‘Shark Tank’ revisited: XCraft, Three Jerks Jerky, Skinny Mirror, Switch Witch
Happy New Year! What better way to kick that off with an episode of “Shark Tank“? While today may be a holiday, ABC is actually airing the same lineup that they tend to on every Friday, which is great news for those of you who are trying to reestablish a sense of normalcy following the holidays.
For this edition of our Revisited article series, we’re looking back at an episode that first aired earlier this fall featuring everything from food to drones to a new Halloween tradition. We have to say that this may be one of the widest-ranging episodes to date in terms of products we like versus those we do not care about.
Three Jerks Jerky – We’re not going to deny that this jerky still makes us hungry. It’s expensive, but they’ve got an interesting platform going where they know it’s expensive and you basically more or less get what you pay for. Why else would they be selling a $500 box that includes 24-karat edible beef jerky? It’s one of the most ridiculous things we’ve ever seen and that is probably the point. Suffice it to say, they’re doing just fine since the show.
The Skinny Mirror – The sharks didn’t just balk at this concept; many of them were completely against the idea of a mirror that makes you appear somewhat skinnier. Since the show the company has taken even more of an approach about how this can be a weight-loss incentive and a way to promote positive body image, but to be honest we don’t feel qualified enough to say whether or not this achieves what it boasts. We’d just prefer a normal mirror and try to work on feeling good about that.
Switch Witch – They didn’t get a deal when they were last on the show, and we understand why: It’s basically a one-time way to convince kids to not eat a whole lot of candy on Halloween. We do think that there is potential for the company to earn a nice slice of income, but at the same time we’re not sure we’d call it anything more than that. We have a hard time thinking that this can be something that sustains itself full-time in the years to come.
XCraft – This drone company did basically the impossible on their episode of “Shark Tank,” making a deal where every single Shark bought in to the concept. They’ve got to very major skews now: Their advanced drone products and also the “phone drone,” which they are taking pre-orders on. These are still products for the super-rich in our mind, though that may change when the phone drones hit the market at under $500.
If you missed it, we looked back at our five favorite products of 2015 during a recent feature article, which you can see over at the link here! Also, you can sign up over here in the event you want some other TV news on everything we cover, sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)