Creator of $400 Juicer Is Holed Up near Muir Woods on a 5-Day Water Cleanse

Juicero, the $400 Wi-Fi enabled juicer company founded by raw vegan evangelist Doug Evans, is in the figurative wilderness — and now so is he, secluding himself in a cabin near Muir Woods to begin “water fasting.” Evans, who received $120 million in venture capital to launch Juicero, was last seen frolicking at Burning Man as his company announced it would suspend sales of its product. But in an Instagram story he posted last night, Evans reveals he’s doing just fine, announcing his intention to consume only water from the brand Live Water for “at least five days.”

Doug Evans/Instagram

Doug Evans/Instagram

Doug Evans/Instagram

Evans, 51, started his juice career in 2002 with a New York City-based chain called Organic Avenue, which has since gone out of business. In 2013, he sold Silicon Valley on the idea of Juicero, a product that would scan QR codes on proprietary “produce packs” to properly squeeze them according to their contents. Already a tough sell with its hefty price tag — Juicero was marked down to $400 from an original $700 — the company fell apart after a Bloomberg story showed Juicero’s produce packs could be squeezed by hand for roughly the same effect.

Evans was reportedly a passionate leader for Juicero, though perhaps a bit drunk on the proverbial Kool Aid. He was allegedly a harsh manager to non-vegans, refusing to expense meals for employees that included non-vegan foods and publicly disparaging dairy as “cow pus.” Eventually, he was replaced as CEO by a former Coca-Cola executive last fall, but kept on as chairman of the company’s Board. By the time of the board’s final meeting, he was in the Black Rock Desert, having quietly resigned weeks before.

Doug Evans/Instagram

The new activity on Evans’ Instagram shows that he’s safely returned from Burning Man, but still quite thirsty. Now in Mill Valley, the boho Marin enclave next to Muir Woods, he’s #waterfasting, consuming nothing but H20 from Opal Spring in Madras, Oregon with the a “detox water tumbler” from the California Company Holistic Hustler.

The name says it all.

Doug Evans/Instagram

• $400 Juicer Company Shuts Down as Founder Frolics at Burning Man [ESF]
• Inside Juicero’s Demise, From Prized Startup to Fire Sale [Bloomberg]