Sub Zero Ice Cream Update | Season 4
Husband and wife, Jerry and Naomi Hancock, brought their freshly made ice cream to the tank. This isn’t any ordinary ice cream though, they use liquid nitrogen to make it! Will they be iced out, or will they walk away with a deal on
Shark Tank Sub Zero Ice Cream Update
- Entrepreneurs: Jerry and Naomi Hancock
- Business: Freshly made ice cream
- Ask: $300,000 for 12% equity
- Result: No deal
- Shark: None
Jerry and Naomi shared sweet samples, and a shot of liquid nitrogen to the sharks when pitching their business Sub Zero Ice Cream. Unlike other ice cream parlors, their’s prepared the ice cream fresh, by instantly freezing it with liquid nitrogen.
Robert Herjavec asked how many locations they had, and Jerry and Naomi said they had 2 corporate locations, and 18 franchises throughout Washington, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and California.
Kevin O’Leary loved the ice cream, but was worried about liability. He asked what would keep an 18-year-old hire from freezing their hand off, while serving the liquid nitrogen cooled treat to customers. Jerry said that they used a variety of safety measures, including a low pressure nozzle to make it safe for their employees.
Robert asked what made the company worth $2.4 million, as their valuation suggested. The Hancocks shared that their business sold $2 million in 2011, and was projected to sell $4 million by the end of 2012.
This was across 20 locations, however, 18 of which were owned by franchisees. Kevin asked why the Hancocks only had two of their own locations and asked how much it would cost them to open another. Jerry said it cost anywhere between $125,000 and $175,000 to open a new location.
Daymond John asked how much they had invested in the business, learning they had put in $750,000 of their own money, and recently took out a loan for $275,000. Robert wondered why the Hancocks didn’t open another store and asked where the $750,000 went.
The Hancocks said they spent a lot in technology, processes, and systems. They then revealed that they had another partner involved, whom they recently bought out for $500,000.
Daymond asked what the Hancocks wanted the investment for, and they said they were trying to expand into stadiums. Unfortunately, this would become the reason for Daymond to go out. Kevin said he was interested, but strongly disagreed with the $2.4 million valuation and felt the ice cream space was too crowded. For these reasons, he chose not to invest and went out.
Robert would go out next, not happy about their decision to bring in an investor early in their business. Lori Greiner, didn’t feel that the Hancocks needed any help, so she too was out. This left only Mark Cuban, who simply stated that he wasn’t interested in being in the ice cream business, and with that, he was out.
The Hancocks didn’t get a deal in the tank, but did their company survive anyways? Keep reading our Sub Zero Ice Cream update to find out!
We have great news to share in our Sub Zero Ice Cream update! Jerry went on to secure a patent on the proprietary ice cream freezing process, using liquid nitrogen in 2014. In 2019, SC Johnson bought out the Hancocks for an undisclosed sum. However, it was likely a lucrative deal for them because as of 2023, there are 35 Sub Zero Ice Cream franchises, and the company is estimated to be worth $15 million.
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Jennifer is an avid Shark Tank fan that has been watching the show for years. She serves as Senior Editor at Shark Tank Recap and ensures that all our information is accurate and that our posts are up to date. Her favorite Shark Tank products are Le-Glue and Ring!