Anti-plastic duo landed $600K on ‘Shark Tank’ with edible cups — then built a company changing sustainability
'Shark Tank' judges have sat through several pitches, but one product that stood out in terms of innovation and creativity is Loliware, a product that you can eat. Yes, you read that right. The brand offered edible cups made out of gelatin and designed in a way that they could hold hot as well as cold drinks. Founders Chelsea Briganti and Leigh Ann Tucker pitched their product in season 7 and sought $150,000 for 15% equity. The Sharks on the panel were Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, and Kevin O'Leary, who were immediately on board with the idea.
According to Shark Tank Recap, the founders had already generated a jaw-dropping revenue of $110,000 within only 3 months of their launch and revealed that they were in talks to seal a deal worth $1.3 million with a large event management company during the time of filming on the show. But when they told the Sharks they were also raising funds of $600,000, prompting Herjavec to offer them a deal of $600,000 for 25% equity, which was over four times the amount asked. Cuban, Corcoran, and O'Leary also didn't seem to lose the opportunity and wanted to join in with the Sharks in the deal.
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Eventually, Briganti and Ann seal the deal with Corcoran and Cuban at $600,000 for a 25% stake in the company. After bagging one of the biggest deals on the 'Shark Tank,' there was no looking back for the founders. Loliware’s edible cups quickly gained popularity, but the high demand brought big challenges, and even after strong sales, production problems forced Loliware to stop selling the cups. Per the aforementioned outlet, in 2019, the company revamped the products and expanded into making Lolistraw, which was an edible straw made up of vegetable gelatin.
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According to The Daily Meal, they further expanded their business into developing Blue Carbon straw, a biodegradable, seaweed-based straw using SEA Resin technology, which is made of all-natural ingredients but is non-edible, unlike the Lolistraw and edible cups. However, it surely is eradicating the need for plastic straws and is being seen as huge progress towards sustainable business. The outlet also reported that Loliware has recently been eyeing manufacturing seaweed-based utensil sets to prove their eco-friendly pellets can be used to make compostable flatware.
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They are also taking things further with AI-powered seaweed biomaterials, which are described on their official website as “new to the planet, designed to disappear.” Besides manufacturing green products, the founders are frequently seen sharing updates on environmental crises and increasing the awareness among consumers about making sustainable, eco-friendly choices. In an interview with Forbes, Briganti once said, "I can walk into a plastic manufacturer tomorrow anywhere on the planet, and they can replace any single-use plastic with our pellet."
