Nomiku lets public cut in line while backers keep waiting
The Nomiku Wi-Fi Sous Vide Circulator will ship to the public while some Kickstarter preorders remain unfulfilled.
In an update to backers posted on Friday, Nomiku revealed it will be fulfilling public preorders for the company's new Wi-Fi Sous Vide Circulator before sending out all of the units ordered as part of its crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Nomiku will continue shipping units ordered by backers throughout the coming months as well, but many of those who ordered this Nomiku cooker initially expected their product in March 2015 and are due to wait a while longer.
The Nomiku Wi-Fi Sous Vide Circulator clips to any stock pot, and heats the water to a specific temperature over an extended period of time, allowing for precise cooking in a once exclusive style. Seal a steak in a bag, put it in the pot, then let it tenderize and cook to a perfect medium rare over the course of 24 hours. The Wi-Fi aspect of this particular circulator promised even more peace of mind for remote check-ins and alterations over the course of a long cook.
Plenty of crowdfunded products experience delays, but the Wi-Fi Nomiku seemed like a safe bet -- the company already had a product at retail on the market. This one just added Wi-Fi. Nomiku's main competitor -- Anova -- added Bluetooth and Wi-Fi smarts to an existing sous vide circulator and did so without a hitch.
Making matters worse, Kickstarter customers claim they've asked for refunds, and Nomiku is making them wait for that, too.
Many customers will have to keep waiting for their new Nomiku.
Lisa Fetterman, the founder and CEO of Nomiku said, "We are issuing refunds for Kickstarter backers at a rate that does not hinder our production rate. We address people who have concerns and have a clear path of communication with backers."
Just like with the Coolest Cooler, Nomiku's post claims it needs to fulfill preorders to make ends meet and keep the company afloat:
"We know this is far from ideal, but doing this allows us an additional revenue stream that our bootstrapped company can use to not only continue production smoothly, but to also increase the rate at which we are producing. This allows us to ensure that we can continue manufacturing so that those still waiting for their units will receive them. We want to be clear that we are not going to stop shipping backer units, but will ship in parallel to our preorder units."
The Kickstarter update also lays out an expected calendar for delivery -- with the last backers now supposedly getting their units in September of this year.