São Paulo – It was just supposed to be a homemade solution to prevent barbecue from overcooking on the electric spit roast in the event of a power outage. But Rio Grande do Sul state native Luciano Kaefer’s idea of building a battery-powered rotisserie became a business venture, and now the product is used in over ten different countries, including the city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The product was also exported to Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile and Canada.
Kaefer, a business administrator, explains that once, while he was in his native state’s beach city Atlântida, he went to the beach with his family and left his barbecue roasting at home, on an electric rotating spit. When plugged into a power outlet, it rotates the meat over the grill, eliminating the need for manual work, achieving an even roast and preventing the food from burning more on one side than the other. But when Kaefer returned home, the lights had gone out and the meat was charred on the side nearest the fire.
He told his family they’d have to settle for corn and pastel (Brazilian deep-fried dumpling) out by the sea. His daughter, who was seven, suggested that her father work out a way to cook barbecue automatically with no need for electric power. Kaefer used his idle time on the beach to put on his thinking cap and designed a battery-powered model. He found the parts he needed, got a lathe operator to put them together and incorporated a motor. “The result was great,” he says.
Back then, the family farm where he worked farming corn and soy, raising cattle and other activities, was about to be leased out. “I was soon to be jobless,” he says. Kaefer was 49 years old. After the trip back from the beach to the capital Porto Alegre, he set out on his new venture. The first hundred units sold quickly to friends and acquaintances.
The business thrived, and now Espeto Flex owns two plants in Porto Alegre, in addition to a store where its offices are. It makes 7,000 battery-powered spits a month. The bulk of sales are made domestically, with exports accounting for 5% of business, but Kaefer believes this will change. The company struck a partnership deal with a master distributor in Portugal that will handle European sales.
The company’s goal is to have a distributor in each country, Kaefer explains, noting that he’s also interested in the Arab market. The sale to Dubai was a one-off deal for 50 spits, eight months ago, to a hotel. The business owner was told that the establishment kept a few spits for itself and gave the rest to guests as presents.
“When people see it at work, they marvel at how easy it is and at how simply the spit is built,” Kaefer claims. This is why word-of-mouth is a big part of sales. “It goes viral easily,” he says. In some countries, people don’t eat or know how to cook barbecue, so many of them buy the product after meeting some Brazilian and being introduced to it.
The product runs on four AA alkaline batteries that last 60-plus hours. It’s enough to cook 40 barbecues, according to Kaefer. It can be used on any grill, as long as there’s a place to support its two ends. Espetos Flex sells other products, including a grill-like basket designed to roast small pieces of meat (that are hard to put on a spit roast). It can be attached to the spit, enabling an even roast.
Contact:
Espeto Flex
Website: www.espetoflex.com.br
Telephone: +55 (51) 3334-5573
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
