The Rise and Fall of Juicero: When High-Tech Meets No Common Sense
Sometimes innovation isn’t the problem, over-engineering is. Juicero, the $700 Wi-Fi connected juice press, became the poster child for Silicon Valley excess when customers discovered they didn’t even need the machine to squeeze the juice.
The Background
Founded in 2013, Juicero raised over $120 million from top-tier investors (Google Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, etc.). The idea: a sleek, high-tech machine that would press proprietary juice packs shipped by subscription. Healthy, convenient, and techy; on paper it sounded like the Keurig of juice.
The “Oh No” Moment
In 2017, Bloomberg published a video showing that customers could simply squeeze the juice packs by hand, faster than the $700 Juicero machine. Overnight, the brand went from “Apple of juicing” to “Silicon Valley’s dumbest gadget.” Sales tanked, ridicule spread, and by September that year Juicero shut down.
Why It Failed
-
Misaligned Value Proposition – The machine didn’t actually solve a problem customers had.
-
Overpriced & Over-Engineered – People expect tech to improve convenience. Juicero added friction.
-
No Real Brand Story – Juicero sold itself as a lifestyle product but never nailed why it mattered beyond novelty.
Lessons for Businesses
-
Solve a real pain point. Tech for tech’s sake is a trap.
-
Test the “hand squeeze” scenario. If customers can bypass your product, they will.
-
Price must match perceived value. Premium only works when the benefit feels premium too.
Takeaway:
Juicero wasn’t just a bad product; it was a branding lesson. If you’re charging premium prices, make sure you’re offering premium value. And always ask yourself: Would my customer still buy this if they could DIY it for free?