What Happened To The Ice Cream Canteen From Shark Tank?
Do you ever dream of enjoying some ice cream at a picnic? How about at the beach? Does digging into a pint at the top of a mountain after a long hike sound nice? These are the types of questions entrepreneur Jordan Stern asked people when he created The Ice Cream Canteen.
"If ice cream didn't melt, where would you take it?" Stern asked potential investors in a Kickstarter video. After graduating college, Stern took his camper van on the road to travel around the U.S., a trip during which he inevitably got hankerings for ice cream. Stern got the idea for a thermos that would keep ice cream cool. After a quick Kickstarter campaign that raised over $120,000 in 2019, he released The Ice Cream Canteen: a double-walled, vacuum-sealed thermos made from material that will keep a pint of ice cream cold for 4 hours, or up to 8 hours if stored in a cooler. From there, all ice cream lovers have to do is drop their favorite pint into The Ice Cream Canteen, screw it shut, and open it later when they're ready to enjoy it.
While The Ice Cream Canteen business was already successful — Stern predicted to make $400,000 in 2022 — he decided to head into the "Shark Tank" on Season 14, Episode 18 to see if the sharks could help him grow his business.
Did The Ice Cream Canteen land a sweet deal on Shark Tank?
One reason Jordan Stern chose to appear on "Shark Tank" was the need to produce more product inventory. Stern felt that if he had more available inventory, then he could make more sales. Therefore, Stern initially asked the sharks for a $100,000 investment for 5% equity in the company.
The shark tank was buzzing with excitement and competition between the sharks when Stern pitched his ice cream thermos product, The Ice Cream Canteen. Stern brought Mark Cuban onto the stage and had him take a blow torch to an ice cream canteen for 30 seconds, after which he found the ice cream was still frozen. Then, the offers started to roll in. After facing insistent attempts from Daniel Lubetzky to make an additional offer, which he never managed to get onto the table, Stern countered and landed a deal with Lori Greiner and Cuban for $100,000 plus a $200,000 line of credit for 20% equity in the company.
Where is The Ice Cream Canteen now?
Where are Jordan Stern and The Ice Cream Canteen today? The deal with Greiner and Cuban ended up going through — and today, The Ice Cream Canteen is a successful business. Stern's product sells on its company website in stainless steel and various other colors for $39.99 and boasts a lifetime warranty. Stern has partnered with Salt & Straw to sell the canteens on its company website and also features them in independent ice cream shops throughout the United States.
Perhaps as part of a continued effort to expand its capabilities, the company now makes ice cream canteens with custom brand labeling. Ice Cream Canteen also has been climate neutral certified since 2020, meaning it has taken three measures to reduce carbon emissions: measuring, reducing, and compensating.
Over on social media, fans are eating up The Ice Cream Canteen's success. To date, the brand has nearly 3,500 followers on Instagram, where consumers frequently comment on posts to share how much they enjoy the product. "I love my ice cream canteens! It's everything he says it is. I live in Florida and my ice cream doesn't melt!" wrote one Instagrammer.