What Happened To ProntoBev After Shark Tank?
Over the course of "Shark Tank," many products have been launched into public eye. The show has brought to light countless products, from customizable glasses and dog clothes all the way to fingerprint padlocks and portable showers (via Shark Tank Products).
Naturally, "Shark Tank" has also helped small businesses seeking to sell kitchen tools. Some of the best kitchen tools we've seen on the show include Scrub Daddy sponges, the Rapid Ramen Cooker, and Stasher storage bags, all of which you've probably seen in stores.
Another kitchen product to get a leg-up from "Shark Tank" investors is the ProntoBev wine chiller. This product appeared in 2017 on Season 9 of "Shark Tank," and according to Shark Tank Tales, entrepreneur Alexander Simone was seeking $100,000 in exchange for 5% of the company. While the Sharks did not bite on this particular deal, Mark Cuban did eventually make another offer, which Simone took. So where is ProntoBev today?
The idea behind the ProntoBev drink chiller
Like many products we know and love, ProntoBev was created by a problem-solving college student. According to the Shark Tank Blog, Alexander Simone wanted to impress his friends with chilled wine, but his method of pouring wine through a strainer with ice and salt left a lot to be desired. Thirteen prototypes later, Simone had the ProntoBev chiller and aerator.
Simone went on to launch a product campaign in Indiegogo, where he claimed ProntoBev to be the "world's fastest" wine chiller and beverage cooler. By the time he appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2017, he had raised more than $53,000 and had 470 backers.
Per BizzBucket, ProntoBev uses cooling gel and a steel casing to chill drinks to 20 degrees Farenheit in less than 30 seconds. ProntoBev also has a digital thermometer on the side so you can see exactly what temperature your drink has reached. As convenient as this product sounds, the "Shark Tank" investors weren't entirely sold on the idea — at least, not enough to pay $100,000 for a 5% stake. That's why Simone walked away with Mark Cuban's deal of $100,000 for 25% of the company.
Everyone wants to know — where is ProntoBev today?
Since appearing on "Shark Tank," ProntoBev claims to have raised an additional $100,000 via investors, per Mark Cuban's conditions. Pronto Concepts, the overarching company, seems to still be accepting shareholders, though a great deal of controversy currently surrounds the whole thing.
As one Reddit user succinctly explains, "It's four years later, no product." That's right, countless people pre-ordered the ProntoBev wine chiller after it aired on "Shark Tank," and they still haven't received the product. The Redditor goes on to say that the company's social media pages have either been deleted or are inactive, and all of his attempts to contact Pronto Concepts are met with claims that ProntoBev is simply going through final "adjustments." When he asked for a refund, Pronto Concepts' customer service offered him a second product, free of charge, to which he responded, "You can't even get one product out and you're offering me a second?"
That post was from three years ago, but people made similar claims on Shark Tank Tales in 2020 and 2021. We can't say for sure that ProntoBev is a bust, but if you want chilled wine, it can be as easy as this simple trick that will chill a bottle of wine in just five minutes. There's no real need to go out and buy an actual wine chilling device, but hey, to each their own.