Designed to be Clearly Superior

The Air Fryer category is saturated with me-too products based on shared market goods platforms. Breaking away from the pack is hard to do with a cooking technology that had reached a plateau. Already known as the best performers in the category, Instant Vortex air fryers utilize the most powerful fan motors and heating elements available. While this isn’t immediately apparent hidden inside a visual design that wasn’t unique or exclusive to the brand, this continued commitment to top performance meant low margins and declining sales. How could we get the consumers to notice our product in a crowded field, and how can we elevate the perceived value of the Instant brand to justify a higher retail price? The answer came to us in user research as we watched users periodically pulling out the basekt to assess cooking progress; mechanically, opening the unit stops the fan and heating, adding ~100 seconds each time to reach a desired level of doneness. Integrating a window and a light source would enable users to see their food cooking and check on its progress without interrupting the cooking process. Although this feature isn’t flat to cost, we made the most of the additional investment by redesigning the entire basket assembly to create the largest window possible. Then we wrapped the technical package in a design employing a high beltline, using the requisite draft angles to eliminate bulk around the perimeter of the volume both top and bottom. Friendly soft radii and an ergonomically angled display convey the core brand principles of approachability and simplicity while making the exterior easy to clean. The result was an immediate hit with retailers who clamored to be the first to put it on shelf.