News: The maker of Pyrex glassware and Instant Pot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

[Arcadia]

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/14/1182073933/instant-pot-maker-seeks-bankruptcy-protection-as-sales-go-cold
“And Instant Pots, which became a must-have gadget several years ago, have been disappearing from kitchens.

Sales of "electronic multicooker devices," most of which are Instant Pots, reached $758 million in 2020, the start of the pandemic. Sales had plunged 50% by last year, to $344 million.

Dollar and unit sales have declined 20% from last year in the period ending in April, according to the market research company NPD Group.

Just last week, S&P Global downgraded the company's rating due to lower consumer spending on discretionary categories and warned that ratings could fall again if Instant Brands seeks bankruptcy protection.

"Net sales decreased 21.9% in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, relative to the same period last year," S&P analysts wrote. "This marked the seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales contraction. Instant Brands' performance continues to suffer from depressed consumer demand due to lower discretionary spending on home products.

….

Instant Brands, whose brands also include Corelle, Snapware, CorningWare, Visions and Chicago Cutlery, said it has received a commitment for $132.5 million in new debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lenders.

The company was acquired four years ago by the private-equity firm Cornell Capital and it was merged with another kitchenware company, Corelle Brands.

Instant Brands' entities located outside the U.S. and Canada are not included in the Chapter 11 filings.”

 

[GoVanGogh]

Pyrex needs to do a retro line… not exact duplicates of their amazing vintage pieces, but similar, to capture a new market.

[TechWife]

I don't think the Instant Pot sales is due solely to decreased discretionary spending, but to market saturation. Everyone that wants an instant pot has one for the time being. I imagine the same thing happened with coffee makers, blenders, electric kettles, electric frying pans, etc.. The same will likely soon happen to air fryers. People spent money on their homes during the pandemic because they were always there. People ate out less.

Pyrex isn't as good as it used to be. It's not nearly as durable.

Edited June 14, 2023 by TechWife

[Katy]

34 minutes ago, GoVanGogh said:

Pyrex needs to do a retro line… not exact duplicates of their amazing vintage pieces, but similar, to capture a new market.

And bring back the original glass with shatter protection 

[Faith-manor]

34 minutes ago, Katy said:

And bring back the original glass with shatter protection 

Yes please. So tired of how fragile. My chem glass is awesome, but I can't exactly make a casserole in my Erlenmeyer flask! 😂

[Indigo Blue]

27 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Yes please. So tired of how fragile. My chem glass is awesome, but I can't exactly make a casserole in my Erlenmeyer flask! 😂

There are borosilicate casserole dishes to be had! 🙂

[sassenach]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

Yes please. So tired of how fragile. My chem glass is awesome, but I can't exactly make a casserole in my Erlenmeyer flask! 😂

It's crazy. We have the technology!

[GoVanGogh]

4 hours ago, TechWife said:

I don't think the Instant Pot sales is due solely to decreased discretionary spending, but to market saturation. Everyone that wants an instant pot has one for the time being. I imagine the same thing happened with coffee makers, blenders, electric kettles, electric frying pans, etc.. The same will likely soon happen to air fryers. People spent money on their homes during the pandemic because they were always there. People ate out less.

Pyrex isn't as good as it used to be. It's not nearly as durable.

Very much this! They came out and suddenly everyone had one. Now there are shelves of them at second hand stores. People either tired of them or went back to eating out or whatever other reason. It isn’t something like cookie sheets were you can easily have 2-6 of them and use them somewhat frequently. One air fryer or insta pot or bread maker, etc, is usually enough.
I do now have two slow cookers. Years ago, I got rid of my older, small one as we needed a bigger one with more mouths to feed in the house. I have a tiny kitchen with very little storage. (And I have a huge weakness for vintage dishes, so 1/2 of my cabinet space is devoted to those. I do use them daily so they warrant the space.) But then as an empty nester, I again wanted a smaller slow cooker and kicked myself for getting rid one two decades ago. I didn’t want to get rid of the larger one because I do still need it if I am making a big batch of soup to freeze. One is now in the hallway closet, along with the seldom used waffle iron and ice cream maker. I didn’t buy an air fryer or insta pot because I have zero space for one on the counter. 

[Katy]

6 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:

There are borosilicate casserole dishes to be had! 🙂

Why did I never think to search using that term?  Now I see a bunch of results on Amazon!  Thank you!!!

[athena1277]

8 hours ago, GoVanGogh said:

Pyrex needs to do a retro line… not exact duplicates of their amazing vintage pieces, but similar, to capture a new market.

