When is the last time you craved homemade soft-serve ice cream? If you’re like most people, probably about five minutes ago. ColdSnap has entered the CES 2021 arena with an interesting product: A “rapid-freezing” appliance that can create single servings of frozen confections and beverages in less than two minutes. Think of it like the Keurig machine for soft-serve ice cream.
The ColdSnap machine uses pods that it freezes and dispenses the contents of in less than 120 seconds. The machine can make servings of ice cream, frozen yogurt and coffee, frozen smoothies, cocktails, slushies, and more.
There is a lot of potential in a machine like this to pave the way to healthier eating habits. The primary reason people slip away from diets is convenience. It’s faster to go grab something from a drive-thru than it is to cook a healthy meal, and health-focused meal prep services are often cost prohibitive.
Perhaps the most convenient part of the ColdSnap, aside from near-immediate access to frozen treats, is the total lack of cleaning. The ColdSnap deposits the contents directly into the bowl, so the contents of the pods never touch the machine. This ensures a clean, easy-to-use experience.
A beta launch of the ColdSnap is planned in the Boston area this summer, with wider availability after the company sees how the product performs in a commercial market. The ColdSnap will only be available online at first, but will perhaps be in retail stores later down the line.
The ColdSnap is the product of a much larger trend of consumables in pod form. Between the Keurig for coffee, the Drinkworks Home Bar by Keurig for alcoholic drinks, and others like them, easy-to-use pods look to be the way of the future. While you can certainly make any of these things without the use of pods, these machines are faster and more convenient at the expense of a high upfront cost.
Unlike many similar products, the ColdSnap pods are completely recyclable, so you do not have to worry about the environmental impact. You can use these pods guilt-free and enjoy all the benefits that come with nearly instant soft-serve ice cream.
