Sous vide machine maker Sansaire to shut down
The Seattle-based startup, which debuted its sous vide device on Kickstarter, will close over the next 12 months.
Sansaire, a startup that created connected cooking tools for sous vide cooking, announced Wednesday it would shut down operations and end production of its newest, crowdfunded device, the Sansaire Delta .
"In short, our relationship with the new production facility broke down and has exhausted available funding and manufacturing routes," CEO Lukas Svec said in a statement. "As we wind down over the next 12 months, Sansaire will be supporting warranties and customer service issues. Kickstarter backers will be contacted individually regarding next steps."
A Sansaire spokesperson said there was "a breach of confidentiality and trust" between the company and the manufacturing facility, but did not elaborate.
The company will provide backers with refund information over the next few weeks, the spokesperson said. Customer support will continue through February 2019.
The Sansaire Delta was the follow-up to the company's original immersion circulator. Both devices attach to a pot or container full of water and heat that water to specific temperatures, in which you can cook vacuum-sealed food, a method called sous vide.
Sansaire launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Delta in 2016. About 1,300 people pledged $256,804 to the project, which surpassed the campaign's $100,000 goal. According to the Kickstarter campaign page, Sansaire estimated that backers would receive their Deltas in April 2017. But as recently as December 2017, backers complained that they didn't have their Deltas, and many asked for a refund.
Sansaire's leadership had also seen plenty of shakeups that could've had an impact on getting products out the door. Four people have held the CEO position since 2016, GeekWire reported.
Sansaire's end isn't a death knell for crowdfunded projects or sous vide devices. There's always a risk that a product in which you invest via Kickstarter or other platforms won't pan out. And we've seen some products thrive after successful crowdfunding campaigns. The Anova Precision Cooker, for example, another sous vide device, launched on Kickstarter in 2014. The company has since been acquired by the appliance giant Electrolux for $250 million.
