Rotimatic control panel
Finally, the disc slips between two heated elements which, guided by more sensors, rapidly cook the roti until it puffs up like a pastry. As soon as it’s done, the roti slides out, ready to eat. The final product is, as advertised, a perfectly shaped and cooked roti that looks and tastes like it was made by expert hands.
Cleanup is fairly simple. The kneader comes out, and can be rinsed off or put in your dishwasher, as can the plate where Rotimatic rolls the dough balls. I was able to take out each component quite easily, and only struggled a little to get the mixing component back in.
Prep, cook and wait
Rotimatic costs a pretty pricey $599 for a single-purpose robot. Even if you do want your robot roti maker now, however, get ready to wait.
When Zimplistic first unveiled its YouTube product demo, the video went viral, and amassed 2.5 million views. That flood of interest converted into $4.5 million in pre-sales as soon as Rotimatic started collecting orders on its site. Now, the company is “sold out.” Even the initial run of Rotimatics won’t arrive in consumers’ hands until early 2015.
So, why the holdup?
Nagarkar said that while I saw the near-final product, Zimplistic has no intention of selling prototypes. Rotimatic has already advanced to the manufacturing stage, and is working on perfecting its assembly line. It is also awaiting U.S. certification (something all appliances in the country must get).
This kind of preparation and the level of interest Rotimatic’s developers have seen should help them achieve economies of scale, and in the future, lower the price of the product. Some of that interest, by the way, has come from potential competitors. In addition to queries from customers looking to buy the product and retailers who wanted it on their shelves, some were from appliance companies. “There is not a single appliance company that did not write to sell the product; we did not reply because we are in no mood to sell,” Israni said.
For those turned off by the price, Israni noted that each Rotimatic roti costs roughly five cents to make. A store-bought roti might, on the other hand, run you 40 to 50 cents. Israni thinks Rotimatic could pay for itself in a year. Of course, you do have to eat a lot of rotis.
There’s also the obvious health benefit of an all-natural roti (a single roti could be as little as 106 calories) — a key component of Rotimatic. “Health is made in the kitchen,” said Israni, who told me that Zimplistic's future products will be in a similar vein: intelligent kitchen appliances that promote healthy eating through simplicity and automation.
I asked Israni and Nagarkar how people who’ve been making rotis for a lifetime felt about Rotimatic. “When I first showed it to my grandmother,” Nagarkar said, “she was like ‘wow.’” Israni joked that some in India were so excited, they suggested Zimplistic get the Nobel prize.