Coolest Cooler creator Ryan Grepper sent an update to backers Tuesday outlining three ways the company is working to deliver its tricked-out -- but for many, long-overdue -- cooler to Kickstarter backers.
One possible option: backers could pay an extra $97 per cooler for expedited delivery. In addition, the beleaguered company announced it will sell the coolers to the general public as it continues to court investors.
Portland-based Coolest Cooler rose to fame in 2014, when the company broke Kickstarter's crowdfunding record. It eventually raised more than $13 million in pre-orders.
But many of the backers, who were initially promised their coolers last spring, still haven't received their cooler.
In Tuesday's update, which Coolest provided to The Oregonian, Grepper said the company has delivered coolers to approximately 20,000 backers. However, about 36,000 are still waiting, and Coolest might not be able to deliver them in time for summer, he wrote.
The problem, he explained, is that the cooler cost more than expected to develop and manufacture. Plus, the company didn't plan for manufacturing delays or a factory strike, he said.
"Unfortunately, we just didn't set the pledge levels high enough to cover the final quality of the Coolest Cooler," he wrote.
In early March, Grepper told backers the company needed another $15 million, roughly $5 million of which would go to producing and shipping coolers to remaining backers.
At the time, Grepper said his company was looking for investors to help fill the gap.
That process continues, and was the first of three "parallel paths" forward outlined by Grepper in his update.
Grepper wrote that his company is in "advanced discussions with a number of potential partners" but said he couldn't share specifics. If the company does find an investor, he said, delivering the coolers to backers would be the primary focus.
The second path Grepper outlined was a possible option for backers waiting for their coolers to pay an extra $97 - on top of the amount originally pledged - to expedite delivery. The company is offering the option after several backers asked to pay the remaining cost so they could get their cooler faster, he said.
The additional money would cover the remaining part of the deposit to pay the factory and shipping fees, he wrote. Those who paid the extra amount would be guaranteed to get their cooler by the Fourth of July, he said.
Backers who choose this option would still save at least 25 percent on the final retail price, Grepper said.
"People who don't want to pay more don't have to, and everyone ultimately gets their reward faster with fewer people in line in front of them," he wrote.
However, this option would only be available if enough people wanted it, Grepper said.
Near the end of the update, under the third "path," Grepper announced the company will start selling the coolers to the general market for more than backers paid for them. He said the company will use the profits to produce and deliver backers' coolers.
According to Coolest spokeswoman Susan Towers, the coolers will likely be available to order from the company's website in May.
Coolest's factories have materials on hand and are ready to start making products "as fast as we can pay them," Grepper said in the update.
He acknowledged the plan could anger some backers, as new customers could order coolers before the original Kickstarter backers receive theirs.
But Grepper said this "is the only option open to us right now that allows us to get production up and running." He's currently in China doing just that, he said.
Grepper reminded backers that buying into a Kickstarter project is not like purchasing an existing product from a store. About 10 percent of all Kickstarter projects fail, he said.
Regardless, he promised to keep working to deliver all the coolers.
"As long as there is breath in my body we are committed to getting each and every backer their Coolest Cooler," he wrote.
-- Anna Marum
amarum@oregonian.com
503-294-5911
@annamarum