NEW YORK–Ronco, the company founded by television pitchman Ron Popeil, celebrated its 50th anniversary with an event at the Institute of Culinary Education here.
As part of the anniversary, Ronco is launching new versions of some of its established products. Among these are a new Chef N Go, with a preset digital control menu; a new Pasta Maker, which makes up to five pounds of a variety of pastas; a new five-tray Food Dehydrator; and the trademarked Showtime GrillWave, which grills a variety of foods inside a microwave oven. Ronco has also repackaged the Veg-o-Matic, one of the first products hawked by Popeil in his infomercials and on TV commercials.
At the event, Larry Nusbaum, Ronco’s chairman and chief executive officer, also introduced Mark Solley, who will serve as Ronco’s new spokesman on a series of infomercials about Ronco products. Solley, a producer of infomercials on other kitchen products, will begin appearing on the infomercials beginning this month.