With much of the world in quarantine and socially distancing the last three weeks, March has been an unusual month to say the least. The economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been far-reaching, especially for brick-and-mortar businesses, but several sectors of the economy have held strong. 

Indiegogo’s top-performing campaigns of the month reflect these unprecedented times, showing a world stuck at home and rearing to get back into the world. A coffee grinder, an e-bike, an air conditioner, and travel accessories gain top billing on Indiegogo through the height of the COVID-19 crisis. 

Here are the campaigns that raised the most funds in March:

Niche Zero Coffee Grinder

• $3,441,047 USD raised
• 5,233 backers
• Hampshire, UK

Hailed as “a game changer in coffee grinding,” the Niche Zero coffee grinder aims at making barista-quality coffee available within any home kitchen. The Niche Zero’s clean path design gives coffee connoisseurs the freshest grind every time, offering a fresh-ground coffee shop experience at home anytime. 

What makes it so special? The Niche team outfitted the Zero with large industrial-grade burrs (the machine part that does the grinding) with twice the grind area of standard burrs, delivering outstanding quality all while leaving the grind unburnt and tasting great.

“Our 2 best marketing strategies were getting the product in front of experts who could shout about it for us and getting people interested early. During the early phases, we pushed to get the Niche in front of coffee experts who could both provide feedback and shout about to directly to our target market. We also pushed for email leads and impressions on Facebook and coffee forums months before we ran our Indiegogo campaign. The combination of both awareness and interest gave us a great chance to grow right from the start!” –James Nicholson, The Niche Zero Team

The Babymaker E-bike

• $1,347,030 USD raised
• 1,063 backers
• San Diego, CA

Electric bikes are sweeping through cities around the world, but several obstacles have stood in the way of widespread adoption: most e-bikes are clunky, heavy, and, well, just look like e-bikes. The Babymaker is trying to change that by offering a sleek, lightweight e-bike at a price point similar to traditional entry-level bicycles. The Babymaker team has also made the bike customizable, allowing backers to choose a standard metal chain drivetrain or a corrosion-resistant carbon belt drivetrain.

“There are two big things that have contributed massively to the success. First, building a small but very targeted list of excited customers well before the launch. Second, building trust with the list, doing whatever is necessary to show them they can count on you to deliver an amazing product. Without this we would be nowhere near today’s success.” — Rob Rast, Co-Founder, Babymaker

Midea

• $1,378,905 USD raised
• 3,316 backers
• Parsippany, NY

This campaign is heating up and keeping backers cool. Midea was designed to reinvent the window air conditioner, which is usually noisy, hard to install, and energy-draining. But not the Midea. Its revolutionary U-shaped design blocks the noise out and makes it faster and easier to set up. The unique Inverter Quattro technology keeps your home cool through the worst of the summer while using 35% less energy to run. The best part? You can still open and close your window at any time!

“The window air conditioner is Midea’s first campaign on Indiegogo. As an established brand, we spent three years testing and designing the product before the campaign launch. We are dedicated to building an innovative product that meets the need of end customers, and that’s the foundation of our crowdfunding success. Also, we worked with tech influencers to amplify our product’s value proposition across social media and key media outlets. Through collaboration, market insights, and effective marketing campaigns, Midea raised $1.3 million within 40 days on Indiegogo. Special shout-out to the Indiegogo team for strategic support!” —The Midea Team

Pakt Travel Backpack

• $363,292 USD raised
• 1,474 backers
• Seattle, WA

With the world stuck at home, many people are daydreaming about post-quarantine life. What better way than to stock up on travel gear? Pakt has made one of the market’s most compact and organized travel backpacks, with twenty ground-breaking features like internally organized pockets, luggage pass-throughs, and oodles of lash-points for accessory straps. When we get the green light to go outside, backers will be ready to go long and far — and in style.

Ciga Design Watch

• $348,375 USD raised
• 6,990 backers
• Los Angeles, CA

The team at Ciga Design poses a valid question: why hide the complexities of a beautiful watch behind a solid dial? With their latest Z-Series watch, they answer with a timepiece that flaunts its insides rather than hiding them, offering a dazzling view of what makes it tick. The Z-Series is a sophisticated, fully automatic timepiece composed of titanium and a sapphire crystal, affording its wearer — and anyone nearby — a chance to marvel at the watch’s inner workings.

Rankings, amount raised, and other stats are current as of 3/27/20. 

Interested in exploring more campaigns? Check out our team favorites!