Slashdot Mirror
Silicon Valley's $400 Juicer May Be Feeling the Squeeze (bloomberg.com)
An anonymous reader shares a Bloomberg report: One of the most lavishly funded gadget startups in Silicon Valley last year was Juicero Inc. It makes a juice machine. The product was an unlikely pick for top technology investors, but they were drawn to the idea of an internet-connected device that transforms single-serving packets of chopped fruits and vegetables into a refreshing and healthy beverage. Doug Evans, the company's founder, would compare himself with Steve Jobs in his pursuit of juicing perfection. He declared that his juice press wields four tons of force -- "enough to lift two Teslas," he said. Google's venture capital arm and other backers poured about $120 million into the startup. Juicero sells the machine for $400, plus the cost of individual juice packs delivered weekly. But after the product hit the market, some investors were surprised to discover a much cheaper alternative: You can squeeze the Juicero bags with your bare hands. Two backers said the final device was bulkier than what was originally pitched and that they were puzzled to find that customers could achieve similar results without it.
Back in the old days. a pair of HP engineers put in purchase order for a Saturn V rocket launcher and it got all the way to VP before it got cancel. These days you can combine a toaster with an iPhone, call it iToast, and no one will think twice about throwing money at it.
Which reminds me --- Coca Cola pulled out of the Cold Drink effort with Keurig. After product launch it all tanked. --- again they forgot to test the market. Nobody wanted to pay a big price for the machine, have it occupy counter space, and then fork over about the same money as a can of soda costs.
oh- and everyone is getting wise to health and sugar -- and that they should drink less soda.
http://www.businessinsider.com...
The bags are not filled with juice, they are filled with pre-chopped fruit and/or vegetable pieces. Or at least that's the idea behind the bags. I have a little difficulty believing that you could hand squeeze vegetables as effectively as a machine, but fruit should be easy enough.
But at $5-8 per bag, a $400 machine or one to two minutes of hand squeezing I don't really find this compelling. I'm sure the juice is delicious but it costs more than I spend on my whole lunch.