When my grandfather died recently I got a ton of vintage Pyrex from his house.  I’m pretty sure they are from the 70’s.  I knew after reading discussions here about old vs newer Pyrex, I couldn’t let those donated.

[kbutton]

Well, that explains why the Corning store in Corning, NY disappeared…sigh.

[crazyforlatin]

Replacement Pyrex lids don’t fit older bowls. You really have to try expanding the sides while pushing them down. We’ve been loyal Pyrex customers for decades.

[Ellie]

Oh, that's just too bad! It seemed like they were doing so well. 😞

[wisdomandtreasures]

12 hours ago, GoVanGogh said:

Now there are shelves of them at second hand stores. People either tired of them or went back to eating out or whatever other reason.

I just don't see how they ever got so big to begin with. Everyone raves about how "I can make hardboiled eggs in 5 minutes!" But with the time to build up pressure and then release, it takes around 10? The way I cook them takes only 15 minutes anyway. Same with rice--25-30 minutes and it's done (brown rice). The IP can do it in 15-20... Why do I need to spend $80-100 (and use THAT much precious storage space) to save a couple of minutes here and there? I'm at home all the time anyway. I'm not in any great rush... Also, a friend gave me one and I tried making yogurt in it. It turned yellow and chunky and looked (and smelled) like vomit, so I gave up. It now sits in the garage. Anyway, I dont get the hype. To me they're akin to gadgets made specifically to slice avocados and bananas--why buy those when a butter knife will do?

 

Edit - Oh yeah, my father-in-law brings his every time he visits and the roasts he make turn out like leather. Bleh!

Edited June 15, 2023 by wisdomandtreasures

[Arcadia]

39 minutes ago, wisdomandtreasures said:

Why do I need to spend $80-100 (and use THAT much precious storage space) to save a couple of minutes here and there? I'm at home all the time anyway. I'm not in any great rush.

Mine was the 3 quart so cost less than $50. It was more convenient than using the traditional stove top pressure cooker and my husband wanted me to reduce the use of gas for cooking for health reasons. When my instant pot died, the prices have gone up across the sizes and I switch to the Ninja air fryer combo as a pressure cooker as my Ninja appliances are all still surviving. When I have medical appointments and errands to run the whole day, one of my pressure cookers would be used as a slow cooker for dinner. So one pressure cooker (or wok) has lunch and one pressure cooker has dinner. 
 

Instant Pot brand has diversified to coffee makers and other kitchen appliances. Their prices has also gone up significantly. If I want a coffee maker again, I would go for brands that have made coffee makers for years and is affordable to me like the Cuisinart ones.

[Faith-manor]

3 hours ago, wisdomandtreasures said:

I just don't see how they ever got so big to begin with. Everyone raves about how "I can make hardboiled eggs in 5 minutes!" But with the time to build up pressure and then release, it takes around 10? The way I cook them takes only 15 minutes anyway. Same with rice--25-30 minutes and it's done (brown rice). The IP can do it in 15-20... Why do I need to spend $80-100 (and use THAT much precious storage space) to save a couple of minutes here and there? I'm at home all the time anyway. I'm not in any great rush... Also, a friend gave me one and I tried making yogurt in it. It turned yellow and chunky and looked (and smelled) like vomit, so I gave up. It now sits in the garage. Anyway, I dont get the hype. To me they're akin to gadgets made specifically to slice avocados and bananas--why buy those when a butter knife will do?

 

Edit - Oh yeah, my father-in-law brings his every time he visits and the roasts he make turn out like leather. Bleh!

Ya. Mark bought one for me, and I did not like the results of my meals at all. So it was drawing dust. I have a lot of other preferred cooking methods. Now Lewis requires entirely homemade food. He cannot handles anything commercial, and fresh/raw is not an option because he cannot digest it. Poor doggie. He has become allergic to so many things. Now I use the instapot every week to make his chicken, rice, green bean, sweet potato, food. When dear dog is gone, the Instapot will go the way of the thrift store. It takes up way too much space for me to never use it again.

Edited June 15, 2023 by Faith-manor
Stupid autocorrect

[KungFuPanda]

3 hours ago, wisdomandtreasures said:

I just don't see how they ever got so big to begin with. Everyone raves about how "I can make hardboiled eggs in 5 minutes!" But with the time to build up pressure and then release, it takes around 10? The way I cook them takes only 15 minutes anyway. Same with rice--25-30 minutes and it's done (brown rice). The IP can do it in 15-20... Why do I need to spend $80-100 (and use THAT much precious storage space) to save a couple of minutes here and there? I'm at home all the time anyway. I'm not in any great rush... Also, a friend gave me one and I tried making yogurt in it. It turned yellow and chunky and looked (and smelled) like vomit, so I gave up. It now sits in the garage. Anyway, I dont get the hype. To me they're akin to gadgets made specifically to slice avocados and bananas--why buy those when a butter knife will do?

