On 8/4/2020 at 11:43 AM, Kerry Beal said:Seems to be a good quality product - but when you read more about it - it's a company that is making higher quality items in China with a view to improving the reputation of 'made in China'.
I'm going to preface everything below with a big caveat -- it is not meant as criticism — just context.
There is a huge and growing industry of companies trying to bridge the gap between Chinese manufacturers and Western consumers. They typically do not design products in house — they find manufacturers in China that are already making a product, and put together a marketing strategy to make sales of that product successful in the West. Sometimes they will customize it slightly, other times not.
The best example? Instant Pot. You might have noticed that a lot of other, off-brand pressure cookers on the market look a lot like the first couple of Instant Pot models. That's because...they're the same pressure cookers. What Instant Pot did was to customize the controls for a North American audience, and build a support ecosystem around it. I think their later models show a lot more customization (but I think I came across the OEM of one of their air fryers as I was looking into the steam oven).
There is a huge wholesale / white label business in China that will produce, label, package, and ship just about anything you could possibly want to sell. The wholesale market in Yiwu is made up of a series of eight story buildings that stretch for seven kilometers. (If you want to go down a rabbit hole, this video is a really interesting watch -- but it might ruin souvenir shopping for you.)
In any case — if you look at the F. Blumlein website, there's a note at the bottom that it's "Powered by SainStore." If you go to SainStore.com, you'll see that they
Quote...want to remove the negative stigma of “Made in China.” We partner with manufacturers to transform their products into internationally-recognized brands by enabling them to create a complete and immersive brand experience.
The name rang a bell for me, because they're the same people behind SainSmart, which markets a lot of stuff to hobby electronics enthusiasts. (They sell a lot of mini CNC routers.)
F.Blumlein, SainStore, and SainSmart all have the same mailing address in Lenexa, Kansas.
I suspected I could track down the F Blumlein oven in China, and I did -- at least, on a Chinese-market ecommerce site, marketed under the Timzuu brand, and marketed by the Dongguan Tianzhuo Electric Co, Ltd. under the Timzuu brand:
https://detail.1688.com/offer/585827555804.html
For what it's worth, it lists for more in China -- about $562 US.
They also make this amazing "European Style" variant (looks like the same oven inside):
They also have a website for the Timzuu brand that's a heck of a lot more impressive than the F.Blumlein one.
TL;DR version: what I think that means is: either the manufacturer or marketer of the Timzuu oven wanted to sell the thing in the US, contracted with SainStore to create a US brand to market it under, and F.Blumlein was born. I suspect SainStore is responsible for the slightly questionable manual and the plagiarized recipes; I also suspect they have almost nothing to do with the design and manufacturing of the oven.
Will F.Blumlein be around in five years? Your guess is as good as mine; they could be the next Instant Pot, or they could be lost to history. But I suspect the manufacturer will still be around, and that someone will be able to sell you one of their ovens.
