Snactiv: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank
When Kevin Choi and Edwin Cho burst onto the "Shark Tank" stage, the celebrity investor Sharks knew this would be a fun one. Laughter rang almost immediately as the duo from Los Angeles dived into their pitch on Season 13, Episode 10. Actor and entrepreneur Kevin Hart joined veteran Sharks Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Barbara Corcoran, and Lori Greiner for the lively show — but serious finances and futures were at stake.
The featured product was Snactiv, a handy little device intending to revolutionize the world of snacking. As the two pitcher/owners explained, they were taking snacking to the next level by creating the snack tool of the future.
That tool is a miniature quasi-spinoff from traditional chopsticks, but it's smaller and slides over a person's pointer and middle fingers, resting on top. It allows users to pick up messy snacks without staining their clothes, fingers, keyboards, or gaming controllers. The person can continue working or gaming as though they had an extra pair of (clean) fingers while also being more hygienic, productive, and looking super cool, according to Cho and Choi.
Hart gleefully proclaimed, "Instantly, I just got happy." And the investor games began.
What happened to Snactiv on Shark Tank?
Hilarity followed the product introduction, with Cho calling Choi a slob, displayed by Choi diving into a bowl of Cheetos while working at a computer. The powdery orange aftermath was sufficient to make their point. They made an ask of $200,000 for a 10% stake in the company.
As the presentation evolved, showing a sharp contrast between snacking with your fingers and snacking with an attached Snactiv tool, the smiles and chuckles finally slowed down. Potential Shark investor O'Leary was first to push past the fun presentation and ask about production costs, which the inventors revealed was $2.60 per Snactiv device and $2.82 for the included case.
The duo stated existing sales of $187,000 in just 5.5 months after introducing the Snactiv device to buyers. After noting high interest in Asian markets, with pending deals in Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, O'Leary decided to dive in. Stating that the product fit into his portfolio of "crazy chicken deals," he offered $200,000, plus 10% ownership and a surprising $1 per unit sale, capping when payments total $1 million.
But Hart wasn't going to let the "amazing product" and all that fun swim away so quickly. He and Lori Greiner teamed up with an investment offer of $200,000 and 20% equity. O'Leary lowered his ask, but Cho and Choi favored the skills of two hard-working investors with no per-unit charge. The handshake deal went to Hart and Greiner.
Snactiv After Shark Tank
Viewers may be unaware that handshake deals on a "Shark Tank" stage are not binding agreements. In fact, quite a few of them fall through after the fact for a wide range of reasons or recalculations by either investors or the entrepreneurs themselves. Though Snactiv doesn't reveal any details of the Hart/Greiner partnership, it appears it was never finalized.
However, the Snactiv tool completely sold out after the show aired in January 2022. By Spring, Cho revealed in a Punhou School interview that they were catching up with the entrepreneurial success they'd attained and restocking inventory.
A mention on "Shark Tank" of an already in-the-works deal with a food delivery company did come to fruition. It happened to be DoorDash, which stocked Snactiv tools as a limited-edition product in the company's DashMart retail stores.
The entrepreneurs showed no signs of slowing down as they secured new partnerships and built a support team for future enterprises.
Is Snactiv still in business?
Snactiv is still in business, evidenced by an active presence on social media and a website offering the original Snactiv device plus some iterations. Multiple colors now adorn the quirky little modified chopsticks, and buyers can order multi-packs at reduced prices. Multiple videos showcase the product in environments ranging from computer-based workspaces to gaming dens, cell phone use, and even a piano.
The website educates buyers on the validity and benefits of buying Snactiv, including the ergonomic design with flexible rubber grips. They also showcase selling points such as the absence of BPA, plus FDA compliance, and a patented design. As they put it, "We really thought about this." And it shows.
The product line now offers t-shirts as well, one emblazoned with "got snacks?" phrasing and the other sporting a fitting graphic. The $35 Cheeto Stain Simulator tee features a splatter of orange snack dust smeared into a work of modern art.
In January 2023, the company teased a brand-new version of the original Snactiv tool on Facebook, calling it Snactiv Lite — with some features, but not all, along with a mischievous smiley-face emoji. That product, with a slimmer fit and more slide-ability, now appears in the shopping section of the company website, available in a bundle of four.
The Snactiv bundles are available across the globe, according to the company website, and for purchase through Amazon.
What's next for Snactiv?
Kevin Choi and Edwin Cho, long-time friends and co-inventors of Snactiv, were no strangers to innovative products before launching their own. Before "Shark Tank," they'd worked together at a hyper-growth startup, and collectively, their experience included helping launch products for the likes of Marvel, Disney, and Mattel. These two dynamos seem to have perpetual hands on the go-buttons of their universe.
Ongoing campaigns offer interactive customer experiences, such as the spring 2023 launch of an online Snactiv Easter Egg Hunt. Site visitors followed hints for hidden Easter eggs to earn Snack'n rewards. The future of Snactiv appears to grow along with its inventors, who state an insinuated message on Facebook that snacks are forever: "When you're too old to have Cheeto fingers but not too old to have Cheetos ..."
The same humor that punctuated the "Shark Tank" appearance still defines the Snactiv company today. In an Instagram video posted in mid-summer 2023, two gamers demonstrate the best way to 'hack your snacks," starting with a string of not-so-great options such as spoon- and foot-controlled hacks; a rain hack showering Cheetos into your mouth; a mind-control hack with a Cheeto gliding telepathically; and a butler hack in which a servant delivers snacks on white-clothed trays, plopping them one by one into your mouth.
Obviously, the culmination of the entertaining skit is the punchline: "Or ... you could just get a Snactiv."