Whatever Happened To Souper Cubes After Shark Tank?

California couple Jake and Michelle Sendowski have the solution to storing food in the freezer with their company Souper Cubes. The brand's flagship product is a silicone tray that comes in different serving sizes from two tablespoons to two full cups. Users can safely store them in the freezer and have a perfectly portioned cube awaiting them when it's time to eat. 

The Sendowskis have long enjoyed making homemade meals together, but found traditional storing means such as ice cube trays and plastic bags inefficient in providing the right portions when returning to eat later. Using his background in engineering, Jake got to devising a better solution. With the aid of high school friend and manufacturing expert Sasan Salek, the team got to creating the fun, flexible alternative to clunky ice trays that would become the Souper Cube. The business officially launched in 2017 while the couple were still attending college classes and working full-time jobs.

Thanks to the high quality product, Souper Cubes' popularity skyrocketed rather quickly. By 2019, the company had its first retail partner with Sur La Table and made nearly $1 million in sales, in large part due to positive word-of-mouth from its growing customer base. The team got a call from a "Shark Tank" producer in early 2020, resulting in their Season 12 appearance on the show. 

The super couple behind Souper Cube are looking for a $400,000 investment for 5% of their business. The pitch begins with a demonstration from a friend showcasing how to use the product, which the sharks find clever. 

The wealthy investors get especially excited amongst hearing about sales. Within the first full year of operation, the company has made $940,000. Year-to-date has Souper Cube at $1.6 million and they predict hitting $3.3 million at the end of the year. Margins are also very good, with each unit costing $3.80 to make and pricing out at $19.95 on the retail side. A majority of sales come from Amazon, with retail sales and Souper Cube's website bringing in the rest. They explain how passionate customers have been about sharing the benefits of the product. 

With a shark's help, the team hope to receive mentorship when it comes to navigating incoming retail offers and price points. The sharks are all impressed and each makes an offer with the exception of Mark Cuban who doesn't feel he's fit for the brand. Kevin O'Leary, believing that the product fits under his Chef Wonderful persona, enters the ring with two proposals — $400,000 for 3% equity and $0.40 in royalties or $400,000 for 15% equity. Barbara Corcoran also makes two offers, proposing $400,000 for 10% or $800,000 for 20%. Lori Greiner is so in love with the business that she grants it her "golden ticket," which she only bestows once a season, and makes the exact offer the team came looking for. Unsurprisingly, they take the deal. 

The Souper Cube episode of "Shark Tank" aired onFebruary 14, 2021. The team did not anticipate just how much business they'd track in the show's immediate aftermath. "We had an idea it was being received really well because, during the first two minutes of the pitch on the East Coast airing, we pretty much sold out of everything we had," co-founder Jake Sendowski said in an interview with Tasting Table. "By the time it aired in California, there wasn't much left." By the next day, Souper Cube neared $1 million in sales. 

Souper Cubes returned on "Shark Tank" Season 13 for an update segment and even held a special 15% off sale to celebrate the occasion. In the year since its initial episode aired, the company did $8.6 million in sales. Along with investor Lori Greiner getting the product into Bed Bath & Beyond and other retailers, the team received new international distributors in Canada, the Middle East, Australia, Mexico, and Europe. Lifetime sales at this point were $14 million. 

The team have had no shortage of praise for their plucky "Shark Tank" investor. Along with aiding in packaging and even situating Souper Cubes in a new warehouse, she remains open with the crew and encourages communication. Speaking with Tasting Table, Michelle Sendowski states, "One of the things I appreciate most about Lori is she's very accommodating, and she's always encouraging us to reach out to her. She's even nicer than she appears on T.V. She's actually that kind. She's always very proud of her portfolio companies and wants to help."

Souper Cubes may specialize in freezing products, but the company itself is red hot. Its extensive product line can be found in various spaces, from online stores such as its own website and Amazon to retail locations including Walmart, Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, and Food52. There have been many new additions to Souper Cubes in recent years including freezing milk trays for breastfeeding mothers, stoneware baking dishes, and cookie trays.

One of the company's newest ideas came from the mind of investor Lori Greiner. The No Mess Utensil Set comes with a laddle and spoon that can sit on the side of a pot while remaining cool thanks to their angled handles and a piece of Souper Cube silicone attached to the end. While initially hesitant of the new inclusion, it didn't take long for the team to realize its usefulness. "We don't really use steel in our other products," co-founder Michelle Sendowski said in a Forbes interview. "But when we started testing it at home to see if we wanted to bring it to the line, we're like, 'Oh, this is a product that matches what we're hoping to do for our customers'." 

These continued innovations have added to Souper Cubes' already thriving fanbase. It has thousands of followers across its social media platforms, particularly Instagram and TikTok where the team shares recipes and food storage tips. Along with this, Souper Cube has been featured on notable outlets such as Delish, The Pioneer Woman, Good Housekeeping, Eating Well, Yahoo, and many more. The company currently makes $3 to $4 million in annual revenue with a net worth of $8 million.

Lori Greiner is renowned for her ability to know which business is a hero and which is a zero. In the case of Souper Cubes, the QVC Queen has once again hit it out of the park with another killer "Shark Tank" company. By providing a practical solution to a widespread issue, Souper Cubes has risen in prominence in only a few short years and has the potential to become one of the show's biggest brands. 

To eventually reach this point, the team looks towards their ever-expanding customer base to help them improve. "We've really benefited from our passionate customers, who I think are the best in the world," Michelle Sendowski told Tasting Table. "They supported us from the beginning, and they're always thinking of ways to help us. We couldn't do it without them." One of the team's upcoming kitchen solutions will be a new line of freezer-friendly tape and markers that will aid in labelling stored items. Describing the product to Forbes, Jake Sendowski said, "We wanted something with ink that was going to perform in the freezer, that you could wash it off, that it wasn't going to smudge easily."

Keeping their minds open and customers happy will ultimately ensure a bright future for Souper Cubes. The team has stated that they envision the brand having a global reach down the line which, should they keep going down the track they're already on, will almost surely happen.