When Carlos Ruiz studied abroad in Switzerland, he missed eating his favorite homemade meal from his native Mexico: tacos made with hot-off-the-griddle tortillas. So he invited friends over for an authentic Mexican meal, calling his mother for her tortilla recipe and checking out tutorials on YouTube.
But he could never replicate the flavor he remembered from his childhood. Then a couple days later, as Ruiz was drinking a cup of coffee from a Nespresso, something clicked.
“I got inspired and thought, ‘Why can’t something high quality very conveniently come in a pod?’” says Ruiz, a WeWork Williamsburg member. “What if you can push a button and get a tortilla? If you don’t have time to make a fresh tortilla, why not develop a machine that solves that problem?”
That’s how Flatev was born. The machine does all the work, making sure each tortilla is fresh and has the right consistency. The company’s Kickstarter campaign has taken off, nearly tripling its goal of $50,000.
What makes it new?
The Flatev might sound like a niche product, but the Mexican food market in the U.S. continues to grow, especially on the coasts.
“Tortillas in the U.S. are a $12 billion market,” Ruiz says. “When we entered the market, we made sure to go into New York and California.”
Ruiz acknowledges that Nespresso and Keurig thought of the pod long before his machine hit the scene. But he’s applied the same type of technology to piping-hot tortillas.
Filled with dough, the Flatev pods are easily recyclable. And the flavors run the gamut from blue corn to chile.
What’s next for the company?
“We believe Flatev is the flatbread revolution, and the tortilla is only the start,” says Ruiz. “We want to revolutionize the bread industry, but we know it’s going to take time.”
The only thing that’s keeping Ruiz from taking on the world with the bread revolution?
“The biggest barrier for us is if you’ve never tried a product in top restaurants, you can’t imagine what it’s like,” Ruiz says. “But every time we test our products, people try it and really love it. We see it in the look on their faces.”