Here's What Happened To SmartPlate After Shark Tank
The success of business investment reality series "Shark Tank" is thanks in part to its core premise — business owners present a pitch to a group of potential investors in hopes of earning capital to grow their venture. This setup is so widely relatable, that not only are there versions of "Shark Tank" in other countries, but "Shark Tank" is itself a quasi-spinoff of a Japanese show called "Money Tigers," which first introduced this idea overseas.
Just as "Shark Tank" succeeds on the strength of its broad appeal, many of the businesses it features can similarly boast the potential to appeal to large numbers of people. For this reason, then, health and fitness businesses are oftentimes among those often showcased on-camera. In one such example, fitness business Bala Bangles became one of the most expensive deals in "Shark Tank" history, securing $900,000 in total.
The SmartPlate, featured on Season 7 Episode 17 in 2016, is another example of a health-minded business to appear on "Shark Tank." Unlike Bala Bangles, however, the SmartPlate, which only existed as a prototype at the time its episode aired, failed to secure funding. Nevertheless, the company still exists to this day.
SmartPlate is up and running
As detailed on its official website, SmartPlate's flagship product is a plate divided into three sections that weigh food, and, using a smartphone app, calculate the total number of calories in a meal served on it. The company also offers recipes and nutritional coaching. While the creators of the SmartPlate may have walked away from "Shark Tank" no richer than they were before, as evidenced by its website offering the product just as it was described on the show, they managed to get their idea off the ground regardless.
Getting SmartPlate up and running, however, seems to have been a bit of a bumpy process. As recounted on food technology blog The Spoon, SmartPlate raised money through successful campaigns on both Kickstarter and Indiegogo, only to miss the ship date initially promised to backers. Furthermore, Philadelphia Magazine reported that SmartPlate CEO Anthony Ortiz fired Martin Dell'Arciprete, who presented the product to the Sharks, shortly after his TV appearance.
In spite of these struggles, SmartPlate appears to have now secured its customer base. Reviews for the SmartPlate app on the App Store, for example, are predominately positive, averaging out to a 4.6 out of 5. So, while SmartPlate may have found success neither during its "Shark Tank" episode nor in the days immediately after, the business is currently delivering on what was promised on-air more than five years ago.