchen since I was kid . How could anyone not have one ?
Could any one pls tell me if this is any different from electronic programble pressure cocker?
I hate these things I deliver like 10 a day
You have a job thanks to it, be happy
@stryfetc1 It says in the video ffs xD
Get your money bro
@stryfetc1 Then why even bother to know?
stryfetc1 5 dollar
Love my IP the best for a amateur not great cook. With the help of the youtube guide . My hubby is pretty impress with my dish like spare ribs . My fav. Hainanese chicken rice. :) I got two now for diff. dishese.
Instant pot
Instant weed
Got one for 80 bucks and really like it...great product!!
This inspired me to invent. ..
Until I heard he pulled 300k from his account
This is the best commercial ever! shut up and take my money
I bought 3 of them and can't find the weed nowhere!
False advertising.
Don't know how I lived without it.