Presented by videoconference a week ago, we were able to discover first-hand the kitchen concept of the future GRO of the Swedish Electrolux at the Eurocucina exhibition in Milan.
Behind the French-speakers’ enigmatic name GRO (meaning “to sprout” in the language of Ingmar Bergman and Greta Thunberg) lies Electrolux’s vision of what the kitchen of the future could be. The engineering teams were inspired not only by technical performance, but also by environmental and dietary concerns, with a focus on ending food waste. Indeed, according to Simon Bradford, director of design at Electrolux, “A third of what is in our refrigerators ends up in the trash”.
GRO also emphasizes healthy food; And for this, it’s no secret: you need to gradually abandon the products of industrial production. However, according to Simon Bradford, “The existing agri-food industry is no longer working. This is having a catastrophic effect on the climate, on our fragile ecosystem, and also on our health. While I’m telling you, this industry is responsible for a third of carbon dioxide emissions, and what it produces is bad for your health.”.
Generally speaking, the GRO kitchen revolves around several elements that combine the preservation and production of ingredients for future “homemade” dishes, something like a refrigerator, the compartments of which the user can choose and place at will throughout the kitchen. At the Electrolux GRO booth, for example, it took the form of a gourmet library.
Some GRO modules specialize in preservation only to better preserve fresh produce (fish, meat, eggs, cheeses, etc.) or fruits and vegetables. These compartments are separated because the required temperatures and humidity levels are not the same. The rest of the premises are intended for the transformation of the main products. It’s a module for seeds that allows them to germinate, or a fermentation zone that will delight lovers of pickles and jars, who can store their favorite products there to improve their palatability. Electrolux even came up with a tabletop smoker to season and season meat or fish and extend their lifespan.
Of course, in a time when artificial intelligence takes up more and more space, the kitchen of the future Electrolux will not escape its HAL. Named by the Swedish brand GRO Coach, it learns the user’s habits and adapts the menu according to stock to limit food waste. This information will be compared with many other parameters (special diet, germination rate of seeds in a special compartment, seasonality of products, local production, ingredients that will expire soon and many others) to suggest dishes and then a menu to customize a complete nutritional follow-up for several weeks, even several months. In addition, it is safe to say that the GRO master details each step in the form of video or audio recipes.
GRO is still in the concept stage, so it’s too early to talk about a sale price or a possible release date. However, the ideas being developed here and there by the Electrolux teams are likely to be found in certain products in the future.