dbl-partners | April 24, 2017

Food for thought: What makes Juiciero more than juice in a bag?

ImpactAlpha
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ImpactAlpha

Tech bloggers have had a field day at Juicero’s expense since Bloomberg reported on Wednesday its reporters didn’t need the $400 juicer to squeeze the company’s juice packs. Their own hands were nearly as effective.

Juicero’s new CEO Jeff Dunn took to Medium to defend the experience created by Juicero’s system, which includes not only the press and $5 to $8 produce packs, but a scanner, microprocessor, wireless chip and antenna and an app that tracks expiration dates and manages recalls.

“The value of Juicero is more than a glass of cold-pressed juice. Much more,” Dunn writes. Among the investors who have put $120 million into Juicero is DBL Partners, an impact investor whose founder, Nancy Pfund discussed the company in an interview with ImpactAlpha’s David Bank last month.

In an email exchange, Pfund says her view of Juicero has not changed. “I don’t care if you can squeeze them by hand: that’s not why you buy the product. You buy it for health, good taste and convenience,” Pfund says. “Let’s move on!”

This post originally appeared in ImpactAlpha’s daily newsletter. Get The Brief.

Photo credit: Bloomberg