Cooler on track to become highest-funded Kickstarter campaign ever
For the cooking enthusiast who is tired of traditional coolers, a highly funded Kickstarter campaign may have the answer. A new cooler, dubbed the Coolest, looks to give beach-bound and tailgating chefs more functionality out of the age-old cold storage space. Surprisingly, this campaign failed to raise enough money in the past, but now having crowd-sourced over $7 million, the Coolest is on track to be the most successful Kickstarter campaign of all time. According to Kicktraq, the Coolest could gain over $20 million in funding by the campaign’s end. A cooler having such success has surprised many, but the Coolest could be the perfect summer solution for preparing for a barbecue or day by the lake.
The Coolest features
For those taking culinary courses online, the most attractive feature of the Coolest may be the rechargeable blender that attaches to it, giving avid chefs the ability to make smoothies or margaritas to accompany their culinary creations on the go. Other features, as listed on the Coolest’s Kickstarter page, include:
- Removable waterproof Bluetooth speaker
- USB charger
- LED lid light
- Gear tie-down
- Cooler divider/cutting board
- Extra-wide easy-rolling tires
- Integrated storage for plates and knife
- Bottle opener
The Coolest comes in a variety of vibrant colors named after alcoholic beverages, including Steel Reserve, Sangria, Blue Moon and Margarita.
The Kickstarter campaign
Fast Company cited the Coolest’s massive funding success to three possible factors: it’s summer, people love Skymall and that Kickstarter has jumped the shark. The Coolest campaign initially launched during the winter and had poor results, but this new attempt in summer has proved fruitful, possibly because the product is now weather appropriate. The second option opined by Fast Company suggested that Kickstarter has become the Skymall of the Internet, attracting people to novel – but not necessarily practical – ideas. This might be particularly true in regard to the Coolest, which as of now has a listed retail price of $299.
The potential challenge for Coolest is that the project has almost been too successful and as the campaign goes viral, filling orders could become nearly impossible for the Portland-based company. It’s been projected that the majority of Kickstarter projects miss their target delivery dates, and this seems especially true with some of the most successful. Coolest will have a tall order to fill once the campaign comes to a close and whether or not the versatile cooler will become a common beach item is yet to be seen.
