The Ice Cream Canteen allows you to take a pint of ice cream long with you on your favorite outdoor adventures, whether it be to to the beach, the ballgame, the park, or on a picnic lunch. But, will the the company get a cold reception in the Tank? Read The Ice Cream Canteen Shark Tank update to find out all about it.
What is The Ice Cream Canteen?
The Ice Cream Canteen is a company which manufactures the world’s first double-walled, vacuum-insulated container for a pint of ice cream. The company is located in San Francisco, California.
The Ice Cream Canteen’s mission is to keep your ice cream frozen so that it can be transported safely and enjoyed anywhere, whether you want to enjoy your favorite ice cream at the beach, the ballpark, a barbeque, or anywhere else, The Ice Cream Canteen will keep your ice cream frozen and ready to enjoy.
Who created The Ice Cream Canteen?
The Ice Cream Canteen was founded by Jordan Stern. He has always loved the outdoors, and he even built out his own campervan so that he could go adventuring in his free time. Jordan attended California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, and after leaving school, he often took road trips in his homemade camper. It was on one of these roadtrips in 2017 that Jordan came up with the idea for The Ice Cream Canteen.
How did The Ice Cream Canteen get started?
During the summer of 2017, while on a road trip to Yosemite in his campervan, the idea for The Ice Cream Canteen came to Jordan as he was admiring the amazing insulation in the coffee thermos that he used every day.
On The Ice Cream Canteen website, Jordan says, “I thought if this technology can work for coffee and other foods, maybe it can work for ice cream?” This thought led him to start working on some designs and prototypes for the first Ice Cream Canteen, and he says that during the research and development process, he went through a ton of melted ice cream until he came upon the perfect design.
What happened to The Ice Cream Canteen before Shark Tank?
The idea for the Ice Cream Canteen came to Jordan in June 2017, and he spent all of 2018 working on designing the product, looking for a manufacturer, and prototyping. He received the first prototype in August of 2018, and Jordan was really pleased that the prototype worked well.
Next, Jordan started daily testing on The Ice Cream Canteen, and he did this for nearly a year before he launched a Kickstarter campaign in July, 2019. On Kickstarter he raised $121,218 from 1,882 backers on the platform. A month later, in August 2019, Jordan purchased the raw materials and placed his opening order.
The Kickstarter campaign orders were shipped in February of 2020. Prior to pitching in the Tank, The Ice Cream Canteen had sales of $98k in 2021, and when his episode was filmed in 2022, the company had revenues of $185k year-to-date, with lifetime sales of $450k.
When Jordan pitched to the Sharks, he informed them that his sales had been limited, primarily by the fact that he did not have sufficient capital to supply enough inventory for the demand which he was seeing for the product, so he had to leave many opportunities on the table.
What do customers think of The Ice Cream Canteen?
The Ice Cream Canteen is sold online, both on the company website and on Amazon. On Amazon, the product has 221 customer ratings with an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, with 80% of purchasers rating the product at 4 or 5 stars, and 12% giving The Ice Cream Canteen just a 1 or 2-star rating. The Ice Cream Canteen is also listed as an Amazon’s Choice product in its category.
What are customers saying about The Ice Cream Canteen?
In many of the positive reviews for The Ice Cream Canteen, customers mentioned that they believed the product was cute, durable, and good value for money.
One verified purchaser, a college student, wrote: “I got this product because I went to college 3.5 hours away from my home town in Chicago. I love Jeni’s Splendid Ice cream and really wanted to bring some back with me to school, so I got two of these. They were definitely helpful on the 3.5 hour car ride and kept them about 95% frozen. The top was a bit melted but very impressive for a long car ride like that. Definitely worth it, especially if you’re only going to drive 3 hours and under, and you need it cool!”
Another happy customer described The Ice Cream Canteen as a “Must have,” as they said, “I don’t know why no one created this sooner! I think we first saw this on Shark Tank and HAD to have it! Actually my husband got this for me because he felt like I NEEDED it in my life as an ice cream lover! It’s great. Tested it out on the beach, and let me tell you, it kept that ice cream cold as ever.”
