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.

Comments

Re:Not what I expected

[bluefoxlucid]

Last time I ate any significant amount of fiber, I squirted blood after a bowel movement. Somebody did a study into "idiopathic constipation" (constipation, but we don't know why) and found that increasing fiber intake makes it worse, while decreasing fiber intake causes more-frequent bowel movements and less straining and pain. Sounds like "dietary fiber sensitivity" is a thing but nobody wants to claim you can overdose on fiber. My doctor says it's strange and recommends I eat more fiber and consume metamucil (?!).

The issue is one of ratio. I have a 2-3 week travel time. Bowel movements about 1 pound (fist-sized) occur every 18-26 days. At 25g of fiber, 5.5% of the mass of stool is fiber; dietary fiber supposedly absorbs water and increases volume, so may represent a greater volume of the stool, but not necessarily. At 25g of fiber per day after 14 days on a similar-mass stool, 77% of the mass of stool is fiber; and the fiber will absorb water from the surrounding stool.

In other words: high fiber (particularly insoluble fiber) in slow, long-fermentation stools where the stool size doesn't increase in proportion to the travel time generates an engineered wood material consisting of lignin pulp packed in a fatty binder, with the pulp hydrated to a consistency appropriate for engineered wood, and the water content of the fatty binder reduced by a wood pulp desiccant. The result is a relatively-large-diameter, rigid stool and anal tearing.

Resistant starch doesn't pose these problems; and soluble fiber does tend to ferment, although a sudden change in soluble fiber may produce similar symptoms because your gut flora need to proliferate to meet the carry capacity of the available food source. Some starch-heavy foods may induce constipation as well, though (bananas, notably).

Some people have this kind of fiber sensitivity with a 3-day travel time. I have no idea why, as you shouldn't be particularly sensitive to lignin build-up after three days.