What is scan-to-cook? How QR codes are replacing oven dials

How Tovala's Scan-to-Cook Technology Works

Scan-to-cook connects a physical barcode on food packaging to a cloud-stored cooking profile that the oven downloads and executes automatically. The process takes about 60 seconds of active effort from you — the oven handles the rest.
Here's the step-by-step:

1. Unpack the meal — remove it from its shipping packaging and do any minimal prep (peeling back a film, placing items on the tray). This takes roughly one minute.
2. Scan the QR code — hold the meal's packaging up to the scanner on the oven, or scan it through the companion app on your phone.
3. Let the oven auto-configure — the oven connects to the cloud, downloads the cooking profile for that specific meal, and programs itself. This includes temperature, cook time, and mode sequencing (for example: steam first, then bake, then broil for a crispy finish).
4. Press start — the oven runs through its programmed cook cycle with no intervention needed. No preheating required for Tovala meals.
5. Get notified — the app sends a push notification to your phone when the meal is done.

Most meals are ready in about 20 minutes. The key difference from simply setting a timer on a regular oven is the multi-step cook cycles. A scan-to-cook oven can switch between steam, bake, and broil automatically during a single cook — something you'd need to do manually (and time precisely) with a conventional oven.

What Makes Scan-to-Cook Different from Just Following a Recipe

Following a recipe still depends on your oven, your judgment, and your attention. Scan-to-cook removes all three variables by letting the oven's software handle the cooking decisions.
Think about all that can go wrong when you cook from a recipe card or meal kit. The recipe says 400°F for 25 minutes, but your oven runs hot and the chicken is perfectly crispy on the outside yet still somehow uncooked. Or maybe you get wrapped up on a FaceTime with your bestie and the vegetables get burned to oblivion. What if dinner cooked perfectly while you did literally anything else?
A scan-to-cook oven doesn't have off days. The cooking profile for each meal was developed and tested by professional chefs specifically for that oven's heating elements, airflow, and capabilities. The result is the same every time, regardless of whether you've ever cooked before.