If you walk around Germany, and start up a conversation (as the non-German) and ask about 'Thermomix'....the German will likely grin, and then ask what you really want to know.
The basic story on Thermomix? Back around 1961, in old West Germany....this innovator by the name of Carl Vorwerk came up with this idea of a kitchen item which would help you in 'short-cuts' in preparing food. It started out as a combined heating system-blender-weighing device. I know....it's hard to imagine putting all three into one but Carl was a pretty smart guy.
Along the way....as the years passed, Carl's machine added little extra features: blending, mixing, whipping, milling, steaming, emulsifying, kneading, chopping, grinding and stirring.
In the past decade, they went to the master innovation model....it has a screen, with a computer system included, with a vast amount of recipes. In simple terms, you could be an idiot at cooking....buy this machine, and cook each night a half-way decent dinner (three dishes and no mistakes).
The sales people will tell you in a blunt way, you don't need to know anything about culinary practices....Thermomix does everything to make up for your lack of knowledge.
At this point, the German describing all of this to you will note.....with a grin (not being an employee of Thermomix).....that real cooks never use a Thermomix machine.
So the newest model of Thermomix (the TM-6) costs around 1,250 Euro. Yes, that's correct....to get the model with the computer touch-screen, with all features.....roughly $1,500 (US). It's a hefty amount.
My wife (the German) will put the hand down, and say in a blunt way....no respectful cook would ever buy or use a Thermomix.
Why so much on the cost? Well....this was for decades, a product that was mostly made in France and to a lesser degree....in Germany (around 30-percent of production was in Wuppertal, a town between Dusseldorf and Dortmund). The product was quality-made, and people would swear that you could buy a Thermomix, and it'd still be operating twenty-five years later.
Another part of their story was the sales-people.....who took a decent cut of the sales for their time in demonstrating the cooking uses. If you went to a Thermomix 'party'....it'd go on for two hours with the dozen-odd people sitting there in amazement at all the ways that it performed.
Well, in the past year....a couple of copy-cats appeared in Germany....cheaper versions that were not the same quality or having all the features....but they were pricing themselves down in the 500 to 700 Euro range. Most all of them....were made in China.
It came out in the business news yesterday....Thermomix has decided that they are facing heavy competition, and are going to the next version of the system in the next year or two.....with production moving to China. The quality standard? I'm guessing they hope that the same quality can be promised and delivered....as the old French and German made systems.
New pricing of this version? Unknown. I might go and assume they are going to something in the range of 700 Euro.
A sign of the changing times? Maybe, but part of this problem is the success of the older model Thermomix system, and the absolute dedication of the owners to the innovation idea.
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