Here in all his glory is Ron Popeil, the undisputed king of 90s infomercials, in a completely intact, and not too blurry, ad spot for the Ronco Food Dehydrator and Veg-O-Matic. Framing the paid commercial as a showcase of “Incredible Inventions” and introduced by Ron’s 11-year-old daughter, Lauren Popeil, I quickly realized how beautiful it is that this was preserved for posterity.
It’s worth noting that Ronco reportedly sold $80 million worth of food dehydrators by 1993!
Why Saturday-Night TV Felt Like a Flea Market
Long before Prime Day or even late-night QVC scroll-fests, there were half-hour blocks of TV where inventor-pitchman Ron Popeil chatted straight into your living room. His Ronco Food Dehydrator promised homemade fruit leather and beef jerky that “costs just pennies.” Flip the channel and you caught the Veg-O-Matic, slicing potatoes into perfect shoestring fries “in one stroke.” If you were still awake, you probably tried both numbers just to hear the operator say guaranteed arrival before Christmas.
Meet the King of Kitchen Gizmos
Popeil didn’t merely sell products. He hawked self-reliance. No preservatives, no grocery-store mark-ups, just DIY snacks delivered by a machine you could stash in the cupboard. His laid-back cadence made complex gadgets feel like friendly sidekicks—each demo punctuated with the line “But wait, there’s more.” The now-iconic tagline offered extra trays or bonus blades until your phone hand twitched with temptation.
How the Dehydrator Won Over Snackers
- Cheap jerky at home – An eight-hour overnight run yielded pounds of meat strips for next day road trips.
- Fruit that never spoiled – Apple rings kept their crunch in zippered bags for weeks, ideal for kids’ lunches.
- Health trend fuel – Mid-90s low-fat diets needed flavorful replacements. Dehydrated banana chips hit the spot.
The commercial b-roll showed whole families arranging strawberry slices, sealing lids, and then waking to sun-dried goodness. It looked like farm-to-table magic, minus the farm.
What Other Things Did Ron Popeil Sell?
| Year (Launch) | Gadget | Why It Hooked Viewers |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Chop-O-Matic | A hand-powered chopper that diced onions without tears. Popeil’s famous line “It slices, it dices” was born here. |
| 1963 | Pocket Fisherman | A folding rod and reel that fit in a glove box—pitched as the perfect “gift for the man who has everything.” |
| 1974 | Inside-The-Shell Egg Scrambler | A needle pierced the shell and whisked the yolk right inside. Breakfast without messy bowls. |
| 1977 | Mr. Microphone | A wireless mic that hijacked nearby radios so you could broadcast your own voice, karaoke-style. |
| 1991 | Rotisserie Showtime Oven | “Set it and forget it” became a catchphrase as viewers watched whole chickens self-baste behind glass. |
| 1994 | GLH Formula 9 “Hair in a Can” | A colored spray that filled in balding spots on live TV, drawing gasps and late-night comedy sketches alike. |
| 1998 | Smart Grill | Dual heating plates with a built-in timer, pitched to college students and small-apartment dwellers. |
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