What Happened To Surprise Cake After Shark Tank?
"Shark Tank" has been on for more than a decade (per IMDb), and it's given publicity to many kitchen products, among plenty of other inventions and ideas. Of course, you can't forget the best foods we've seen on "Shark Tank." Entrepreneurs have a chance to present their product to a team of sharks (investors) for a chance to receive some much-needed money — and publicity — for their brand.
In season 12, mother and son team Liz Charm and Jordan Long appeared on the show for their chance to win the investors over with their cake business (via YouTube). Surprise Cake is essentially a cake stand with a tube in the middle. The cake is baked to have a hole in the center, and the tube pops out of the hole in a surprise fashion with a gift inside.
Charm and Long entered the tank seeking $200,000 for an 8% stake in their business. Though the concept was fun, and Lori Greiner came close to making a deal, none of the judges were interested in making a substantial offer because they disagreed with how Charm and Long were growing the business as well as their valuation. Fast forward almost two years later, and where is Surprise Cake today?
The Surprise Cake is still in business
Liz Charm and her son, Jordan Long, said in their "Shark Tank" pitch that they had spent three years getting the business to its stable state in 2020. Two years later, the two are still hard at work on their product and their website suggests the business is in full swing. According to Surprise Cake, the website previously sold the popping cake stand and various accessories for baking your own Surprise Cake. Now, though, the website has a "new" option available: You can send someone a Surprise Cake — something Charm and Long had included in their "Shark Tank" pitch.
The website allows customers to order a 4-inch cake to send to loved ones around the United States. The cakes retail for $49.99 plus shipping, and next-day shipping is available for orders placed Monday-Friday before 2 p.m. EST. The cakes can be customized with various flavors, designs, and surprises inside, including Rainbow Confetti, Chocolate Chip, or even seasonal choices. Customers can then choose a confetti explosion to pop out in the center, or various candies in a tube. Music and videos can be added in as well.
The cake stand itself retails for $45 for those who want to bake their own, and there are plenty of add-on accessories for purchase including a music box and a cake carrier. It may just be among the best kitchen tools seen on "Shark Tank."
Surprise Cake has been featured in various media outlets
The business has created quite a presence for itself by creating various cake recipes to sell, even though no sharks wanted to partner with the brand. In 2022, Surprise Cake has more than 125,000 Instagram followers and 19,000 Facebook followers — both are decent numbers for a brand that essentially only sells one product.
According to its social media, Surprise Cake has been featured in various media outlets as well, including Today and Buzzfeed. It appears the mother-son duo is still running the business; Jordan Long lists himself as the co-founder of the company on LinkedIn. Though their sales are unclear, the website is fully functioning and Long and Charm mentioned during their "Shark Tank" pitch that they were on track for $900,000 in sales in 2020 (via YouTube). It's typical for businesses to see a boom after an appearance on the show, so it's possible that sales increased for the end of 2020 and into 2021.