Where Is Dollop Gourmet From Shark Tank Today?
You can't make the perfect cupcake without the perfect frosting, but what if you don't like how unnatural and heavily processed most of the frostings at the store are? That was the question entrepreneur Heather Saffer posed on Season 7, Episode 27 of "Shark Tank." Her creation, Dollop Gourmet, presented itself as a healthier alternative to most frostings, being vegan, non-GMO, and gluten-free.
Saffer had been on a long, roundabout journey before presenting her business on TV. As told by Dollop Gourmet, Saffer had initially gone to school to study psychology, but she ended up working in a car dealership instead. There, Saffer realized she wanted to start her own company. Taking inspiration from a nearby bakery and the cupcake craze of the 2000s, Saffer taught herself to bake and opened a make-your-own-cupcake shop. Sadly, that business eventually failed, costing Saffer her life savings. Still, she persisted, going on to win a Food Network cupcake competition and pen a cookbook. Ultimately, this go-getter spirit led Saffer to even reinvent cupcake frosting itself.
The Sharks were impressed by Saffer's determination in life. Even so, some of them found the venture wasn't to their taste. "Queen of QVC" Lori Greiner, for example, couldn't see the product on the QVC channel. This wasn't the first time cupcakes had been featured on "Shark Tank," though, and Kevin O'Leary wished to combine Saffer's brand with his earlier investment, Wicked Good Cupcakes. Barbara Corcoran, however, undercut O'Leary's bid and managed to seal the deal for herself.
Dollop Gourmet earned the Shark Tank bump
A surprisingly low percentage of deals made on "Shark Tank" actually go through. According to Forbes, during the first seven seasons of the show, only 27% of contestants got the actual deal agreed to onscreen, and 43% of them ended up with no deal at all. Heather Saffer was among that 43%, later telling the Democrat & Chronicle that she and Corcoran mutually agreed not to finalize their deal after the cameras stopped rolling.
Even so, Saffer benefited from making such a public appearance and touting the attributes of her product. "The market needed this and I knew good frosting better than anyone else," Saffer told CNBC. "The night of my airing I did more online sales than I had ever done before," she added. "We were already in some major chains, but being on 'Shark Tank' gave my business increased recognition and validity, which was a catalyst for growth." The other upside, Saffer claimed, was the connections she made to other "Shark Tank" contestants after her appearance.
Funnily enough, Saffer ended up pitching Dollop Gourmet on QVC, despite what Greiner had said, and she sold 800 packs for over $30,000 total in 10 minutes. She also eventually wrote another cookbook, "Crazy Easy Vegan Desserts," in addition to her original, "The Dollop Book of Frosting." Yet, surprisingly, in 2018, Saffer posted on Facebook that she was looking to sell her company. Unconventional? Sure, but Saffer explained, "I've learned to summon the courage to do what is right for me."
Who bought Dollop Gourmet?
By this point in the company's story, Heather Saffer was no longer pitching to just five Sharks, she was now pitching to the entire world. It was a pretty sweet deal, too: an entire business with all of its assets for only $150,000 (via Democrat & Chronicle). "I've taken this business as far as I want to, and now it's time for me to start a new chapter and turn the [reins] over to somebody new," Saffer wrote on Facebook.
In an interview with Starter Story, Saffer explained that selling the company became another long, roundabout journey. The first eight-month-long negotiation fell apart. Then, the brokers she hired took forever to get back to her, passively waiting for buyers to come to them. Finally, a Canadian frosting-and-glazes company called "Mimac" bought the business from her, looking to improve and expand Dollop Gourmet's product line. Saffer still gives input on the brand and is largely the face of its product, but according to her Linkedin page, she is no longer Dollop Gourmet's CEO.
So, what is Saffer up to now? "I'm in definite need of some time to recharge," she had said when first announcing her intent to sell. After the acquisition went through, Saffer mentioned she was hoping to launch an apparel and gift brand in order to help raise money for animal rescues. Now, though, her Linkedin page shows she's since worked as an advisor and entrepreneur-in-residence at various companies. Saffer has also co-founded a new company: Yonderplate. Evidently, some entrepreneurs never stop hustling.