 

Edit - Oh yeah, my father-in-law brings his every time he visits and the roasts he make turn out like leather. Bleh!

I do think pressure cookers are wonderful, but my old stove-top version cooks faster than an instantpot because I can get it heated and cooled down quicker when I'm in control of the temperature.  It also takes MUCH less room.  It is nice to do roasts or beans or stocks quickly and the quality is good if you don't overcook them.  I probably use my pressure cooker once a week and I've had one for 30 years.  As for yogurt,   I can also do that with pot and a thermometer with about 15-20 minutes hands-on time so I'm not quite sure how the instantpot helps in that situation.  The timetable seems weirdly long for that feature.

[Tenaj]

3 hours ago, wisdomandtreasures said:

I just don't see how they ever got so big to begin with. Everyone raves about how "I can make hardboiled eggs in 5 minutes!" But with the time to build up pressure and then release, it takes around 10? The way I cook them takes only 15 minutes anyway. Same with rice--25-30 minutes and it's done (brown rice). The IP can do it in 15-20... Why do I need to spend $80-100 (and use THAT much precious storage space) to save a couple of minutes here and there? I'm at home all the time anyway. I'm not in any great rush... Also, a friend gave me one and I tried making yogurt in it. It turned yellow and chunky and looked (and smelled) like vomit, so I gave up. It now sits in the garage. Anyway, I dont get the hype. To me they're akin to gadgets made specifically to slice avocados and bananas--why buy those when a butter knife will do?

 

Edit - Oh yeah, my father-in-law brings his every time he visits and the roasts he make turn out like leather. Bleh!

Use mine every day for all kinds of things (except rice - because I have a Zo for that). The reason I do eggs in it is because I stick the eggs and water in and walk away until it beeps.  Same with all kinds of other stuff.  If the yogurt didn't turn out it was probably the starter and there are lots of times in my life before the ip where my yogurt didn't turn out.  Love mine during sports seasons because I can fix and keep those n warm until we all arrive home again. 

Lol-you don't have to use one but there are those of us who use them often for all kinds of things 😉

[Sweets]

I have to admit that I love my Insta Pot. I use it for soups, roast, and cooking rice. I still have my old (from 1978!) slow cooker that cooks great, but the new crockpots cook way to fast - all my roasts were tough. My sister gave me her old Insta Pot when she got a bigger one, and I love it! We can make a roast in it that is very tender. Plus, I have a spoiled dog that loves chicken (plain) and rice, so I make lots of rice. I hope they don't go out of business, but I'm sure there a plenty of InstaPots in stock or yard sales if mine breaks.

[maize]

I love my instant pots (yes, multiple) and plain white Correlle dishes, I hope both remain available. 

[popmom]

3 hours ago, Sweets said:

I have to admit that I love my Insta Pot. I use it for soups, roast, and cooking rice. I still have my old (from 1978!) slow cooker that cooks great, but the new crockpots cook way to fast - all my roasts were tough. My sister gave me her old Insta Pot when she got a bigger one, and I love it! We can make a roast in it that is very tender. Plus, I have a spoiled dog that loves chicken (plain) and rice, so I make lots of rice. I hope they don't go out of business, but I'm sure there a plenty of InstaPots in stock or yard sales if mine breaks.

Agree about the "new" not-so-slow cookers. They cook way too hot!

I use my Instapot about once a week. This week will be carnitas. 

I am sad to hear the company filed for bankruptcy. I had no idea all of those brands were owned by the same company. I need to follow business news more closely. 

ETA: I broke mine out today for cooking dry beans. 

Edited June 15, 2023 by popmom

[Indigo Blue]

I rely heavily on Instant Pots. I hope there is an alternative if need be. 

[Arcadia]

41 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

I rely heavily on Instant Pots. I hope there is an alternative if need be. 

I have a Zavor 6 quart pressure cooker which does whatever I used my Instant Pot for. I also have a Ninja 8 quart air fryer combo which  I primarily use as an air fryer as I rarely need to pressure cook something that needs an 8 quart capacity.
Pressure cookers tend to go on sale at Macy’s and the markdown is more in store than online.