The critical reviews seem to focus on issues with the opening, the size, and the lid of the product. Some say it’s impossible to open, the lid is difficult to remove, and the size is restrictive. Some customers also disagree on its ability to maintain temperature.
One very dissatisfied buyer wrote, “As instructed, we bought a pint of frozen ice cream, we pre-froze the canister for ‘best results.’” Then, we placed the ice cream pint inside and opened it less than 2 hours later, and it was completely melted. Does not work at all, for $40, this item is worthless and seems to be a complete scam! Do Not Buy this junk.”
Another disappointed customer said, “I love the concept, and I really wanted it to work. However, the amount of strength needed to twist the lid on and off makes it unusable to anyone in my family but me, and that doesn’t work since I bought it as a gift for them. Anyone with average size hands and average hand strength would struggle to open and close this. I’ve reached out to the company, and I am still waiting to hear if I just got a lemon to help me decide if I should request a replacement or my money back.”
When did The Ice Cream Canteen appear on Shark Tank?
The Ice Cream Canteen appeared on Shark Tank in Season 14, Episode 18, which aired on March 31st, 2023. This episode featured regular Sharks Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Kevin O’Leary, and Daymond John, along with recurring Guest Shark Daniel Lubetzky, founder and CEO of KIND Snacks.
The Ice Cream Canteen was not the only ice cream-related business to pitch to the Sharks in Season 14, check out our Crispy Cones Shark Tank update to read about another innovative product for the ice cream industry.
The Ice Cream Canteen Shark Tank update, what happened next?
The Ice Cream Canteen founder Jordan Stern entered the Tank and asked the Sharks for a $100k investment in return for a 5% equity stake in his company.
Jordan entered the Tank and took a pint of ice cream out of a small freezer, then, he said, “Sharks, this is a pint of ice cream. This is the most delicious and most popular dessert in the country. The problem is ice cream melts so quickly, you can’t take this anywhere.”
He then explained to the Sharks that this is why he had created The Ice Cream Canteen, the world’s first double-walled, vacuum insulated container for a pint of ice cream. He told the Sharks that now “you can keep your ice cream cold and enjoy it anywhere, just drop in your favorite pint of ice cream, screw on the cap, and The Ice Cream Canteen will keep it cold for hours.”
Next, Jordan invited Mark Cuban up to help test out the ice cream canteen. Jordan then lit a large blow torch and handed it to Cuban, telling him to “do your best to melt the pint of ice cream.” After Mark torched The Ice Cream Canteen, Jordan measured its surface temperature at 425 degrees, but when he opened the container, the ice cream was still frozen solid.
Jordan wound up his pitch by saying, “As you can see, The Ice Cream Container stands up to heat, and what that means is that ice cream can be enjoyed at the beach, picnics, barbecues, birthday parties, or really anywhere. So Sharks, don’t let this deal melt away.”
Guest Shark Daniel Lubetzky looked interested right away, and he asked Jordan how long the canteen would keep ice cream cold, and Jordan informed him that it will keep the ice cream frozen for up to four hours. Daniel followed up to ask if anyone had come up with the idea before, and Jordan told him that no one had done this before he had.
Kevin O’Leary and Lori Greiner next wanted to know if Jordan had a patent, and they learned that there was a design patent pending, and he had three registered Trademarks. Mark Cuban was now ready to hear the numbers, both the retail price and the cost to produce The Ice Cream Canteen, and Jordan told him that he sold them for $44.99 while his landed cost was $7.50.
Mr. Wonderful wanted to know if all of the sales were direct-to-consumer, and Jordan informed him that there were retail sales as well, and he thought that with 80,000 ice cream, frozen yogurt, and gelato shops in the country, these were the perfect retail spots at which to sell the product.
