SOUTH LYON, Mich. (WXYZ) — Michael Chou is the inventor of Midnight Scoop and Midnight Slice.
“I came up with this at midnight, and then I started this company at midnight," he told 7 Action News.
He said the Midnight Kitchen Tools are an ergonomic, wrist-friendly way to scoop ice cream and cut pizza.
“I thought there’d have to have been a better way to do it," said Chou, president and owner of Midnight Kitchen Tools.
The engineer by trade said the scoop was first conceptualized in 2013 when he was scooping ice cream for his kids.
“You know how kids are, they want their ice cream as soon as possible," Chou said.
To save his wrist from the hard digging, he designed a scoop with a wider handle.
“Because of the shape of it, you hold it in a way that you keep your wrist straight, and that way you can push with your arms and muscles into ice cream. So, you’re not scooping ice cream like this with your wrist," Chou explained.
He said it’s all about using large muscles to protect weak wrists.
“I didn’t know if it was going to be popular or not, I just wanted my own. But I threw it out there on a crowdfunding and everyone loved it," Chou said.
It even caught Oprah Winfrey's attention.
"She liked the scoop, and this year we launched the pizza cutter and she loves that too," he said.
The media mogul added the items to her list of Oprah’s Favorite Things for 2022.
“It’s like winning the lotto I’d say," Chou described.
Chou said the mention from Oprah has been so beneficial, it's actually tripled sales.
“We didn’t think we were going to sell out this holiday, but we’re definitely on track to sell out," he said.
His business is stocked with inventory selling the stainless kitchen tools through Amazon and his website.
“It’s really like the perfect gift for someone that has everything," Chou described.
