Here's What Happened To Teaspressa After Shark Tank
Not everyone strikes a deal on "Shark Tank" as Allison DeVane and her company Teaspressa found out. The tea-focused entrepreneur appeared on the show trying to sell her line of beverages. DeVane created Teaspressa a line of concentrated teas that taste like espressos after she developed headaches from drinking coffee. DeVane got her start converting a bicycle into a tea cart and biked around Phoenix, selling her product.
The tea business suited her hustle and entrepreneurial spirit. Before long, DeVane celebrated her selection as a Tory Burch Foundation Fellow (the grant program helps female startup founders grow and scale their business concepts) and pitched herself and her fledgling business to the superstar investors and business strategists on ABC's "Shark Tank."
DeVane went on "Shark Tank" Season 7 to request $50,000 for a 10% share of her business. She served the sharks tea, which they enjoyed, but her pitch was muddled. The sharks had a lot of questions — namely, what exactly was her product? DeVane told the sharks that she wanted Teaspressa to be like Starbucks and that she would use the money to expand her retail and e-commerce presence. DeVane didn't land a deal with the sharks — nor did she have an easy time with them. But her appearance on the show gave Teaspressa a lift.
From Shark Tank to tea shops
DeVane left the show with great advice but no backer. "My favorite piece of advice was from Lori, to crawl and as the business grows walk with it, run, then later sprint when the time is right," she told Heavy in 2016.
Soon after, online Teaspressa sales blossomed thanks to "Shark Tank." DeVane took that as an opportunity to open her first tea café in Scottsdale, Arizona. She later opened several more shops in Arizona, as well as one in Michigan — and then the pandemic happened. "2020 was going to be the year for us,” DeVane told Phoenix's ABC15 in 2021. Instead, Teaspressa closed its shops and put plans for new locations on hold. While the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted Teaspressa's brick-and-mortar business, its online presence boomed. Teaspressa sells its tea and sugar cubes online, in addition to offering a tea subscription service. Tea lovers can order regular shipments of their favorite tea blends, as well as liquid flavor "elixirs" to add to their tea.
Retail business is a strong brew, and Teaspressa has expanded its offerings. The company's line of infused sugar cubes and other tea embellishments is available at Anthropologie, Nordstrom, and other retailers. The products aren't cheap, though — an 18-piece set of sugar cubes will set you back $30 at both stores, as well as on the Teaspressa website.
Teaspressa looks toward the future
Fast forward to 2023, and Teaspressa is still doing great. While the company's independent brick-and-mortar locations are still closed following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Teaspressa products can be found at over 2,000 retailers in the United States as well as at stores abroad in the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
The company has expanded its product offerings beyond tea and sugar cubes to also include flavored elixirs, tea toppings, and cocktail kits, and the website also sells tea and cocktail accessories like French presses and muddlers. If you really love Teaspressa's products, you can enroll in the business' loyalty program, LoyalTEA Rewards, where you can earn points toward future purchases by buying products and posting on social media.
As of December 2022, Teaspressa was looking to expand even more, as LinkedIn advertised for a trade show representative position to market Teaspressa products across the country. While Allison DeVane told Intuit she still frequently works seven days a week, she says she's trying to cut back. Sounds like a relaxing cup of tea is in order. Teaspressa's annual revenue is around $1 million. It may be different from what DeVane originally had in mind on "Shark Tank," but she's found a way to make the business work.