eCreamery: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank

Who doesn't like a good pint of ice cream? If the numbers are any indication, it's going to be hard to find someone who doesn't. According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the U.S. alone produced 1.38 billion gallons of ice cream in 2022, contributing nearly $13.1 billion to the country's economy. In fact, an average American gets through 20 pounds (roughly 553 fluid ounces) of ice cream in a year. Considering one pint of ice cream usually contains 16 fluid ounces, that's a lot of ice cream! And yet, when it's time to look for a present to gift to a loved one, rarely does one look beyond flowers, chocolates, and balloons to consider a tub of ice cream.

That is precisely the perception that Becky App and Abby Jordan were trying to change with eCreamery when they appeared on season four of "Shark Tank" back in 2012. App and Jordon were work friends at an Omaha-based jewelry store when they realized that their combined experience in the booming personalized gifting market could be merged with their mutual love for food.

In 2006, the current managing partner of Dundee Venture Capital, Mark Hasebroock, came on board as an investor and helped the duo rebuild a website for eCreamery — where they could sell their personalized ice cream gifts. Although the novel idea did tickle the sharks' fancy, they raised several concerns about the business on the show, ultimately deciding that though the ice creams were delicious, it wasn't enough to make eCreamery an investable business.

App and Jordan walked into "Shark Tank" with customized pint-sized ice cream tubs for each Shark, hoping that the icy treats would help them secure a $250,000 investment in exchange for a 33% stake in eCreamery. The Sharks were unanimously amused by the personalized flavors — which had names like InvestMINT Mix, Shark Bait, Delicious Dividends, and The Cubanero — and agreed that the ice creams were rich, creamy, and tasty. Corcoran even went on to add that it was "the best ice cream (she'd) ever had, bar none!" Sadly, delicious is not always equal to an investment.

Although eCreamery had made two million in sales since its launch in 2007 and was on track to make $750,000 in 2012 alone, the slim $60,000 profit margin quickly put a damper on the mood in the room. The Sharks were also concerned about the hefty customer acquisition costs, steep shipping charges that had customers paying upwards of $75 for four-pint gift packs, and the presence of another investor — Hasebroock — who owned 70% equity. eCreamery also had a brick-and-mortar ice cream parlor in Omaha, Nebraska, which led sharks further questioning the focus of their business.

Ultimately, O'Leary was the only shark who made an offer of $125,000 in exchange for a 25% stake, provided another Shark came onboard to share the rest of the investment. With no other Shark willing to invest, however, O'Leary pulled out, and eCreamery walked away without a deal.

The lack of an investment from the sharks meant that App and Jordon would have to hold off on their goal for a production facility, but it wasn't all bad news. As is the case with most businesses that appear on "Shark Tank," eCreamery too experienced the Shark Tank Effect: The show gave them free publicity and nationwide exposure, bringing in new customers that lead to a sharp spike in sales right after their episode aired.

In an interview with Silicon Prairie News, App said that 12,000 new customers had visited eCreamery's website in the first eight minutes of the episode alone — a number that shot up to 90,000 in the following days. Sales were up by 2,900 percent compared to the previous year and the entrepreneurs had to secure a loan from Dundee Bank to fulfill the large number of online orders that came right after "Shark Tank."

Sales and exposure aside, App and Jordan also received an outpouring of love and support following the episode. In fact, App revealed that they received messages from a lot of customers who wondered why no Shark had invested in their ingenious personalized ice cream gifting business. That's not all: Although the Sharks may have been unwilling to cut a deal with the eCreamery, the entrepreneurs had calls from as many as 26 investors interested in investing in their company mere days after the show.

Not one to mince his words, Cuban told the entrepreneurs that there was a saying that he loved on the show: "First is the innovators, then there's the imitators, then there's the idiots [sic]." Although the duo were innovators for coming up with the ingenious idea, Cuban thought their business was clever and easily replicable, meaning the imitators were bound to be on their heels as soon as eCreamery gained any success. Nearly a decade later, however, eCreamery seems to be very much still in business and continues to thrive, with or without stiff competition from other companies.

eCreamery continues to sell personalized ice creams through its website – where shoppers can pick their preferred flavors and choose to have them packed in a tub that is customized with their names and photos. Alternatively, eCreamery also sells pre-designed ice cream tubs in gift packs of four and eight, which can be filled with tasty treats from a range of flavors.

Although the Sharks advised the entrepreneurs to shut down the offline retail store and focus on only scaling eCreamery online, App and Jordan seem to have steamrolled ahead with both instead. Not only is the original parlor in Dundee still open, but they have also opened brick-and-mortar headquarters in Omaha. Plus, eCreamery has an ice cream truck under its name now which travels to events across the city.

App and Jordan claim that not winning a deal on "Shark Tank" was "truly a gift in disguise" (via eCreamery's website). While it's hard to picture just how far the duo would have gotten with the backing of a Shark, eCreamery seems to be doing pretty well for itself even without one in their corner. The entrepreneurs have added a subscription model to their website, and the prices of their four-pint ice cream gift packs have gone up from an average of $55 to $89.99 — though sales often bring that figure down to $69.99. eCreamery also sells an assortment of cookies online as well as personalized gift packs that double up as ice cream sandwich kits and come with both ice cream and cookies.

If the new cookies, subscription model, and rewards program are any indication, App and Jordan may well expand eCreamery's online presence even more in the future. If their regular social media updates are to go by, however, it's the physical ice cream parlors in Omaha where all the excitement lies. eCreamery sells ice cream pies from its stores and offers sundaes on sports days; new flavors are constantly added to the parlor's existing selection, and eCreamery often turns up with its ice creams at events across Omaha. So, what's next for visitors and residents of Omaha? Certainly seeing more of eCreamery at major events and with exciting new flavors!