The Juicero is a neat device that, for many, has become a symbol of Silicon Valley excesses. The $700 product promised a Keurig-like experience designed to bring juicing to the kitchen (not that home juicing has ever really been that out of reach in the first place) with a proprietary system that relies on its own subscription service.
This week, the company’s offering a welcome price cut, nearly halving the cost of device to $400. The company is couching the significant price drop as the delivery on a promise to make the system more accessible, part of a discount planned to coincide with the release of its next device.
The move follows a Black Friday sale, which, unsurprisingly, saw the adoption rate of the juicer increase at a much faster rate when the cost was dropped to $350.
But the cut has arrived at least a year ahead of schedule. “Inspired by your love for Juicero and with our eyes on a mission to power the plant-based revolution, we decided to lower the price of our press,” the company wrote in an announcement issued earlier today.
https://twitter.com/juicero/status/821381656141557761
And while it cites the addition of two new markets (Nevada and Arizona, bringing the total number of states up to three), it’s hard not to see the price cut as an indication of how tough of a sell the device initially was. After all, the San Francisco-based startup sells its single-serving produce packs for around $5 to $8 a shot, which means those who buy into the system are really just getting started paying the company. And at $700, Juicero wasn’t exactly subsidizing things.
This all comes in the wake of the company’s founder stepping aside for a CEO who had previously spent time places like Coca-Cola. So, perhaps this isn’t so much a sign of gloom and doom as it is a much-needed shakeup. At $399, it’s a bit more in line with high end offerings from companies like Breville, though you’ll again have to factor those proprietary packs into the end cost. Though the company is reportedly doing something about those as well.
As new CEO Jeff Dunn tells Fortune with regard to per packet pricing, “We know as we build volume, that cost per unit is coming down, and it’s coming down faster than we thought.”