Here's What Happened To IncrEdible Eats After Shark Tank
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Entrepreneur Dinesh Tadepalli's concept sounds, well, sound: Create something that is not only useful but also environmentally friendly. That's the idea behind IncrEdible Eats, Tadepalli's company that creates edible spoons from natural products like wheat, corn, rice, and chickpeas, and they come in a variety of flavors. The number of plastic utensils that are used once and then tossed away is in the billions, according to National Geographic. But with IncrEdible Eats, no plastic has to be thrown away, because the utensils can be eaten at the end of a meal. It sounds exactly like the type of food product that would wind up on "Shark Tank," doesn't it?
Tadepalli moved to the US from India in 2007 to go to school. He earned a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, but his mind was soon elsewhere — namely, he was disturbed by how plastics were affecting the environment, and after seeing a trash bin filled with plastic spoons while getting ice cream with his daughter, he felt inspired (via Industry Leaders Magazine). That's when he created IncrEdible Eats, which makes sweet and savory edible cutlery. Tadepalli brought his product idea to "Shark Tank," where he sought an investment of $500,000. Lucky for IncrEdible Eats, Tadepalli's presentation made four Sharks hungry enough to take a bite, a rare accomplishment.
What happened to IncrEdible Eats on Shark Tank?
Dinesh Tadepalli entered the "Shark Tank" on Season 13 Episode 3 of the show, which aired in 2021. His company, IncrEdible Eats, makes edible forks and spoons. Before entering the tank, IncrEdible Eats had already been operating as a business-to-consumer model after shifting from a business-to-business model during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is structured to be sustainable and to limit plastic waste. Each edible utensil has a shelf life of a year and can sit in liquid for up to 25 minutes, just enough time to slurp down some soup or a cup of ice cream.
Tadepalli presented all of this info to the Sharks, asking for an investment of $500,000 in return for 7% of equity. More than one Shark presented a counteroffer. The Sharks were skeptical initially because the company had only made $170,000 in total sales, and because IncrEdible Eats utensils cost 10-20x more than disposable plastic cutlery. But still, they took a bite. Kevin O'Leary offered $500,000 for 35% equity, Mark Cuban offered $500,000 for 20%, Lori Greiner offered $500,000 for 15%, and Daniel Lubetzky, $500,000 for 25%. Tadepalli countered, asking if anyone would do 12% equity; this caused Mark to revoke his offer. Finally, Tadepalli accepted Greiner's offer. So what happened next?
IncrEdible Eats After Shark Tank
After appearing on "Shark Tank" and getting an investment offer from Lori Greiner, it seemed like IncrEdible Eats was on the path to fast success. The night the episode aired, the company got $50,000 worth of pre-orders, which seemed promising enough. But in 2022, company founder Dinesh Tadepalli announced that his deal with Greiner never closed, as they weren't able to agree to the terms of the deal.
Still, Tadepalli continued on. In an April 2022 presentation to Research Triangle Park (via YouTube), he shared that he attempted to have a certain unnamed fast-food chain (one that apparently disposes of 70 million plastic spoons a year) replace its utensils with his edible spoons. The chain's sustainability team loved the idea. However, the financial team deemed it too expensive compared to plastic, and a third team was more interested in selling IncrEdible Eats products as snacks.
Tadepalli instead chose to stick to his guns (or spoons) and turn down their offer. It was more important to him to keep promoting IncrEdible Eats as an alternative to plastic. He also shared with Trep Talks that the company faced challenges like the pandemic disrupting an update to the company's machinery, delaying production and making it difficult to capitalize on "Shark Tank" exposure.
Is IncrEdible Eats still in business?
In spite all of these hurdles, IncrEdible Eats is still in business. On its own website, the company sells edible spoons, straws, and sporks, in quantities for individuals (a 15-pack of plain-flavored spoons costs $8.99) and businesses (a 100-pack of large vanilla spoons is $24.99). According to Shark Tank Blog, the company's revenue in 2022 was $500,000.
IncrEdible Eats is also sold on Amazon. The company's edible spoons have a 3.6 out of 5 stars rating from 240 customers. Favorable reviews include that people like not having to wash their silverware after eating, that the edible utensils are vegan, and that they help reduce plastic use. Opportunities for improvement include complaints that each utensil is individually wrapped, that the utensils break too easily, and that they are too hard to actually eat (it sounds like they haven't found the textural sweet spot just yet). With all of the success IncrEdible Eats has managed even without a Shark backing them, and with customer feedback to work with, what's next?
What's next for IncrEdible Eats?
IncrEdible Eats doesn't seem to be slowing down. In 2021, the company secured a $200,000 investment from Big Idea Ventures. It is also planning on expanding. Utensils are just one slice of the single-use plastics replacements pie. Apparently, IncrEdible Eats is exploring a line of edible chopsticks, coffee stirrers, cups, and bowls, too.
The company formed a partnership with Dippin' Dots in 2022. The collab allowed customers at Dippin' Dots locations to choose between vanilla or chocolate edible spoons to go with their Dippin' Dots ice cream. The company is also apparently working to secure a deal with an airline and a fast food company. Considering that more than 40 billion plastic utensils are used and thrown away each year, it definitely seems like there's a market for IncrEdible Eats' edible cutlery. So it will be interesting to see how the company grows over time.