David and Joe Ahmadd pitch Coldest, their insulated water bottle business that keeps water cold for 36 hours, in Shark Tank episode 1516. Founded in 2015 in a gargage, the business has grown into a 72,000 square foot facility today. That’s because they had the vision to want the coldest water in the hottest state: Florida. They designed a stainless steel, double-wall, vacuum-insulated bottle that keeps water cold longer than any other brand out there.
The company expanded beyond just water bottles. They now make pillows, sheets and other bedding that keep you cool with temperature-regulating bamboo viscose fabric. There are a wide variety of bottles, tumblers, cups and jugs plus ice packs and even dog bedding. All the bottles are leak proof. They even sell flavoring for your water.
The Coldest is a premium brand and has a premium price. A “standard” water bottle is $55. They sell via “drops” where they’ll have a custom color or design on a particular product. All their products are available on their website and Amazon Store. They even have their own retail store at the Coastland Mall in Naples, Florida. Believe it or not, the company plans on opening an amusement park called “Coldest World” in 2030! They probably need a Shark for that endeavor.
Company Information
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Posts about Coldest on Shark Tank Blog
The Coldest: Engineering Excellence for Everyday Essentials
Coldest Shark Tank Recap
David and Joe enter the Shark Tank and announce that they’re the twins that started Coldest. They started the company in Naples, Florida and it gets hot there. The wanted to create the coolest things that keeps things colder longer. They introduce their water bottle. They tested their bottle versus over 50 of the largest hydration brands out there and it will keep drinks cold for up to 36 hours. The design features include a non slip rubber bottom and it’s 100% leak proof.
But they wanted more cold, so they designed the Coldest pillow because they were tired of being sweaty at night. They also designed the Coldest dog bed and the Coldest dog bowl because dogs like to sleep cold too. They ask for $600,000 for 2% of their business and then they ask the Sharks : “who wants to get buried in an avalance of cash and join us on expanding the universe of Coldest?”
Samples and Questions
The Sharks have the Limitless series water bottles on their tables. It comes with 3 lids and it keeps water cold for 36 hours. Their parents are both immigrants. Dad is from Jordan and mom is from the Phillipines. They’re both Engineers, so their entire life, the twins thought Engineering was the only thing to get into. The twins have been obsessed with business their entire lives. They did side hustles: software businesses and building websites for clients. They knew how to build brands, but their side hustles kept failing. With every failure, they learned a lesson. Then 2015 came and that’s when Coldest began.
David had $14,000 saved up and put it into Coldest. He sent the money to the factory for 1000 water bottles and his brother asked “do you really think you’re going to sell 1000 water bottles? Do you know how competitive that market is?” David got scared and wanted to cancel the order but it was too late. It took 5 months to sell them on Amazon. In 2017, Joe said “you make the best, Coldest product and I’ll focus on marketing.”
Let’s Talk Numbers
They proceed to list their revenue. 2017 was $900,000. 2018 was $2.5 million. 2019 was $5.9 million. 2020 was $9.3 million. 2021 was $12.4 million. 2022 was $15.1 million. Last year they lost $400,000 because they keep loading up on inventory: more colors and more SKU’s. They’re adding more categories as well. All of their money since day 1 has been going back into the brand. They have $2.5 million worth of inventory at cost and over 350 SKU’s. The bottles the Sharks have retails for $59.99 and costs $10-$12 landed. This year (2023) they are on track to do $22 million. They justify their $30 million valuation based on how well they’re scaling. Lori says the problem is they aren’t making money.
Is Anybody In?
Lori thinks they should be lean and mean. She doesn’t like their business model; she’s out. Mark wants to know what they spend on marketing. Last year they did $3.3 million in advertising. Mark says they’re a marketing company but there needs to be science behind it. He says if they want to scale and be a household name, they need to be the best at analytics for advertising. He doesn’t see that from the twins; Mark’s out. Robert thinks their growth is incredible but he doesn’t understand why they’re losing money; he’s out. Daymond doesn’t understand why they’re so obsessed with inventory. He thinks they are going down a dangerous road; he’s out.
Kevin says he thought the presentation sucked until he heard the sales. He thought they were “just another couple of water bottle guys.” Kevin offers $600,000 for 7% equity plus $2.25 per order until he makes back $3 million, then the royalty goes away. David counters with the royalty going away at $900,000. Robert says it’s a great opportunity for their brand because Kevin has the coldest heart of any human being. Kevin thinks they can fine tune their digital spend. Kevin reduces his equity ask to 5% and keeps his royalty component intact. They counter at $1.5 million for 5% and they’ll buy him out at $2.25 million after 3 years if he wants out. The twins aren’t crazy about the royalty and after conferring they decline Kevin’s offer.
Coldest Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. The twins said as their segment was airing, they had over 8000 live shoppers on their website. They learned something in the Tank, too. As a result of their conversations with the Sharks, they are reducing their nuumber of SKU’s. Their pillows, bedding, sheets, comforters, dog beds, ice packs, and some bottle lines are being discontinued after they sell out. Coldest is giving a 30% discount on closeout items which are clearly marked on their website. As of June, 2024 and the first re-run of this episode, Coldest is on track to surpass $25 million on sales for the year.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Coldest & David and Joe Ahmadd as more details become available.
