Instant Pot Files For Bankruptcy

Released in 2009, Instant Pot was once the premiere go-to for cooking soups, stews, and chilis in a, well… instant. Puns aside, the nifty kitchen gadget made cooking rice as easy as pressing a few buttons, walking away, and returning in 15 minutes to a steaming pot.

According to The Washington Post, it appears the days of Instant Pot mania are over as the company behind it, Instant Brands, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A statement from the company said the move was intended to give them more “time and flexibility to continue ongoing discussions with all of its financial stakeholders in an effort to achieve a consensual path forward that strengthens the Company’s financial position.” 

Instant Brands says it’s secured up to $132.5 million in funding to help keep business going. “After successfully navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and the global supply chain crisis, we continue to face additional global macroeconomic geopolitical challenges that affected our business,” President and CEO Ben Gadbois said in the statement. The company believes high interest rates are one of its biggest hurdles to overcome. 

Recently, Instant Brand’s net sales fell 21.9 percent in the first quarter compared to last year, which has prompted S&P Global to downgrade their rating. S&P Global says that the decline was partially caused by the impact of inflation on consumers. Another reason behind the fall may be related to the extended time spent at home during the pandemic — in other words, people had plenty of time on their hands to cook more. Ironically, only time will tell whether bankruptcy will help reverse the troubling trend.