So yesterday I got obsessed figuring out what happened when Ice Age Meals walked onto Shark Tank. You know how it is – you start watching old clips and then BAM, you just gotta know how much cash they actually snagged from those sharks. Grabbed my laptop, some cold brew, and dove in.
Started With the Obvious: YouTube
Went straight to the Shark Tank YouTube channel, spent way too long scrolling through old episodes. Found it! Season 6, Episode 24. Hit play. Dude walks in, hauling these big coolers full of his paleo meals. Looked kinda nervous. Pitched his food, talked about the “caveman diet,” and honestly, the samples looked pretty decent even through the screen.
The Sharks started poking. Kevin O’Leary doing his thing – “What’s your cost? What’s your sales?” Felt like I was sweating with him! Robert liked the food but worried about competition. Lori seemed interested. Mark Cuban kinda checked out at first. Classic Shark chaos.
The Tense Moment: The Ask
Right, the money part. He asked for $150,000. Okay, that number stuck in my head. But what for? He said it was for building a commercial kitchen. Made sense if he’s making frozen meals. Sharks started grilling him about his numbers – sales were around $21,000 in his first year? Sounded rough, but he claimed big future orders.
Then came the back-and-forth. Offers flying! Lori went first: $150k for 40% equity. Oof. Huge chunk. But she offered her QVC connection. Big deal for food. Mark jumped in, countered! $150k for 30%. Better. Then Robert joined Mark: $150k for 30%, split between them ($75k each). More sharks, less equity? Smart.
The Final Deal & My Reality Check
The Ice Age Meals guy took Mark and Robert’s deal! Handshake on $150k for 30% total. Whew. Felt like I needed a nap after watching the stress. But hey, is that the end? Nah. Had to dig deeper. Ended up on other sites hunting. Found out later reports – seems like they ultimately took the $150k from Mark and Robert. Shook hands, signed papers, money moved. Done deal.
Why’d I care? Been thinking about healthy frozen food options myself, maybe even messing around with recipes. Seeing the numbers – that huge chunk of equity he gave up for the cash and connections? Crazy. Makes you realize how brutal (and maybe worth it?) getting that Shark cash can be. Makes my little kitchen experiments seem way less intimidating! Wonder what happened to them next…
