I love the new Dro!d, even if this clever food vacuum device has the daftest name ever

Wasting perfectly good food is a big problem. In the UK, for example, it’s estimated that 9.5 million tonnes of food go to waste every year, with 70 percent of that figure produced by households. Personally, I hate binning perfectly good food so I’m always keen to hear of ways to lower our household wastage.

Kitchen gadgets can certainly offer a helping hand. Take the latest Smeg High Performance Blender for example, which lets you batch produce juices and smoothies. It has a vacuum pump that can then extract air allowing you to keep the results for longer. It’s not unique, but it’s a great illustration of how the best blender can pay for itself over time.

Discovering the Dro!d

Similarly, there’s a new company called B!pod (their spelling, not mine!) who’ve just released the Dro!d (also their spelling). If you think their branding sounds a little curious, you might also be baffled by the price of the B!pod Dro!d, because their website currently has a starter pack edition available for £319. It’s available in one of six colours, all of which look tempting, but is this device good enough to warrant such a cost?

After all, I’m used to using airtight containers most of the time, which cost pennies and can be placed in the fridge or freezer without fuss. I’m quite happy with my low-cost option, but I’ll admit that time is never on my side with anything I’ve decided to ‘keep for later’. What usually happens is that later, my pricey fresh produce or too-good-to-waste leftovers end up with mould growing on them. And all that waste adds up financially.

Vacuum packed food

So, perhaps the slightly madcap B!opod Dro!d is a justified expense? More to the point, what do I get for my £319? Well, inside the box there’s the Dro!d vacuum system, which is comprised of three plastic containers with lids – small (0.4-litres), medium (0.7-litres) and large (1.4-litres), plus a charging base, a type-C charging cable and power supply. The unit can be charged in around two hours, which is enough to carry out between 15 and 20 vacuum suctions.

A manual completes the kit list. Everything comes in suitably opulent packaging too. B!pod states the three sizes are all compatible with fridges, freezers, microwaves and dishwashers being suitable for use between -20°C and +90°C.

Quick and easy to use

Using the B!pod Dro!d is simple enough. The main unit comes with two vacuum power levels, delivered via the main unit, which features 50 mbar of vacuum pressure. This clamps on to the two holes on each container lid, so that once you suck out the air (taking around 30 seconds), you’re left with a container and contents that is fully sealed like an airtight chamber. B!pod claims 95% of the oxygen is removed.

I’ve just tried it while away on holiday for a week and the contents that I vacuum packed in the bowls seems to have fared well. My homemade pasta sauce, by way of an example, looked and tasted in great shape. In fact, due to the way it had effectively been marinating for week made for a much more intense flavour, which is an added bonus. The main thing though, is that there was no visible sign of mould, meaning I could use it for a quick pasta dish after I'd returned from my holidays.

Handy but an indulgence

It’s all good, everything seems to work as it should and the results seems impressive enough. I just can’t see how they’re going to sell many based on the current pricing. Sure, I’ll make savings over time, but it’ll be years before my Dro!d has fully earnt its keep. Nevertheless, if you don’t want a gadget that simply vacuum packs food into shrink-wrapped bags, this container arrangement is a very practical option. It looks pretty cool too, as you’d expect from an Italian company.