Silicon Valley Surprise: $400 Juicer Outperformed By Human Squeezing
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Major Silicon Valley investment firms reportedly poured millions into a high-priced juicing machine that may not be worth its high price tag.
Bloomberg reported that the Juicero, a $400 juicer that squeezed juice out of plastic packs of fruits and vegetables, could be outperformed by a human squeezing the packs by hand.
Investors and a reporter found hand squeezing the juice packs yielded nearly the same amount of juice compared to the machine, and in some cases in less time.
Company founder Doug Evans claimed his juicer wielded enough force to "lift two Teslas" when he was pitching it to investors. Investment firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Google's venture capital arm reportedly invested $120 million.
Sources told Bloomberg that the company didn't disclose the packs could be squeezed by hand.
After the product was introduced, Evans was replaced as CEO and the price of the machine was dropped the original $700 price tag to $400.
Following the report, the San Francisco-based startup was being bashed on social media.
Despite the revelations, the company announced this week it was selling their products to several western states.
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