Sharks set to bite into eCreamery Friday on ABC’s “Shark Tank”

On Friday, you can watch Omaha-based eCreamery founders Becky App and Abby Jordan jump into the Shark Tank. That is, the Emmy-nominated ABC show “Shark Tank,” which features entrepreneurs from across the country pitching their ideas to a panel of potential investors, also known as “the sharks.” App and Jordan traveled to Los Angeles in…

On Friday, you can watch Omaha-based eCreamery founders Becky App and Abby Jordan jump into the Shark Tank.

That is, the Emmy-nominated ABC show “Shark Tank,” which features entrepreneurs from across the country pitching their ideas to a panel of potential investors, also known as “the sharks.” App and Jordan traveled to Los Angeles in June to film the show, and it airs Friday from 7-8 p.m. Central time.

App said Mark Hasebroock, who’s an eCreamery investor and Shark Tank fan, first proposed the idea of pitching to the sharks.

But for App and Jordan, the goal was to gain exposure for their online custom ice cream gift shop rather than actually partner with one one of the panel members.

“We haven’t seen many entrepreneurs that got the better end of a deal with a shark,” App said. “The exposure that custom ice cream gifts even exist will be a win for us.”

After a massive amount of research, App and Jordan created four custom ice cream flavors based on the sharks’ preferences, hobbies and nicknames. For example, App learned that panel member Mark Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks, was lactose intolerant. So App and Jordan made him a special, dairy-free spicy habanero chocolate sorbetto and named it “The Cubanero.”

“When we gave it to him, he exclaimed, ‘This is SO ME!’ ” App (right) said.

The four flavors created for the sharks are currently available for purchase on eCreamery.com.

The pair will also air a series of humorous videos, called “Vanilla Gift Giving,” Friday night on eCreamery.com. Made with the help of local agency Phenomblue, the videos feature funny stories of gifts not to give, in an effort to promote eCreamery’s many ice cream flavors made for special occasions.

“(The video campaign) ribs the viewer into stepping up the creativity in gift giving and not go for the standard options like flowers and chocolates,” App said.

“Our goal in working with Phenomblue was to create an engaging customer experience for the anticipated one million visitors in the 48-hour window after airing to engage and capture contact info so we can remarket to the traffic,” she added.

App said the panel was confident she and Jordan (left), would need to prepare for “the biggest numbers they’ve ever seen.”

“That’s exactly what we have done,” App said, but it wouldn’t be possible without support from the startup community in Omaha. That includes Dundee Venture Capital, Dundee Bank, Phenomblue and Millard Refrigeration, which provides eCreamery with frozen storage space for its largest ice cream pint inventory in the company’s history.

“The level of community support for Omaha startups is phenomenal,” App said. “It shouldn’t be surprising anymore as we continue to see it year after year with the long list of successful startups at Big Omaha, but it still never stops impressing us.”

 

Credits: Photo of ice cream from ecreamery.comPhoto of App from twitter.com. Photo of Jordan from twitter.com

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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