Gifmo DeliSofter

2022: Gifmo DeliSofter View

On April 8, 2022, Panasonic announced that its subsidiary, Gifmo, introduced a DeliSofter device designed to make life easier for everyone who is experiencing nutritional problems (namely, food chewing). The developers promise that thanks to DeliSofter, even an unappetized chicken breast will become soft and juicy, like oil.

Special food for the elderly Japan in (where a fairly large number of people over 65 live as of April 2022) has already turned into a multi-billion dollar business. By 2025, experts predict it a turnover of 200 billion yen (1.7 billion). dollars And high-tech companies cannot ignore this market, developing all kinds of gadgets that return people to the joy of eating.

And although DeliSofter looks more like a multivark than a special "chewing robot," it performs its task quite effectively. The secret is in a special principle of food preparation. First, they are dissected by the smallest blades, and then prepared at a very high pressure and temperature of + 120 ° C. As a result, the products retain all the flavors and texture, while they can be easily swallowed without practically chewing. For example, fried chicken becomes so soft that it can be "sliced" with brittle potato chips.

"The device starts at the touch of a button. Our cooks like that you no longer need to grind beautifully prepared foods, and our customers are pleased that now their food looks really appetizing, " tells Takahiro Koyama, manager of an elderly boarding house in Osaka, Japan.

According to the information company, the device has already arrived sale in at a price of $410. In the coming years, Gifmo expects to sell tens of thousands of DeliSofter gadgets.

However, the path of the device to the market was not easy. It was invented by two Panasonic employees - Megumi Ogawa and Tokie Mizuno. Both were driven by concern for relatives who experienced nutritional problems. The concept was first introduced in 2017, but later they decided to freeze the project.

Not wanting to abandon their idea, Ogawa and Mizuno turned it into a voluntary project. To create Gifmo, they turned to BeeEdge, a platform financings startups led by Scrum Ventures with the participation of INCJ and Panasonic. Later, their colleague Masaru Morizane, now the chief executive officer of Gifmo, joined the project. Before Panasonic, he worked Corning Inc. in and, Sony where he was responsible for mass production game console PlayStation 3.

"Just as washing machines once freed women from everyday routine, so we will not stop until we free people from the severity of nursing work," says Tokie Mizuno.