Invented by Stefan Kaczmarek Company 123 Nährmittel GmbH | Launch year 2007 Availability yes | |
Yummy Dough (also known by its original German name Essknete) is a baking mixture which, after the addition of water, is kneaded to a smooth dough. It was invented in 2005 and first introduced in the market in 2007.
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History
Yummy Dough was invented by Stefan Kaczmarek, an IT worker from Idstein, Germany, in fall 2005. Kaczmarek credits his two daughters as having the original idea for the product because they "wanted to finally have dough they can play with as well as eat". It was first mentioned in a radio broadcast by the Hessischer Rundfunk, which increased the interest significantly. Kaczmarek previously had no intention to market the product but decided otherwise after the reaction to the broadcast. It was premiered as a commercial product at Anuga alimentary exhibition in 2007, where it won the "Taste 07" award for innovation. This sparked the interest of several large grocery and toy chains; Kaczmarek declined an offer by German food manufacturer Dr. Oetker and instead founded his own company, 123 Nährmittel GmbH, to distribute the product nationwide. Yummy Dough was first sold in supermarkets in 2007, starting with the German grocery chains Hit and REWE. The product is produced by the RUF Lebensmittelwerke in Quakenbrück.
In 2009 it became available to North America; it is distributed by Canadian-based toy distributor PlaSmart Inc. This product is featured in season 4 of the Canadian version of Dragons' Den, in which Kaczmarek, and his Canadian partner, Timothy Kimber of PlaSmart Inc., received C$500,000 from investors Kevin O'Leary, W. Brett Wilson, and Jim Treliving, in exchange for a 3.5% cut of revenues, once the investment has been recouped. Further plans also include marketing the product in Asia.
Product details
The product's consistency is similar to that of modeling clay, such as Play-Doh, except it is edible raw and can be baked. Its coloring agents are all vegetable. It is delivered as a powder mix that turns into a kneadable dough when water is added.