Kitchen Safe Enters the ‘Shark Tank’: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Kitchen Safe, a timed and locked canister meant to reduce cravings and increase willpower, enters the Shark Tank on November.

Heavy interviewed founder David Krippendorf about his unique creation.

For all of Heavy’s Shark Tank coverage, click here.


1. It Started Because of Snacking

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Krippendorf had a tendency to snack, which caused him to gain a few pounds.

In turn, his wife would hide his junk food. However, if he was really craving it, he could always find it.

That’s how the idea for the invention was born.

“After playing hide and seek with my cookies for a few years, the idea dawned on me. If I had a container with a timed locking mechanism to store my food, I would not be able to snack, and my wife and I could stop with the hide-and-seek games,” Krippendorf explained.

He now has a routine with his Kitchen Safe that works to curb his snacking, which led to him shed 5-10 pounds.

“I like to set the Kitchen Safe to unlock for after dinner – around 7pm. Then, I can grab a cookie and before I am tempted to come back for more – I lock those temptations away until the next day. Then, I get a nice treat, but don’t feel bad that I ate too many or have those temptations around during the day,” he said.


2. ‘Shark Tank’ Reached Out to Them

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When he had the idea for the product, the next step was to contact his former grad school classmate, Ryan Tseng, who had a background in design.

They worked together for over 18 months to design the Kitchen Safe.

Later, Tseng’s brother, Nick, also joined the company.

From the beginning Krippendorf knew he wanted to bring the product to Shark Tank.

A big fan of the reality show already, he said, “After starting our company, I knew I wanted to go on the show. Fortunately, the producers heard about the Kitchen Safe and reached out to us.”

To read about more companies that appeared on Shark Tank, click here.


3. They’re Launching a Product That Connects to an iPhone

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The Kitchen Safe Pro, that connects to your iPhone, is launching on Kickstarter soon.

Krippendorf explained his company’s future plans, saying:

We are designing a line of Bluetooth connected products and software that will be launching in the first half of next year. We think the products will be complementary to all of the wearable devices, like fitness trackers, that people are buying.


4. It’s an Effective Parenting Tool

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The founder, who has a daughter himself, credits his product for teaching real world values through a reward-based system.

“You can put an award such at the TV remote in the Kitchen Safe and set it for say two hours. If kids do their homework and chores, then they get their reward. If not, you lock it up until tomorrow,” Krippendorf explained.

“Since the Kitchen Safe is designed with no over-ride, kids quickly learn that begging and nagging parents will not work – either they do their chores or they’re out of luck until the next day. It’s just like the real world,” he continued.


5. Psychologists Were Consulted

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Since the product is based on the powers of willpower and decision making, the Kitchen Safe team consulted with psychologists from universities such as MIT, Duke and the University of Pennsylvania.

“The research shows that this type of product really works if you want to improve decision making, build good habits, or break bad ones, so our focus was translating the research into a high quality product that is simple, and really fun to use,” Krippendorf said.


Interested in Kitchen Safe? Read customer reviews and buy product here.