Avon's iDevices Briefs Esty on New iGrillmini, Kitchen Thermometer App Products

Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty chose a small Avon app-enabled device company as the only business she toured on Monday for National Entrepreneur's Day. 

During the congresswoman's visit, iDevices founder and CEO Chris Allen told Esty and the media about its new products and teased three new products coming in the next couple months. 

"I think it's great to see that she's here to support us," Allen, of West Hartford, said. 

iDevices may be a small business, but the company most known for the iGrill, a wireless "app-enabled" meat thermometer, and iShower music speaker has made a big splash. The apps and devices are compatible with Apple products, iOS and Androids.  The company has gotten the attention of national media outlets and has been featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America and The Early Show.

iDevices recently released the iGrillmini, a more compact version of the iGrill, and preparing to launch a Kitchen Thermometer soon. Allen said that the other three products are "top secret" but will be related to the cooking realm. iDevices will showcase those new products at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Jan. 7 to 10.  

iDevices' products are manufactured in Brookfield and China. 

The company, which first opened in Canton and moved to Avon in 2012, has grown from 10 to 28 employees in a year and a half and is hiring app development, embedded software and electrical employees. Allen anticipates his staff count will be just under 40 by the end of the year. 

Connecticut Innovations, a quasi public organization based in Rocky Hill that offers financing and support for new Connecticut businesses, recommended iDevices to Esty when she was seeking a 5th District small business to visit. 

Allen told Esty that iDevices utilized state resources intended to encourage local entrepreneurship and job growth in Connecticut, such as seed investments from Connecticut Innovations and support from the Department of Economic and Community Development. Connecticut is also offering the Angel Tax Credit program through June of 2014 for investors in local businesses.  

Allen brings the Silicon Valley to Avon with iDevices. As someone who grew up in West Hartford, Allen chose to base his business in his home state of Connecticut, not California like many in its field.

The original iGrill was already popular when it first launched in December 2010. A plug from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in August of 2012 helped make the iGrill an even hotter item. More people flocked to the site, temporarily crashing it. 

Now, the iGrill might have a new prominent fan in Esty, who said she and her family grill often. She has never used the iGrill before but she said that "now I'm definitely going to be looking for an iGrill."

"It's great to see such an innovative company here, iDevices, right here in Avon. Homegrown talent. Encouraging students, bringing in students from UConn and from University of New Haven, partnering up with bringing in students in over the summer. Then recruiting talent from Connecticut and around the Northeast. It's very exciting to see what they're doing. They're thriving, they're expanding," Esty said. "Well, this is exciting. It's just what we want to see here in Connecticut."

The iGrillmini is available for pre-order on the iDevices website and will be sold in Lowe's Home Improvement stores in December, just in time for the holidays. The Kitchen Thermometer will launch for Apple in January. Both are available for iOS and will likely launch for Androids in February. 

The company plans to have 12 products available "in the marketplace" by this time next year, Allen said.