I am addicted to Ellenos greek yogurt. It’s thick, rich and delicious and I would eat it for every meal if… it wasn’t sold out all the time. But after speaking with Ashok Jaiswal, Co-Founder and CEO of Yomee, I’m hoping that soon I can just make it at home. We’ve written before about Yomee, the countertop device that does all the work of making yogurt. Now the company has surpassed its Kickstarter goal, raising an additional $62,500 on the crowdfunding platform, bringing its yogurt machine for the masses one step closer to reality.
Yomee had already raised $350,000 in angel funding and was using Kickstarter both to raise additional money needed for tooling production parts and as a test market to gauge market interest.
Given the response, there is a market. In fact, Jaiswal said people wanted Yomee to make more than just yogurt, they wanted to make Kefir and other fermented products at home. To sate those appetites, the company announced an expert mode for its device last week.
But blowing past a Kickstarter goal is one thing. Meeting the harsh realities of hardware production and delivering actual products to market has been… difficult for many Kickstarter projects. The platform is littered with dashed hopes and broken promises of failed gadgets and gizmos. Jaswail believes he can avoid a similar fate because he is based in Hong Kong, closer to where the manufacturing will take place. This proximity makes it much easier to address any issues that come up in production.
Kickstarter backers are scheduled to receive their Yomee units in April of next year. The rest of us will have to wait until the end of 2018. Jaswail said the Yomee will be available for $149 at select retailers and through its web site. Until then, I guess I’ll be stocking up on Ellenos whenever I can get it.
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