Instant Pot maker filed bankruptcy after Cornell Capital loaded debt onto merged company

Cornell Capital merged the wildly popular Instant Pot with Corelle Brands (Pyrex, CorningWare) and saddled the combined Instant Brands with ~$500M in debt. Despite Instant Pot being one of the best-selling kitchen products in Amazon history, the PE debt burden was unsustainable. Filed Chapter 11 in June 2023. The brand went from cultural phenomenon to bankruptcy in just a few years under PE ownership.