Let Them Eat Candles Shark Tank Update – Shark Tank Season 15
Let Them Eat Candles makes edible chocolate birthday candles. They appeared on Shark Tank Season 15 and secured a deal with Lori Greiner.
Loree Sandler and Bob Michelson hope a Shark bites on Let Them Eat Candles, their edible chocolate candles business, in Shark Tank Season 15 Episode 17. Loree got the inspiration for her edible candles at her son’s 12th birthday party. She saw the kids licking the frosting off the candles and thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if they could eat them?”
That led her to quit her job as an architect and enroll in Chicago’s French Pastry School and the Chocolate Academy. She learned how to create the chocolate candles, set the wicks and make packaging that pops. The candles caught the eye of Martha Stewart’s American Made contest and TheGrommet and things started to take off.
She grew slowly, but now she has her candles in hundreds of stores nationwide. They’re also available on Amazon. She’s sold over 1.5 million candles to date. At 16.95 for 3 candles, they’re more expensive than regular birthday candles, but regular candles don’t taste as good. Loree and Bob likely want a Shark’s help getting into more stores.
Check Other Shark Tank Season 15 Episodes.
About Let Them Eat Candles
| Category | Details |
| Business Name | Let Them Eat Candles |
| Founders | Loree Sandler, Bob Michelson |
| Industry | Food (Candy) |
| Product Type | Edible birthday candles |
| Deal Status | Deal secured with Lori |
| Investment Asked | $250,000 for 10% equity |
| Deal Outcome | $250,000 for 18% equity |
Video
Posts about Let Them Eat Candles on Shark Tank Blog
Chocolate Candles by Let Them Eat Candles
Let Them Eat Candles Shark Tank Recap
Lori and Bob enter the Shark Tank seeking $250,000 for a 10% stake in their company. Lori congratulates the Sharks on another epic season. She and Bob are celebrating too: 35 years of wedded bliss. What drives their passions is celebrations with their company. Let Them Eat Candles are premium chocolate birthday candles to light, then eat. The flame lasts about a minute – long enough to sing “Happy Birthday” and strike a pose.
When they tell people they can light candles and then eat them, their jaws drop. They ask the Sharks to see for themselves as they light two candles on a cake onstage. Bob invites the Sharks to light the candles in front of them, make a wish, and, on his count, blow them out together. He counts down, and they blow the candles out and take a bite out of them.
Samples and Questions
Barbara asks if the wick is edible, and Bob tells her they’re very short and you can just pluck them out. Lori wants to know how many flavors there are. They have just dark and milk chocolate, and they have seven different patterns.
Robert asks how they got into this business. They have three boys, and Lori was baking the youngest’s birthday cake with him. When they were done, they put candles on it, and they dripped all over the cake. Lori was disappointed. Here is the last product on the planet that hasn’t been tweaked or optimized, and she thought, “How hard could it be to make edible candles?”
So she went to Chicago’s French Pastry School and the Chocolate Academy and learned how to make chocolate and everything she needed to know about making her product. Mark congratulates her on not taking shortcuts. They know of only one other edible candle out there. It’s chocolate, but you must insert a wax candle.
The Numbers
They sell for $2.99-$3.99 apiece and cost 85 cents to make. They wholesale them for $1.69 and direct them to consumers for $3.99. Their lifetime sales are $2.3 million. In 2022, they did $675,000, and they’re projecting $1 million in sales for 2023. They’ll clear $100,000 on the $1 million. They want to grow their business in big grocery chains, where you can sell once and get 1200 stores.
Their first focus was on Publix before the pandemic started. They’re in all Publix stores now and getting re-orders. Currently, they’re negotiating with other stores, including Kroger and Albertsons.
The biggest opportunity for growth is direct-to-consumer, and it’s a challenge. Mark says it’s because it’s hard to ship chocolate. They ship in a box with insulation and gel packs, which is expensive. Kevin says he wouldn’t even try that, but he agrees with what they’re doing. All they need is four other grocers, and they have world dominance in edible candles.
Did Let Them Eat Candles Get a Deal on Shark Tank?
Kevin sees nothing wrong with what they’re doing—all it will take is 2 or 3 years. Because he’s “walked that road” before, he’s out. Bob says they’re focused on making it a $10 million business. He thinks they can get there if they duplicate the success they have in Publix with other grocers. Robert loves the idea, but he has a conflict with another business; he’s out.
Mark says even if they get to $10 million and get full distribution, he doesn’t know if they can do it without direct to consumer; he’s out. Barbara doesn’t think direct-to-consumer is a bad idea; she offers $250,000 for 25%. Lori likes to take a concept and expand on it; she offers $125,000 as a loan and $125,000 in cash for 20%. Lori and Bob counter with 15% for both Barbara and Lori, and Lori says she’ll do her deal for 18%. They agree.
Let Them Eat Candles Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. As of the first re-run of this episode in June 2024, just 3 months after the original air date, there is no hard evidence that the deal with Lori closed.
The company references Shark Tank in a press release, saying, ” Investors Barbara Corcoran and Lori Greiner each made an offer.” There’s no mention of a deal.
Let Them Eat Candles expanded the line to include candles shaped like bunches of balloons, the numbers 0 – 9, and messages like “Happy Birthday,” “It’s A Party,” “Make A Wish,” and “Over the Hill.” In addition to Publix, you can find the candles at Mariano’s, Raley’s, Lunds and Byerlys, and Nothing Bundt Cakes.
In 2023, their annual revenue was $675000. As of March 2024, the net worth of Let Them Eat Candles is $1.38 million.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow up on Let Them Eat Candles, Loree Sandler, and Bob Michelson as more details become available.
Where Can You Buy It?
Let Then Eat Candles are available for purchase on their official website and on Amazon. Check out their social media pages for more recent updates: Facebook and Instagram.
Quick Summary
- Let Them Eat Candles pitched edible chocolate birthday candles in Season 15, landing a deal with Lori Greiner.
- With over 1.5 million units sold and $2.3 million in lifetime sales, they’re already in Publix and expanding into chains like Kroger and Albertsons.
- After Shark Tank, the company introduced new candle designs and flavors, though it’s unclear if the Lori deal officially closed.
Curious to know about other businesses that appeared on the same episode? Check out their business updates!
