Julabo withdraws from the sous-vide cooking market: the end of an era for immersion circulators

Rumors had already been growing in late 2024 when several distributors began removing the well-known Pearl and Diamond immersion circulators from their online catalogs. It is now official: Julabo is exiting the sous-vide cooking market (source: https://www.fusionchef.de/en).

The German manufacturer, based in the Black Forest, has nevertheless announced that spare parts will remain available at least until 2032, and likely beyond, since these same immersion circulators continue to be sold by Julabo under the “laboratory equipment” category.

Julabo, a pioneer of sous-vide cooking

This departure marks a turning point for the industry. It was thanks to Julabo that Bruno Goussault and Georges Pralus were able to initiate and develop sous-vide cooking in the 1970s. At the time, only laboratory immersion circulators, designed for scientific applications, offered the precision and stability required for this revolutionary cooking technique.

In 2005, under the impetus of Bruno Goussault and driven by the growing interest of Michelin-starred chefs, Julabo adapted and created a dedicated product line. The Fusionchef brand was launched in 2008, and in 2010 several models and accessories specifically designed for professional kitchens were released.

A saturated and competitive market

But at the same time, new players began shaking up the market: the SWID and the SousVide Supreme became established as early as 2010, followed by successful Kickstarter projects such as Nomiku, Anova, and Sansaire. In 2013, China flooded the market with low-cost products—often of inconsistent quality—creating fierce competition.

Faced with these changes, Fusionchef units—robust but heavy, expensive (over €1,100 before tax for a Pearl), and sometimes oversized for culinary use—saw their popularity decline. Julabo is now following the same path as Polyscience, another specialist in American laboratory equipment, which sold its “Sous Vide” business to Breville before leaving the sector altogether.

What are the professional alternatives?

For professionals seeking a reliable solution, the SWID Premium from Sous Vide Consulting (Germany) checks all the boxes: powerful, precise, durable, and designed for easy maintenance. From Spain, Sammic’s Smartvide also offers an interesting alternative, although at a higher price than the SWID.

Other options come mainly from Chinese manufacturers: devices often appealing in terms of price, but seldom repairable, and therefore not recommended for professional use.