Can iKan revolutionize home consumption?
A good buddy of mine recently brought my attention to a cool new company he’s been working with called iKan. He’s helping them develop a scalable business model for their flagship product, a counter top pod that 
allows you to scan your food items and create grocery lists. It scans your items with a UPC barcode scanner and wirelessly logs them into an online account, from which you can place orders with online grocers or print out a shopping list to take to your local store. Furthermore, it has great voice recognition software that allows you to simply say the name of the item in the event that there’s no barcode. iKan surely has the ability to revolutionize home grocery shopping, and yet, with a well executed user interface, it could offer so much more.
For example, they could work with a company recently profiled, Recycle Bank, by helping create a more focused way to provide reward points for recycling, and in essence better influence users to recycle. Right now, the Recycle Bank reward points program is completely based on weight of the recycled garbage. If there was a way of knowing what the recyclables are, they could create a more targeted approach to reward customers and ultimately make everyone more money. Another thing that fascinates me about iKan’s potential is HEMS (home energy management system). Utility companies charge different prices for energy depending on the time of day, and thru one centralized unit, families could monitor their home’s energy use, setting intervals for certain things to be turned on/off at certain times. This would be invaluable at optimizing home energy and minimizing utility bills.
To capitalize on these opportunities, iKan has to nail the device’s user interface. It should be easy, intuitive, and fun for the whole family to use. They’ve already started with a simple scanning process and voice recognition system for generating grocery lists. Next, focus on engineering a LCD touch screen in light of the iPhone, leaving families wanting more, and the possibilities for home consumption management are endless.
As far as a revenue model, it doesn’t get much better. Right now the iKan device is available online and in select retailers at $399. More so, they’ll have the ability to develop an incredibly targeted advertising engine by gaining valuable knowledge on consumer purchasing, spending, and energy use habits. Very exciting stuff.
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As an update Ikan works with Recycle Bank as of this month and has released the unit through their rewards program at a discounted rate of 299($100off). Recycling data shows up on the lcd for the majority of products scanned through our unit identifying the local recycling rules. Also for a limited time if you buy an Ikan unit through Recycling Bank you will receieve double points for 6 months on all of your curbside pickup recyclables. Organize your house for a good cause!
Greg Ahnert CEO Ikan