patrick.net

Juicero, the company that made its name by creating a proprietary juice-squeezing machine, is shutting down. The announcement comes from Juicero's website. In its post, the company writes that it is suspending the sale of both its juice packets and its Juicero Press device. The last juice packet delivery will occur next week. All customers have up to 90 days to request a refund for their purchase of the Juicero Press, regardless of when they bought it. Fortune reports that employees are being given 60 days notice.

So it's time to say goodbye to Juicero, although we only knew its product for 16 months. The founder of Organic Avenue (a now-bankrupt restaurant chain), Doug Evans, introduced the device in March 2016. At the time, we scoffed at the fact that it cost $699 and required proprietary juice packs. Then in April 2017, Bloomberg published a piece that likely doomed the company to fail. Reporters found that the company's packs of fruits and vegetables didn't require the actual Juicero machine, but were instead squeezeable by hand. Basically, the pricey machine was completely useless, which wasn't a great look for the company.

After that PR catastrophe, Juicero said it hoped to eventually cut the cost of its machine to around $200. It also laid off 25 percent of its staff and offered full refunds, but that appears to not have been sufficient to keep the business afloat. Juicero fell fast. I just hope the bodegas can get a refund.