Whatever Happened To Hugo's Amazing Tape After Shark Tank?
On "Shark Tank" Season 9, Episode 23, sisters Katherine Saltzberg and Lauri Fraser present a product their father Hugo Maisnik invented called Hugo's Amazing Tape. A few key qualities differentiate the invention from standard tape products. First and foremost, it's adhesive-free, sticking only to itself. With no sticky surfaces, it doesn't leave behind any residue. Plus, a length of Hugo's Amazing Tape can survive being crumpled up with no visible distortions. The strength of its bond is comparable to traditional tape adhesives nevertheless.
Maisnik came up with this concept while working at a printing plant, following in the footsteps of his father's printing business. In fact, Maisnik's printing work played a key role in the mythology of the city of Los Angeles when he helped produce the first billboards for local celebrity Angelyne.
"Shark Tank" Season 9, Episode 23 premiered in February 2018. When Saltzberg and Fraser brought their dad's product in front of the Sharks — something they most likely filmed the year prior — their father had just died earlier in the year. When they enter the "Shark Tank" studio, then, success doesn't just mean financial gain, but also recognition of their father's legacy as an inventor.
What happened to Hugo's Amazing Tape on Shark Tank?
Katherine Saltzberg and Lauri Fraser kick off their "Shark Tank" presentation by asking for $50,000 for 50% equity in Hugo's Amazing Tape. After confirming that they are indeed hoping to sell half of their father's business, they demonstrate various uses for the product. Some of these are serious and some not so much, ranging from holding rolls of wrapping paper together to adhering a pump to a basketball — this demo in particular is targeted toward now-former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
When it comes time to field questions from the Sharks, the sisters reveal that their sales totaled $27,500 across the prior 12 months. Each roll of Hugo's Amazing Tape earns them a significant profit, costing $1.27 before retailing at $12.99. That said, their father's patent on his product has unfortunately expired.
Kevin O'Leary praises Saltzberg and Fraser's eccentric presentation as "good bad theater," but he doesn't think Hugo's Amazing Tape qualifies as a legitimate business, so he bows out. Robert Herjavec finds the expired patent to be a red flag and backs out as well, but he hints that another Shark might be interested. He's referring to Barbara Corcoran, who's vocally intrigued. Before she can make an offer, however, Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner jointly propose $100,000 for the entire company. Saltzberg and Fraser confer for a moment before accepting and giddily exiting the "Shark Tank" studio after a successful sale.
Hugo's Amazing Tape after Shark Tank
Sometimes, deals tentatively made on "Shark Tank" fall through. This is because "Shark Tank" investors consistently alter deals once cameras are off, presumably in response to key factors that didn't surface during televised negotiations. Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner's offer to buy Hugo's Amazing Tape in its entirety, however, does ultimately seem to have resulted in the company changing hands. Notably, Cuban's website for his multitude of business investments and Greiner's personal site both dedicate pages to Hugo's Amazing Tape.
That said, the company doesn't necessarily seem to be a priority for either Shark. While Hugo's Amazing Tape exists on various social media platforms, none of its accounts are active. In fact, there are no social media posts more recent than the promotion for the product's "Shark Tank" appearance.
The biggest change to the product that Katherine Saltzberg and Lauri Fraser showcased on-air is its visual look. At the time they filmed their episode, Hugo's Amazing Tape came in a serviceable but unremarkable package. Now each roll of tape comes in a package with a retro, 1970s aesthetic, seeming to spotlight its history as the creation of a quirky inventor. Also key to its present-day incarnation, of course, is a graphic drawing attention to the fact that Hugo's Amazing Tape is a "Shark Tank" product.
Is Hugo's Amazing Tape still in business?
Even if Hugo's Amazing Tape doesn't seem to have grown or expanded to any significant degree since appearing on "Shark Tank" in 2018, the company remains active to this day.
One likely component of the business' perseverance is its wide availability through a variety of outlets big and small. Amazon and Walmart, for instance, sell Hugo's Amazing Tape, but so do some smaller web stores that specialize in sewing products. These include sites with names like Connecting Threads and OC Sewing & Vacuum, among others.
Sewing isn't the only niche in which the company is successful — fans of board games and card games have likewise found various uses for the product. For instance, in 2022, one user on a Reddit board dedicated to the "Marvel Champions" trading card game touted how helpful they found Hugo's Amazing Tape for storing their card collection. "Long story short, someone on here recommended Hugos tape to help organize cards and now. I don't know what I'd do without them," they wrote. It may well be word of mouth in niche communities like this, then, that's keeping Hugo's Amazing Tape afloat in the wake of its "Shark Tank" appearance.
What's next for Katherine Saltzberg and Lauri Fraser?
After negotiating the sale of their dad's company to Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner, Katherine Saltzberg and Lauri Fraser came out of their "Shark Tank" experience $100,000 richer. On "Shark Tank," the sisters explain that Hugo's Amazing Tape isn't necessarily a priority, but a venture they agreed to undertake to keep their late father's legacy alive. Now that their days running Hugo's Amazing Tape are behind them, Saltzberg and Fraser are no longer necessarily beholden to entrepreneurial work.
That said, Saltzberg remains a sort of entrepreneur, albeit in an entirely unrelated industry. After "Shark Tank," she marketed herself predominately as a parenting expert, offering her services as a personal coach and presenter. In response to their enthusiasm in showcasing their product, Barbara Corcoran correctly deduces during their episode that both sisters are actors — Salzberg has one screen acting credit to her name post-2018 too, in the 2022 "Angelyne" miniseries about her dad's semi-famous collaborator.
Meanwhile, Fraser is plenty active as a voice actor. Her recent work includes parts on "The Loud House," "The Casagrandes," "Pretzel and the Puppies," and in the video game "Final Fantasy VII Remake." Just as they suggested on "Shark Tank," selling Hugo's Amazing Tape opened up Saltzberg and Fraser to continue to focus more closely on their respective careers outside of the retail work their father pioneered.