Whatever Happened To The Living Christmas Company After Shark Tank?

By their nature, the seasonal aspect of holiday-themed products and businesses limits how much money they can make. This makes pitching them on "Shark Tank" particularly difficult, as the founders of the Hire Santa Santa Claus rental company, or the Beardaments Christmas ornaments for beards, learned the hard way.

Scott Martin, the founder of The Living Christmas Company, tried to entice the sharks with his own Christmas-themed company when he went into the tank in December 2012, during the show's fourth season. Inspired by the yearly waste generated when people throw out Christmas trees, Martin's idea was to find a rental company that allowed customers to rent the same living tree each year. This encourages the customer not just to reduce waste but to form a bond with their tree.

Martin asked for a $150,000 investment in exchange for a 30% stake in his company. Kevin O'Leary was immediately uninterested due to the business's limited seasonal prospects. Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, and Barbara Corcoran all didn't think it was a lucrative enough company to be worth their time. Mark Cuban, moved by Martin's mission to employ veterans, offered $150,000 for a 40% stake, and Martin accepted.

Here's how things turned out for the Living Christmas Company.

First, some background. As Scott Martin explained during his pitch, he started the company in 2008 and rented 100 trees. In 2011, they rented over 1300. He was making about $150,000 per holiday season, with $33,000 of that in profits. He was also storing most of his inventory on a small lot.

"The Living Christmas Company" got an update on "Shark Tank" during the show's sixth season, with their segment airing in November 2014. With Cuban's investment, Martin was able to hire even more employees, especially veterans. He also moved into a 40-acre lot with high-efficiency irrigation. Since receiving Cuban's investment, Martin took in $500,000 in revenue and predicted to make $350,000 during the 2014 Christmas season. They were also ramping up for their first retail opportunity, renting their trees at Whole Foods stores in the Bay Area.

The Living Christmas remained in operation until 2022 when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted Martin to take the season off. However, according to the company's website, Martin plans to return to business for the upcoming holiday season. Call this one a "Shark Tank" success.