Juicero is no more.
The company behind the infamous $400 juicer is shutting down after 16 months in business. The juice machine gained widespread notoriety earlier this year when Bloomberg reported that the expensive device wasn’t actually required to make juice. The single-serve packets of fruits and vegetables that are bundled with the Internet-connected machine could be squeezed by hand, Bloomberg reporters found. That sparked a backlash against Juicero, which had attracted millions of dollars in investments, pitching a seemingly unnecessary juicer as a breakthrough gadget.
“Bloomberg performed its own press test, pitting a Juicero machine against a reporter’s grip,”the article said. “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.”
Following the fiasco, Juicero planned to cut the cost of the machine to around $200. But the company said its efforts to lower the price of its marquee product wasn’t enough to sustain its business. In a statement to customers and partners on its website Friday, Juicero said that it was suspending the sale of its juicer and produce packs immediately.
Juicero is offering customers of its juice press a full refund for the next 90 days. “In a short period of time, you’ve validated that there is national demand for easier access to fresh produce and hassle-free cold-press juicing – thank you again for coming on this journey with us,” the company wrote.
