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‘Shark Tank’ turned down this mother-son duo’s surprise cake — but the $59.99 invention blew up the market

The company has posted several heart-warming and hilarious shock reactions from kids and adults alike on its social media.

Entrepreneurs Jordan Long and Liz Charm blended tradition with modern flair in their ‘Surprise Cake’ concept.' Their actual product was a patented 'Popping Cake Stand' that hid sentimental gift items inside the cake. The mother-son duo featured their viral invention during season 12 of 'Shark Tank,' seeking $200,000 for 8% equity in their family venture. Long and Charm described how the popping element operated on a trigger mechanism. They humorously went on to narrate that at any party, guests typically showed horror when a six-inch-tall transparent canister exploded out of the cake. The reusable canister, they noted, could carry nearly anything, including cash, a phone, confetti for a gender reveal, home keys, and even an engagement ring.

When Barbara Corcoran asked where the idea came from, Charm entertained the Sharks with a personal story. "The night before my daughter's 12th birthday, I actually had a dream that I hid her birthday present inside her birthday cake. The next day, I did just that, and as she was blowing out her candles, I called her phone, and the cake rang. Everybody loved the idea. I knew in that moment that this could be a great business." However, the former Department of Corrections lawyer went on to explain that her initial business plan was shelved because of the 'Kinder Egg Law,' which prohibited non-edible items from being paired with edible ones. The idea took off once they developed the Popping Cake Stand concept.

Talking about the business, the mother-son duo explained that they needed help in expanding their cake-related accessories. "We've been selling the popping cake stand, which is the cake stand that the cake is on, but one of the big reasons we're here is because we're looking to scale this business and to be a one-stop shop for 'Surprise Cakes.' What that's going to include is, of course, the popping stand, the cakes, and also the gifts to go inside a baked cake." However, the sharks soon watered down their celebration with their harsh opinions regarding the logistics of selling perishable cake with a popping stand. Kevin O’Leary was first to back out, noting it’s one thing to sell the stand but another to ship an entire Surprise Cake.

"Cakes have all kinds of issues around their freshness when they're shipped and how they're shipped, why would you want to do that to yourself?" he stated before letting go. Mark Cuban expressed similar concerns before turning down the deal. Towards the end, only Lori Greiner held the table, but soon she too didn't lock the deal when the entrepreneurs revealed that their projected profit was around $900,000 but had netted only $50,000 in sales. Long and Charm returned disappointed, but their business soon picked up, and despite the warnings from sharks, the duo started shipping 'Surprise Cakes' at $59.99. 

At present, their venture has garnered thousands of positive reviews on Amazon and Instagram. The company has posted several heartwarming and hilarious surprise reactions from kids and adults alike on its social media. "This is actually really cute!! I was just as surprised! Lol," a customer remarked under one of the gender reveal videos on Instagram. "That's a fun cake!" a netizen chimed in.