Here's What Happened To Wired Waffles After Shark Tank
Caffeine is perhaps the most popular drug, or stimulant, with about 90% of the world consuming some form of caffeine daily, according to Mayo Clinic Health System. Caffeine can commonly be found in coffee and tea, as well as supplements, soft drinks, energy "shots," and energy drinks. Shockingly, the energy drink market in 2020 was valued at around $57 billion, and as of August 2022, the second most popular supplement is energy drinks, with multivitamins being the most popular supplement. An average adult can safely consume as much as 400 milligrams of caffeine each day.
Now, have you ever been running late to work and not had time to make your morning coffee and regretted it later? What if you could have your coffee and your breakfast all in one? Well, that's exactly what Roger Sullivan had in mind when he invented Wired Waffles. Sullivan and his wife owned a coffee shop at the time and decided to make a caffeinated waffle one day, per Bizz Bucket. Each Belgian-style waffle contained 200 milligrams of caffeine in a 2.5-ounce waffle, and they tested around 10,000 waffles before selling them shortly after. Wishing to expand the business further, Sullivan sought the help of investors from the show "Shark Tank."
Wired Waffles isn't a hit with the Sharks
The show "Shark Tank" is where countless entrepreneurs and business owners pitch their ideas and products to billionaire investors, or "Sharks," in the hopes of one (or multiple) of them investing in their business and boosting them into the mainstream market, per ABC. With samples in hand, Roger Sullivan appeared in front of investors Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec, according to Shark Tank Blog. He asked the "Sharks" for an investment of $75,000 in exchange for 25% equity in his Wired Waffles business.
Sullivan explained that he sold about $1,000 worth of Wired Waffles within a month, with an order worth $100,000 being placed recently. Unfortunately, O'Leary didn't like how the waffles tasted and backed out of an offer. John and Cuban weren't on board with the caffeinated waffle idea at all and dropped out as a result. Herjavec actually liked the idea but thought that waffles weren't the right approach and backed out as well. Finally, Greiner brought up an issue with the possibility of children mistaking them for a dessert and accidentally consuming too much caffeine.
That concern made her drop out, leaving Sullivan without a deal.
Wired Waffles has gone out of business; owner now makes their own moonshine
Leaving "Shark Tank" without a deal is an ending that no hopeful entrepreneur wants to face, but it happens. After appearing on the show, Roger Sullivan said it's unfortunate that none of the investors enjoyed his Wired Waffles and said it was most likely because he was told to unwrap and assemble his waffles about 30 minutes before recording. He said the waffles got hard and dry, according to Shark Tank Blog. As a result of the feedback from the Sharks, Sullivan recreated his Wired Waffles using a recipe that's better at staying soft and moist. Additionally, a private investor decided to invest in Wired Waffles after Sullivan's appearance, and Sullivan even talked to various retail distributors about selling his product in stores.
However, after everything, Wired Waffles still didn't take off like Sullivan had expected and hoped. Unfortunately, Wired Waffles went out of business and was shut down in 2015, per Bizz Bucket. Wired Waffles was worth around $300,000 at the time of Sullivan's appearance on "Shark Tank" and had increased to a valuation of about $450,000 before going out of business. Now, Sullivan has switched his focus to distilling his own moonshine called Eve's Apple Pie Washington Moonshine, which has been sold in various liquor stores as of 2021.