Next, Daniel asked about revenues, and he learned that the company had $98k in sales in 2021, and that they had $185k year-to–date, while he projected $400k for the full year.
The Sharks also learned that the company had a net profit margin of 50% and that Jordan had financed the $15k start-up cost with credit card debt. Mark Cuban asked Jordan what he really needed from a Shark, and Mark learned that Jordan really needed capital to purchase more inventory, as he had far more demand than product.
At this point, at least some of the Sharks looked ready to pounce on this ice-cold deal.
Did The Ice Cream Canteen get a deal on Shark Tank?
The Ice Cream Canteen founder Jordan Stern landed a deal with two Sharks, Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner. The Sharks agreed to invest $100k, along with a line of credit for $200k, in return for a 20% equity stake in the company.
Kevin O’Leary started the action, as he said he liked the deal because it was simple, but he didn’t think that company was worth Jordan’s $2 million valuation, so he made an offer of $100k for 30% of the company. Hearing this offer, Daymond John startled everyone by loudly slamming his folder on the table, telling Jordan, “Oh, that’s what Kevin O’Leary just did to your valuation.”
Daymond’s abrupt explosion on the table was not just something done as a joke. Daymond appeared to be genuinely annoyed that Jordan, along with other recent founders in the Tank, came into the Tank with extremely high valuations in which they did not value the participation of a Shark. Daymond really felt that the $100k for 5% offer to the Sharks was simply ridiculous, and with this, he went out.
Daniel next spoke up to tell Jordan that he was really interested in him, but he still wasn’t clear about what Jordan wanted from a Shark. Daniel said that he had all of the retail and manufacturing contacts, but if what Jordan needed was simply money to fund inventory, he should go to a bank.
Jordan told Daniel that he needed someone to help guide him into retail, and Daniel responded that he was the Shark best suited to help him, but Lori jumped in and refused to let Daniel get his offer on the table.
Lori told Jordan that she understood his mission completely, and that the product was very intuitive, but she said that Jordan needed someone who knows how to run this business for him, and she said that she and Mark Cuban could help him, and their offer was $100k, along with a line of credit of $100k, for 25% of the business.
Daniel continued to try to get an offer on the table, but Jordan wanted to counter Mark and Lori first; however, Jordan then tried to continue to upsell the company and justify his $2 million valuation, and it appeared that he might lose any chance of a deal.
Lori and Mark basically bullied Daniel out of the chance to put in an offer, and they insisted on a counter offer from Jordan, who eventually came up with a counter for 15% equity, and Mark then came back with $100k and a credit line of $200k for 20%, and he basically told Jordan that he had to answer before talking to Daniel.
After looking again at Daniel Lubetzky, Jordan then returned to Mark and Lori to say, “You know what, I’ll take your deal.”
The Ice Cream Canteen Shark Tank update, what happened next?
The Ice Cream Canteen saw a huge Shark Tank effect immediately after its episode aired on March 31st, 2023. In an article in Yahoo Finance, it was reported that the Ice Cream Canteen quickly sold out online; however, it was also reported that the company was able to restock and take orders again by June 2023.
While Lori Greiner has posted a few social media mentions of The Ice Cream Canteen, there is no credible source indicating that the deal between the company and Sharks Lori and Mark has closed. Also, The Ice Cream Canteen has not been added to the list of Mark Cuban Companies on the MCC website.
The Ice Cream Canteen has added some additional colors to its line of ice cream coolers, and they have been selling their products on Amazon for $29.99, a significant discount from the $44.95 price tag which was in place during the company’s Shark Tank pitch.
Whether this decrease in price stems from being able to cut their cost of goods, or it was necessary due to competition on the platform, we were unable to confirm, but the new price point is likely attractive to many potential customers.
Finally, according to the Yahoo Finance article, the company has also partnered with brands like Salt & Straw, Weston Table, and several other artisanal ice cream manufacturers to produce customized canteens that are laser-engraved or printed with the companies’ logos.