Where Is Wine Doctor From Shark Tank Today?
For entrepreneurs, just appearing on "Shark Tank" can be a big win, bumping sales and helping them find investors when they leave the show without one. That's exactly what happened to a father-son team from Tucson, Arizona. "Shark Tank" led Wine Doctor to a boost in sales, but the company went out of business in 2018.
Bob and Chase Hoyt had a great product for wine lovers. They claimed that their Intellistopper wine bottle sealer would "redefine and revolutionize food preservation" by keeping opened bottles of vino fresh better than any other on the market. Because wine oxidizes as soon as oxygen reaches it, the Hoyts' product, Wine Doctor, could stop a bottle and pump air out, too. The catch? Air might seep in. But the Hoyts were honest about that, and they had a solution.
The Hoyts told the "Shark Tank" judges, whom they asked for $250,000 in exchange for 10% in their company, how air slowly leaked back into bottles within minutes when other wine stoppers were used. Not only would their Intellistopper keep a seal for longer, but it would also visually indicate air leaks with a tab that turned from white to red.
The Sharks didn't care for the Wine Stopper
Supposedly, customers can replace a faulty wine stopper with the Wine Doctor and enjoy an opened bottle of wine up to a week after uncorking, Chase and Bob Hoyt explained on "Shark Tank." The duo even served the judges red wine from a bottle that was opened a week prior.
The Hoyts had already done $100,000 in sales, so they felt market demand was good. They had a few patents both in the United States and the European Union. They had also secured distribution through Bed Bath & Beyond (which in 2014, was years from bankruptcy). Still, the Hoyts' pitch wasn't the first wine-stopper to appear on "Shark Tank." Season 3 saw each judge eagerly bidding on Wine Balloon, a product they tried to buy out completely on the show.
When it came to Wine Doctor, Kevin O'Leary called the $250,000 price tag on a 10% stake "greedy" and bowed out. Lori Greiner said the product was not differentiated enough in an already crowded wine-stopper market space and declined. Ultimately, Chase and Bob Hoyt walked away from the investors empty-handed.
The end of the Wine Doctor
As reported by KGUN9, another investor found Chase and Bob Hoyt after "Shark Tank" and helped the two further along in the Wine Doctor's business journey. The company did find a place in Bed Bath & Beyond, though the business met its end in December 2018. Today, the Wine Doctor is listed as unavailable on Amazon, as well as on the Bed Bath & Beyond website.
Though the entrepreneurial duo told "Shark Tank" that they planned to expand their line to include tools designed for olive oil and coffee preservation, it's unclear if those plans were ever carried out. (The Sharks, for their part, were apparently unaware that olive oil can go bad at all.)
And it seems the Hoyts have both moved on to other ventures. Chase Hoyt is now in luxury real estate, while Bob Hoyt is now a writer and editor.