Peak Gillette? The $400 Juicer that is Worse at Juicing than Your Hand

davomcdave

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-04-19/silicon-valley-s-400-juicer-may-be-feeling-the-squeeze

Silicon Valley’s $400 Juicer May Be Feeling the Squeeze

Two investors in Juicero were surprised to learn the startup’s juice packs could be squeezed by hand without using its high-tech machine.

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. Tech blogs have dubbed it a “Keurig for juice.”


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. Bloomberg performed its own press test, pitting a Juicero machine against a reporter’s grip. The experiment found that squeezing the bag yields nearly the same amount of juice just as quickly—and in some cases, faster—than using the device.

It's okay, don't worry. The company won't sell you the under 1/2 pint bags of juice at $8 a pop if you don't own a juicer so you can't squeeze by hand without a machine.

chris_m

What is it that they say about fools and money?

Robin9

American rubbish

SPAM button please

paddyrg

Robin9 wrote: »

American rubbish

SPAM button please

Why? Doesn't strike me as spam, but a recent news article about a crowdfunded piece of crap

chris_m

Knowing the OP's history rather better than the complainant's, I am certain that it's not spam.

Robin9

This is a UK site - and I've no interest in American c**p.

wotsthat

Surprised anyone's surprised. The consumer can sometimes be a bit mental when they're told someone has designed something to solve a problem they didn't have. The funny thing is that the complaint is about being about being able to squeeze juice out of a bag better than a machine, Surely it's worth a mention that neither bag nor machine add value to anyone's life? Just buy a juicer, a few carrots, a beetroot and a bit of ginger and you're away.

Take a look at a Nespresso coffee machine. You pay £100 - £300 to become hostage to having to pay 25p a coffee thereafter (or wasting headspace chasing the offers). You can buy a nice Krups espresso machine in that price range and drink better coffee for less than half the price per serving. The grounds are also compostable, there's less packaging etc.

Maybe a juceiro is what you buy after only you've paid for the important stuff like getting your feet scabs nibbled off by fish and a personalised number plate has been secured.

System

Robin9 wrote: »

This is a UK site - and I've no interest in American c**p.

Do you post in every thread you're not interested in?

stator

May just be some of the 'flavours' that can be squeezed by hand. Others may be lumpy so they need the machine to squeeze them out.

Nothing wrong with the product really. If you want to pay that much money for something as silly as that, no reason why you shouldn't. No-one is being conned or ripped off.

paddyrg

wotsthat wrote: »

Take a look at a Nespresso coffee machine. You pay £100 - £300 to become hostage to having to pay 25p a coffee thereafter (or wasting headspace chasing the offers).

Just to update you - you can get a machine for a quid if you "subscribe" to the club (and then you get free postage, free recycling and composting, etc) but the pods cost 31-35p each. At least legit Nespresso pods are all recyclable and not like the horrible plastic 'compatible' ones, or other pod machines that use placcy. Percol do a range of fully compostable (pod and all) compatible capsules too.

I must admit I jumped in and took the £1 offer - I justified it as it stops me buying a 99p filter coffee each day and the coffee is actually really very good.

PixelPound

There have always been various kitchen gadgets that are done from over engineering a problem that wasn't one for most people. I remember a program on TV decades ago about how the average family in the UK have a kitchen drawer full of gadgets bought to make their lives easier but abandoned after a few uses to gather dust.