Last month we wrote about Gin Lane, the branding agency behind startups like Hims, Everlane, Warby Parker, Recess, Harry’s, SmileDirectClub and Quip, and their big pivot away from their clients. The company announced it was rebranding itself to Pattern, a new holding company for up to five different lifestyle brands.
Product Hunt Newsletter 9/18/2019
Pattern launched their first product today: Equal Parts.
A millennial-centric spin on high-end home cooking. One half cookware, another half guidance on how to tap into your inner chef.
For $575 you can get a full set of cookware and 8 weeks of text on demand coaching with a chef. (link)
As a millennial who cooks, I’m curious who the market is for this product. All of the items sold in this set are already in my kitchen. Text on demand coaching to improve your cooking ability is certainly an interesting concept, though I’m not sure what the use case looks like in practice.
On the website they mention the prospect of getting advice on how to use what’s already in your fridge. In my mind I see a form of cooking coaching / quasi therapy where you’re sitting on your couch at 9pm, exhausted from a day of work and you send a quick text to your coach. It might go something like:
You: You up?
Coach: Yeah, what’s cooking?
You: All I have in my fridge is a green pepper, a dozen eggs, and sriracha sauce.
Coach: Okay, what’s in your pantry
You: *Has no idea and has to get up as to not look like a lazy asshole to your coach. Stands up an instantly feels more alive and competent.* I have quinoa, rice, breadcrubs and cheerios.
Coach: *Recommends something delicious*
While it would be nice to have someone encouraging you to not order take out again, what about the intellectually curious cook with moderate existing ability? I would put myself in that category. I’ve read Salt, Fat, Acid. Heat and bought shisito peppers last weekend to blister at home. While I’m interested in improving my cooking, texting feels like the wrong medium to employ while hot oil is splattering all around my kitchen and I’m trying to chop garlic.
Now, with everyone having an Amazon Echo in their kitchens, this might be a different value add. It would really be just like having a professional standing there with you.
Maybe Equal Parts has a lot more up its sleeve here. A paid subscription just for coaching, free trials, voice, A.I. to automate the coaching and more. There could be a massive business here. But for me, v1 isn’t compelling enough for me to take out my wallet.
The website is quite gorgeous though. Soft pastels, round shapes and playful imagery is in. The contrast with the jetblack pans is a little odd in my mind, but a pan is a pan. Maybe we’ll look back on today as the end of homecooking as we knew it. Or maybe it’s just another beautiful product launch that we’ll forget about in a week.