Handy Pan: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank
Handy Pan isn't your average frying pan. With the simple press of a button, it quickly transforms into a strainer for pouring out oil and other liquids from food with ease. The clever cooking innovation, which started as a simple sketch on a napkin, is the brainchild of Columbus, Ohio natives and childhood friends attorney Adam Chaudry and real estate agent Josh Conway.
After launching an unsuccessful campaign on Kickstarter in 2018, raising only $9,277 of their desired $40,000 goal, the duo made the ultimate leap to bring their genius invention from the kitchen to the tank, appearing on Season 13, Episode 21 of the hit show "Shark Tank."
Always there if you need it, but never in the way if you don't, Chaudry quips about the strainer during the pitch. The pan features a white ceramic surface and high-grade stainless steel base, making it just as easy to clean as it is to use, per the company. But after demonstrating how the pan worked, the question remained: Were the five judges — Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, Kevin O'Leary, and Lori Greiner — ready to get cooking grease-free?
The Handy Pan sizzles on 'Shark Tank'
In what may be the lowest ask to ever be made on the show, the entrepreneurs only sought a $10,000 investment for 20% equity in the company. The sharks were immediately blown away, leading Cuban to exclaim, "That is a first!" But, the Handy Pan creators explained that since it took them three years to get on the show, they wanted to come in with an asking price that wouldn't get in the way of making a deal, especially after revealing they only made $7,959.61 in sales following a small production run.
The sharks didn't hold back on their criticisms: Corcoran questioned the low sales, while O'Leary said the product wasn't sellable. Chaudry attributed the former to the fact that they weren't available in retail, where he thought the pans would fare better. Instead, they were sold exclusively on their company website — and, to the judges' dismay, not on Amazon. The founders also admitted that they hadn't promoted the brand as well as they should have, spending only $553 in total on advertising.
The Handy Pan makers revealed they'd gotten the convenient strainer patented to fit on any size pan — including an approved design patent and a pending utility patent on a pot version — before any of the other judges could even formally drop out, Greiner was all in: "You asked for $10,000 for 20%. I'll give it to you. I have nothing to lose."
The Handy Pan heats up after 'Shark Tank'
Chaudry and Conway have largely remained out of the public eye since they went swimming with the sharks; however, after the episode aired in May 2022, the company reportedly sold out of its inventory. It's unclear whether or not the deal with Greiner actually went through.
Initially selling for $29.99 at the time of the episode's taping, the nifty button-activated strainer pan now goes for $49.99 on the company website, BuyHandyPan.com. (However, it's important to note that there's a holiday special still up for $50 off an order of 10 or more pans, so it's safe to say the website hasn't been updated in a while.) But perhaps the biggest news for the company is that its 10-inch, 2-in-1 pan can now be found on Amazon, where it boasts a solid 4.3 rating.
Is Handy Pan still in business?
Since its television debut on Season 13 of "Shark Tank," it looks like sales of the multiuse gadgets are still sizzling. The non-stick pans were listed on Amazon on February 14, 2023, where more than 50 Handy Pans have been purchased in the past month — so, business certainly appears on the up and up for the startup. However, it's unclear as to whether or not the founders actually took the sharks' advice about launching on Jeff Bezos' leading online marketplace since the pans that are listed appear to be sold by a third-party seller that goes by the name of SATGoldman. (Perhaps the seller took advantage of the company's $50 off 10 or more sale.)
It also doesn't appear as if the business owners increased ad spending because Handy Pan doesn't seem to have much of a social media presence either. The brand last tweeted in June 2018, and its last Facebook post dates back to December 2022.
What's next for Handy Pan?
Is the sizzling Handy Pan finally cooling down? Due to the fact that there's no social media activity for the brand or any updates on its website for that matter, the company's next steps certainly remain a mystery. And, despite the approved pot design patent and pending utility patent (as of the show's taping), it doesn't look like the Handy Pot version has come to fruition either. But, if the Handy Pan's largely positive reviews are any indication, it's safe to say the strainer pot would be a huge hit too if and when it does ever hit the market.
All in all, although little may be known about the startup's future endeavors, there's at least one thing that's for sure: You can throw away your colanders and mesh strainers in favor of the Handy Pan because it's a multiuse tool that comes in handy for pasta, bacon, veggies, and much more.