Venture Capital Backed Startup Juicero Shuts Down

Juicero, the San Francisco, CA-based developer of a WiFi-enabled, countertop cold-press juicing system, is shutting down.

Launched in 2016 by Doug Evans, CEO, the company was backed by $100m in funding from Artis Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, GV (formerly Google Ventures), Thrive Capital, Campbell Soup Company, Two Sigma Ventures, DBL Partners, First Beverage Group, Acre Venture Partners, and others.

Juicero’s offering included the WiFi-enabled juicing system, packs containing raw, organic produce fresh fruits and vegetables from organic farms already washed, chopped, mixed, packed and delivered to home and a mobile app for first-time setup of the press and for customers to see origins, nutritional benefits, and freshness of produce, as well as to track current pack inventory, schedule, modify or cancel upcoming deliveries.

This is the announcement appeared on the company’s web site:

To our loyal customers and partners,
Since our launch 16 months ago, we’ve been grateful for the support you’ve shown toward our mission of bringing more fresh produce into people’s lives. Juicero has grown so much thanks to your loyalty.
However, today, after selling over a million Produce Packs, we must let you know that we are suspending the sale of the Juicero Press and Produce Packs immediately.
In order to fulfill our mission, we announced last month that we would shift our resources to focus on lowering the price of the Press and Produce Packs. We began identifying ways that we could source, manufacture and distribute at a lower cost to consumers.
During this process, it became clear that creating an effective manufacturing and distribution system for a nationwide customer base requires infrastructure that we cannot achieve on our own as a standalone business. We are confident that to truly have the long-term impact we want to make, we need to focus on finding an acquirer with an existing national fresh food supply chain who can carry forward the Juicero mission.
For the next 90 days, we are offering refunds for your purchase of the Juicero Press. Please contact [email protected] by December 1, 2017 to request a refund for your purchase. If you have an active Pack subscription, you will receive your final delivery next week (week of September 4th).
As we enter this new chapter, we also want to express the deepest gratitude to our employees who have poured their hearts and souls into developing, launching and growing Juicero over the past 3 years. Words alone cannot express how humbled we are by their commitment, ingenuity and talents; they have showed true care for each other, our amazing customers and our shared mission. While this decision will affect them personally, we’re committed to ensuring a fair transition for all. We could not be more proud of our team and are excited to see the positive impact they will continue to have in the world. If your company is hiring and has interest in talking with any of our employees, please contact us at [email protected].
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.
Thank you,
The Juicero Team

FinSMEs

04/09/2017

Join the discussion