Here's What Happened To Proper Good After Shark Tank
Proper Good, the brainchild of siblings Christopher and Jennifer Jane, was featured on "Shark Tank" during episode 2 of season 13 of the show, which aired on October 15, 2021. The Janes dressed to impress during their pitch to the sharks, sporting Victorian period clothing and donning wigs, in a nod to their brand's British-sounding moniker and their own roots — they grew up on the South coast of England.
Their Austin-based company, started in April 2020, pitched the sharks on its healthy and convenient home-delivered meal service consisting of 90-second heat-and-eat soup pouches. The microwaveable shelf-stable soups are available in a variety of flavors including red pepper and meatball, broccoli cheddar, and cream of chicken. The aim of the company was to provide a nutritious food option made with clean, high-quality natural ingredients for busy people with limited time to cook. The soups, which you can purchase by picking a meal plan or by ordering a la carte, cater to different lifestyles and dietary preferences such as keto, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
The Janes requested $400,000 for a 10% stake in their business, which had seen more than $1 million in sales at the time of their appearance. Three sharks gave it a pass, including Daymond John, Lori Greiner, and Peter Jones, though they were complimentary of the quality of the soup. The Janes eventually reached a deal with Mark Cuban, who, after some negotiation, ultimately offered to invest $400,000 for 20% equity shares.
Proper Good after Shark Tank
There is typically a sales bump for any business that promotes its product on "Shark Tank" after the episode airs, and Proper Good exploded. Following the airing of their episode, Christopher Jane estimated that Proper Good sold around three and a half months' worth of soup within a week of its "Shark Tank" appearance. It generated $2 million in revenue in 2021. In fall 2021, it increased its inventory, adding an oatmeal product line. Christopher Jane said, "We decided to introduce oatmeal specifically because breakfast is a particularly tough time of day for most people. Things are chaotic while you're just getting going, but yet you want to eat a healthy, tasty breakfast to fuel your day in the right way" (via Bakingbuisiness.com).
The Janes launched their soup business initially to solve a problem that they themselves faced, but this wasn't their first retail rodeo. Prior to establishing Proper Good, the Janes, who had moved from England to Bozeman, Montana, collaborated with several other entrepreneurs to start a line of clean ingredient condiments called Montana Mex. Within a few years, the product was being sold in thousands of national grocery stores. Christopher has been an entrepreneur since age 11 when he sold phones on eBay. Christopher left his job as Montana Mex CEO to pursue an MBA at Stanford, where he developed the inspiration for Proper Good. The idea derived from his personal need to find ready-to-eat keto and plant-based meals and from discovering that the current market was considerably lacking.
Proper Good is still going strong
He also learned through research that the lifestyle meal direct-to-consumer delivery service market heralded promising returns. The "Shark Tank" appearance helped to strengthen those returns and brought considerable media attention to Proper Good. Forbes named cofounder Christopher Jane to its list of the Next 1000 Entrepreneurs in 2021, and Proper Good has since been featured in a number of publications including Food Business News, Women's Health, and Reader's Digest. Proper Good's soups, along with different types of chilis, bone broth, and oatmeal, are available for shipping nationwide through it's website and Amazon. You can buy individual items, build your own six-pack of soups, or you can sign up for the subscription service which gives you a price break of 20% off every order.
Mark Cuban ultimately ended up not closing the deal with the Janes, but the business rode the initial wave of recognition and is still going strong in 2023. In November 2022, the company was able to secure $3.5 million in another round of investing from YETI Capital and The Artisan Group. The money has gone towards further increasing its direct-to-consumer sales and expansion into retail, which has included a partnership with the largest retailer of them all, Walmart. Proper Good's top 10 best-selling meals are currently available on shelves in 2,000 Walmart Supercenters and it continues to seek out additional retail partners.
Aspirations, philanthropic work
Christopher Jane has stated that his long-term ambition is to build Proper Good into a "modern Campbell's." The company launches new products about every six weeks, which are determined by customer feedback. According to Christopher, the company maintains regular communication with customers via online reviews and a private Slack channel with VIP customers. In fact, because the majority of sales are direct-to-consumer, it often makes small batches of potential new products and tests them with existing customers first prior to a full-fledged retail launch.
Proper Good has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from customers, rating 4.8 out of a possible 5 stars with more than 15,000 5-star reviews, according to its website.
Proper Good also gives back through philanthropic causes and is passionate about addressing the issue of food deserts. As Christopher Jane said in an interview with Medium.com, "We deliver to all US cities, for those living in food deserts, they can order with us and guarantee nutritional meals will be delivered to them. ... We do a lot of work with what I would call 'occupational food deserts' — jobs where access to healthy food is incredibly difficult," like that of nurse or truck driver.
Every time someone tags Proper Good in a social media post, it donates a meal to charity. According to its Facebook page, the company has donated more than 15,000 meals to the New York-based nonprofit Welfare, which delivers premium and nutritious groceries to food-insecure families each month.