What Happened To Coco Taps After Shark Tank?

Did the millionaire (and billionaire) investors who make dreams come true on "Shark Tank” go into a frenzy for coconut? It seems like it. Coconut Girl founder Francheska Yamsuan had no problem reeling in a Shark to help her coconut milk-based frozen dessert business grow. In fact, she and her product started a bit of a bidding battle between the Sharks — until Mark Cuban stood up and insisted she give him an answer on his offer immediately (per an ABC clip on YouTube). Coco-wow.

Then there was Dave Goodman, who stepped into the "Tank” hoping to interest the Sharks in Coco Jack, the two-piece gizmo he created to give easy access to the meat and milk of the gnarly fruit without mess and waste. He made a handshake deal with Cuban, but the deal never came to fruition (per Shark Tank Blog).

And let's not forget Vincent "Coco Vinny” Zaldivar, who entered the "Shark Tank” strumming a ukulele to pitch his coconut water extraction tool, Coco Taps (per YouTube). Jab the coconut and make a hole using the tap tool, then add a spigot-like piece with a screw-top resealable cap. Open the cap, add a straw and sip coconut water immediately. Or seal the Coco Tap and enjoy the coconut water later, for up to four weeks. But did Zaldivar's stated "coco dreams come true" with the Sharks?

Business owner "Coco Vinny” Zaldivar went on "Shark Tank” to seek a $150,000 investment in exchange for a 10% share of his business (per Shark Tank Blog). The business is multi-faceted: It involves both the coconut drilling/tapping device and the sales and delivery of pre-tapped coconuts.

The "Shark Tank” episode featuring Coco Taps was taped in 2017. At the time, Zaldivar told the Sharks that sales in 2016 were nearly $250,000 and that he hoped to double that sum in 2017. He explained that an even larger part of his business (80%) is delivering tapped and custom-branded coconuts to hotels and casinos in Las Vegas – and that he sees the cruise industry as a huge untapped market. The do-it-yourself tapping kits account for just 20% of sales.

The Sharks seemed to like what they were drinking but had a lot of questions about the business and its bottom line. One by one, they bowed out. Zaldivar exited "Shark Tank” without a deal, but doesn't seem to regret the experience. On the contrary. "It's been amazing for branding," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2018. "I think it was the right thing. I don't think any of the Sharks got coconut culture ..." He also had ideas on how to proceed, which included growing the coconuts himself, building a manufacturing facility in Nevada, and achieving a zero-waste company.

After "Shark Tank,” Zaldivar and Coco Taps were featured on the CNBC reality series "The Profit.” Host Marcus Lemonis visited Coco Taps headquarters in Las Vegas and was wowed by the purity and freshness of sipping water from a just-tapped coconut. "This coconut water tasted different than anything else that I've ever had,” Lemonis told viewers (via Twitter).

However, despite the company's zero-waste goal, it relied on a plastic tap. And Lemonis had many questions about what, exactly, Zaldivar and Coco Taps are selling. Is it an import-slash-export business? Is he a distributor? Is Coco Taps a manufacturer of taps? Does Coco Vinny have a patent for Coco Taps? Zaldivar tells Lemonis the device is "patent pending,” but Lemonis learns Zaldivar has applied for a patent multiple times and been rejected. Lemonis decided the risk isn't worth the investment and walked away.

Coco Taps continues to offer its tap system for home use (per website; the tool is also available on Amazon). It also offers fresh-tapped coconut delivery services in the Long Beach, California, and Las Vegas areas, and custom-branded coconuts for private events in some markets, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami, Florida. The company makes a Coco Taps industry kit (similar to a franchise) for those interested in "tapping a new revenue stream” and selling restaurants, resorts, and other businesses on the benefits of getting coconut water from branded coconuts.