Everything about the Hotdog Ez Bun Steamer seems easy, from the idea -- a warm, steamed bun makes for a better dog -- to the steamer itself, which looks like nothing more than a round, wire grate with a hole in the middle and some crude handles at the side.
If only they knew, says the inventor Chris Schutte of Suwanee.
Getting his brainchild to market has been a time-consuming, patience-testing and cash-burning experience for Schutte. Even now, with a third appearance on QVC looming and a national grocery store test-marketing effort planned, there is room for concern.
What, Schutte sometimes wonders, if his steamer doesn't sell and he ends up with a garage full of the devices, not to mention a depleted retirement account?
But the Ez Bun Steamer has been somewhere in the back of the 48-year-old Schutte's mind since childhood when, he recalls, his mother steamed long-frozen buns to bring them back to life. One day in 2003 he pulled out a several-day-old bun and used it for a hot dog. It was awful: stale, dry and stiff.
Schutte wondered why he couldn't replicate the steamed buns his mother served or the ballpark-quality dog his friends loved. Then it hit him: Why not use the water that steams the franks to steam the buns? He tried a flat cheese grater placed on top of a pot, but it didn't do the job. That led him to an obsessive tweaking process in which he used all manner of wire frames, adjustable handles and different size pots.
Eventually, he had his "Eureka" moment: creating a grate with a cross-shaped opening so a hot dog could be pulled through with tongs without having to take the grate off the grill.
It wasn't until Schutte was laid off in 2007 from a six-figure-income job in sales management that he focused on his invention.
To test his steamer and the buns, he dropped in on fire stations and offered to cook hot dog lunches for firefighters in return for their comments.
"I knew I had something when one guy asked for his fourth," Schutte said.
Since then, he has tinkered endlessly to improve the ease of use and to lower costs. He has also expanded his line to offer a larger steamer, called the Ez Steam Grill, that can handle everything from tortillas to lobsters and fish, broadening sales potential.
Thomas Dolling, an inventions marketing consultant from Acworth who helped launch successful entrepreneurial ventures such as Mr. Coffee, said of Schutte: "He's no quitter. And I like the product very much. I think it's going to hit and hit big."
Schutte says Americans consume nearly 20 billion hot dogs a year, and with the possible uses for his larger steamer, the market is even greater.
Still, it's a risk. Schutte said he has spent $56,000 so far and added, "This is either going to get big or I'm going to be living in a box under a bridge."
The Hotdog Ez Bun Steamer, which is sold through the company's Web site, via QVC and on eBay, goes for about $7 or for less than $20 together with the Ez Steam Grill. If the grocery store test-marketing effort is successful, Schutte says his steamer could get into 7,000 stores.
That, he believes, would almost certainly guarantee success. Until then, he keeps working on his steamer and hoping his dream comes true.
And, "On days when I get depressed," he said, " I make myself a hot dog and I say, ‘This is a winner.' "
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