Electrolux announced the intention to acquire Anova, the U.S. based provider of the Anova Precision Cooker, an innovative connected device for sous vide cooking that enables restaurant-quality results at home. With this operation, the company expects a significant profitable growth in this emerging product category. Anova’s direct-to-consumer business model and digital focus are also of strong strategic interest to Electrolux.
Anova is a solid organization, founded in 2013, rapidly grown thanks to its innovative product, which was rated best cooking gadget of 2016 by reviewed.com. The company has approximately 70 employees and contractors globally and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Net sales in 2016 amounted to around 40 million dollar. «Anova’s mission – to make it easy for consumers to cook like a pro – is so similar to our own focus on great tasting food that this was quite obviously a perfect match – commented Ola Nilsson, Head of Electrolux business area Home Care and Small Domestic Appliances. – It’s also a great strategic fit in terms of Anova’s approach to online sales and digital marketing, and in how they leverage connectivity in the products. We have a lot to learn from each other, and look forward to helping Anova take the next steps on their global growth journey while maintaining an agile and innovative culture.»
But what is Anova Precision Cooker and how does it work? It connects to a user’s smartphone and offers thousands of recipes to make it easy to cook sous vide: food is placed in a sealable bag and brought to a precisely controlled temperature in a water bath. The precision cooker is an immersion circulator, which heats and maintains the water at a precise temperature, ensuring great results.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, and is expected to be closed during the first quarter of 2017.
