Mogii
A unique outdoor cooking experience
One of the 2020-21 Sugar Projects was a global collaboration between Japan-based company Nakanishi Metal Works Co., Ltd. (NKC) and a team of students from Design Factory Melbourne and the Kyoto Institute of Technology. Addressing the challenge of finding new and exciting solutions which benefit users, the team centred their project on outdoor recreation. Their final design, Mogii, is a portable smoker which offers campers a new taste experience by using the super cold smoking process.
THE TEAM
THE CLIENT
Based in Japan, NKC Nakanishi Metal Works Co., Ltd. manufactures factory automatic products. They are committed to sustainability, working to reducing environmental impact through a zero-emissions policy across all factories. Kaimen, their new research and development division, is focused on creating solutions that can impact human life in the most effective ways, furthering the company’s commitment to sustainable development.
THE CHALLENGE
Students were tasked with creating a product which fits within NKC’s goals of sustainability and impact goals, while also incorporating technology offered by NKC into the design. The team focused their challenge on the trending camping market in Japan and explored ways of improving the experiences of campers to further encourage more people to partake in outdoor activities.
THE SOLUTION
The team created Mogii, a portable smoker which incorporates unique cooling technology, offering users a new outdoor food experience. Super cold smoking is a cooking method which smokes foods while controlling the temperature between -10°C and 10°C. In other methods of smoking, some ingredients can be melted or grilled. However, Mogii allows a variety of ingredients to be smoked in a good condition.
With Mogii, campers can smoke foods for roughly 15 minutes by simply burning smoke chips. The easy cooking process provides campers with a taste that cannot be experienced at higher temperatures. In addition, Mogii enhances sociability by bringing people together at the campsite to share new taste experiences.