Juicero

Juicero Inc. was a company known for its high-tech, Wi-Fi-enabled juicer, the Juicero Press, which operated as a closed system requiring proprietary single-serving packets of pre-chopped fruits and vegetables. The venture was established in 2013 by Doug Evans, a health food advocate who previously co-founded Organic Avenue, one of the first organic cold-pressed juice and raw food retailers in the U.S. Evans' personal journey into health and wellness, spurred by family health issues, heavily influenced his mission to make fresh produce more accessible at home.

The company's business model relied on selling both the hardware—the Juicero Press—and a subscription to its produce packs. Initially priced at $699 upon its March 2016 launch, the press was marketed as a sophisticated appliance capable of exerting four tons of force to extract juice, comparable to the power needed to lift two Tesla cars. The system was designed for convenience, eliminating the preparation and cleanup associated with traditional juicers. The machine featured internet connectivity to scan a QR code on each pack, a digital rights management (DRM) feature that prevented the use of expired or non-Juicero packs. The produce packs themselves were priced between $5 and $7.

Juicero attracted approximately $120 million in venture capital from prominent investors, including Google Ventures and Kleiner Perkins, largely due to its technological promise and the charisma of its founder. However, the company's trajectory shifted dramatically in April 2017 when a Bloomberg News report revealed that the juice packs could be squeezed by hand with results nearly identical to those from the expensive machine. This exposé led to widespread public ridicule and investor backlash, revealing the machine to be an over-engineered and unnecessary device for a problem that didn't truly exist. Despite a price reduction to $399 and subsequent offers of full refunds, the company could not recover. Juicero ceased all operations in September 2017, just 16 months after its launch, and began seeking a buyer for its intellectual property.

Keywords: Juicero, Doug Evans, cold-press juicer, proprietary juice packs, subscription model, venture capital failure, Silicon Valley, over-engineering, Juicero Press, food technology, connected appliance, IoT kitchen, hardware startup, Bloomberg Juicero, startup failure, digital rights management, Organic Avenue, Jeff Dunn, Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures