Coolest Cooler

The Coolest Cooler was a multi-function cooler that was initially funded through the crowdfunding website Kickstarter. Currently, it's widely considered to be one of the largest disasters in Kickstarter history. In the summer of 2014, Ryan Grepper raised over $13 million, making it the most funded Kickstarter campaign of 2014.[2] Crowdfunders were offered the product at a discounted rate but eventually due to corporate failure not all backers received a product.

Coolest Cooler
DeveloperRyan Grepper
Release date24 July 2015[1]
Discontinued06 December 2019
SoundBluetooth water-resistant speaker[1]
Input2x USB charging port
(5 volts, 1 amp & 2.1 amp)[1]
Power20V Rechargeable lithium ion battery

In December 2019, CEO & founder Ryan Grepper announced that the company was closing, having never delivered coolers to an estimated 20,000 of the original backers. This makes Coolest Coolers one of the most disastrous campaigns ever on Kickstarter.[3]

Crowdfunding

Grepper was a product developer from Portland, Oregon. He first tried to raise funding for the product in November 2013 but fell short of the $125,000 goal and failed to secure any funding. He launched a second campaign on July 8, 2014, and critics attribute the success of the second Kickstarter campaign to the timing.[4] The Coolest received extensive press coverage when it topped the funding goals of the Pebble watch, and ended the campaign in August with $13,285,226 and 62,642 backers making it the most funded Kickstarter campaign of 2014.[2]

Background

Grepper designed the Coolest, initially using a weed whacker[5] to build a portable gas-powered blender. He subsequently re-engineered a cooler with a car stereo to bring to an Independence Day beach party for friends. Grepper has said that improvements in technology and the reduced size of components made him realize that the multi-function cooler could be engineered as a consumer product and developed a prototype using 3D printing technology.[6]

Features

It includes an ice-crushing blender, a Bluetooth water-resistant speaker, a USB charging port, LED lamps, a bottle opener with magnetic cap catch, plates, knife, corkscrew and a removable divider that can also be used as a cutting board.[1] The split lid design is made with steel hinges and includes cup-holders.

The cooler's hexagonal shape has a 55+ quart capacity.[7] The cooler is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and the removable Bluetooth speaker is also rechargeable and can be paired with a second speaker up to 30 feet away. One reviewer described it as a "party in a box".[8] Time magazine listed the Coolest cooler as one of its 25 best inventions of 2014.[9]

Development and delays

When Grepper launched the Kickstarter campaign for the Coolest, the company planned to deliver to backers their Coolest reward in February 2015. The success of the campaign significantly increased demand, and they are being made [10] in China. Due to the change in quantity, complexity of shipping, logistics and certification processes, production has taken longer than expected. In February 2015, the company announced a postponement to July 2015.[11] Grepper cited improvements and upgrades[12] as partial reasons for the delay in a post on the company's blog.[13]

The first units were shipped in July 2015, and by November 2015 tens of thousands of backers received their cooler. The company estimated they would clear the large backlog by April 2016.[14] During a live-streamed web conference in March 2016, Grepper admitted production had stopped, and he was seeking an additional $15 million, with one third of this to be put towards meeting 36,000 outstanding orders from backers.[15] In April 2016, Grepper added an option to spend $97 in order to get expedited shipping on the backer's delayed coolers.[16] In May 2016, it was reported that more than 10,000 backers had supported this option and production had resumed in China.[17] The company said it would fund delivery of the remaining 26,000 backer rewards from profits from retail sales.

In September 2016, after receiving 315 consumer complaints in the past year, the Oregon Department of Justice confirmed that it was investigating Coolest Cooler[18] for possible violations of the state's Unlawful Trade Practices Act.

As of February 2017, some backers were still waiting, but Coolest claimed to use funds from sales on their website to deliver coolers to backers at the rate of 30-50 per week.[19]

In June 2017, Coolest LLC entered into an agreement with the Oregon Department of Justice that specified the plan for fulfilling remaining Kickstarter Backer rewards.[20]

In December 2019, Grepper and Coolest, LLC, announced they were ceasing operations and would be complying with the Oregon Department of Justice agreement.[21][22]

References

  1. "COOLEST COOLER: 21st Century Cooler that's Actually Cooler". Kickstarter. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  2. "Move over, Pebble: The Coolest Cooler is now the biggest Kickstarter campaign ever". Yahoo News. 27 August 2014.
  3. "Coolest Cooler bankrupt with 20,000 Kickstarter pledges unfulfilled". December 10, 2019.
  4. Jeffries, Adrianne (27 August 2014). "The biggest Kickstarter ever failed the first time around". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  5. Volastro, Anthony; Rosenbaum, Eric (26 August 2014). "A new king of Kickstarter is crowned!". CNBC. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  6. "The Coolest Cooler". FATHOM // 3D Printer Sales, Advanced Prototype Fabrication, Bridge-To-Production Low Volume Manufacturing.
  7. "The 'Coolest' cooler - 60 quarts of style with a built in blender, music and way, way more". The Coolest Cooler: 60 quarts of style with a built-in blender, music and way, way more.
  8. "It's a cooler. It's a blender. It's a party in a box". Portland Business Journal. 11 July 2014.
  9. TIME Staff (20 November 2014). "The 25 Best Inventions of 2014". TIME.com. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  10. "Coolest Cooler Partners with Dragon Innovation on Production". Crowdfund Insider.
  11. Taylor Soper. "'Coolest Cooler' shipments delayed in setback for record-breaking $13.3M Kickstarter campaign - GeekWire". GeekWire.
  12. "Coolest Cooler Selects Manufacturer, Upgrades Battery". Crowdfund Insider.
  13. "COOLEST COOLER: 21st Century Cooler that's Actually Cooler by Ryan Grepper — Kickstarter". Kickstarter.
  14. Hern, Alex (19 November 2015). "Trouble on Kickstarter as two massive projects hit the rocks". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  15. Marum, Anna (8 March 2016). "Coolest Cooler needs another $15 million, creator says". The Oregonian. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  16. Micah Singleton (13 April 2016). "$13 million Kickstarter project for a cooler continues to be a disaster". The Verge. Vox Media.
  17. Marum, Anna (May 6, 2016). "Coolest Cooler is restarting production". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  18. Marum, Anna (30 September 2016). "State launches Coolest Cooler investigation". The Oregonian. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  19. Schlosser, Kurt (10 February 2017). "Coolest Cooler delivers new update as deliveries trickle out for still-waiting Kickstarter backers". Geek Wire. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  20. Rogoway, Mike (June 27, 2017). "Coolest Cooler settles with Oregon Department of Justice". The Oregonian.
  21. Rogoway, Mike (December 8, 2019) [online date December 7]. "Coolest Cooler calls it quits, will refund backers $20". The Sunday Oregonian. p. A15. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  22. Grepper, Ryan (6 December 2019). "Coolest Announces Shutdown". backer email official cache. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
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