Say Goodbye to Bulky Air Fryers — This New Innovation Lets You Cook Food Anywhere, Anytime

When it comes to kitchen appliances, true innovation is rare. Take, for example, the air fryer: Companies have spent years adjusting the size and shape of the device, but at the end of the day, it’s still a bulky countertop convection oven — albeit one that can crisp up a frozen pizza or roast broccoli florets quickly with little oil necessary. That was until SharkNinja, the Needham, Massachusetts–based appliance company, introduced the Ninja Crispi Portable Glass Air Fryer Cooking System.

Instead of the usual boxy shape, the team at Ninja figured out how to condense the 1,500-watt air-frying mechanism into the device’s lid, called the PowerPod. Snapped onto one of Ninja’s two glass storage containers (the Crispi comes with a 4-quart and a 6-cup container with accompanying lids), the PowerPod crisps up whatever is inside. “You can prep, store, serve, and reheat in the same containers,” says Kaitlyn Beauchemin, senior vice president of global marketing for Ninja. 

The Crispi makes it easier to prepare a hot lunch on an office desk, and Ninja tested it with nurses, law enforcement, construction site staff, and other shift workers to ensure that the product worked for just about anyone. It has especially been embraced by Gen Z home cooks on TikTok, where there are thousands of videos dedicated to the appliance. According to Ninja, the Crispi is consistently one of the top 10 air fryers sold since it first launched in 2024. 

The Crispi is just one of many viral kitchen appliances released by Ninja in the past few years. There’s also the Slushi, which transforms liquids into icy frozen beverages. (Who doesn’t love frozen Margaritas on demand?) And there’s the Creami, which shaves and churns the ice crystals of any frozen base — yogurt, pureed fruit, juice, even protein shakes — and turns it into ice cream. It’s perhaps Ninja’s most viral product of all, with over 2 billion global social impressions. (Even chefs are infatuated: 2023 F&W Best New Chef Isabel Coss says that she prefers it for making ice cream over the pricier PacoJet found in most professional kitchens, due to a superior texture.)

When creating a new appliance, Ninja always thinks about virality and actively mines social media for consumer trends and needs. And while it’s difficult to predict their next invention, the team is constantly testing out new innovations — and at warp speed. “Every few weeks, we’ll get into a room and take an idea and accelerate it,” says Beauchemin. “On a Monday, it becomes an idea, and by Friday, it is a prototype.” And a few months later, in the Crispi’s case, it’s everywhere.