Juicero Selling a Perception

Juicero the wi-fi enabled juicer that became a symbol of the era of the internet of things and American corporate hubris. But it should also stand as a symbol of the ability to sell on perception. The Juicero was highly ridiculously expensive $400 dollars with a subscription plan for small juice packs on top of that. Even worse the product was highly over engineered for its task of squeezing juice bags meaning its price point could have been lower with the same functionality. But regardless it sold to investors and some members of the public who really enjoy spending money on juice. But why, in my opinion the answer is perception not the product itself.  Juicero was as much an image to its investors as anything else, it had the sleek functionality of a Mac Book or a Google Pixel while also making acceptable juice. And investors ate it up pouring millions into a juicer company. If Black and Decker or Sunbeam had tried to pitch a juicer functionally the same it would have went nowhere with their perceptions as just appliance companies. But Juicero was a tech company with the laid back Silicon Valley approach making the idea seem fresh and different. And the image worked until the consumer market; most Americans did not want to pay that much to buy a juicer. The perception was no longer that of an innovative company lead by a charismatic CEO who would and could change the world or at least Juice.  But the product of an out of touch Californian with a bit too much time on his hands. Sure some people still bought Juiceros because they were new and different (a fair number bought them to make fun of on the internet.)The perception of the future so carefully crafted in the earlier stages fell apart when the public realized “Hey it’s a juicer.”

https://www.cnet.com/culture/juicero-is-still-the-greatest-example-of-silicon-valley-stupidity/