'Shark Tank' judge Lori Greiner says 'I'm still dying' after what she drank during a wild pitch

"Shark Tank" fosters innovation and encourages entrepreneurs to pitch their products no matter how weird or bizarre they are. But this may also backfire for the investors, who are always good sports and participate in out-of-the-box pitches. While most products turn out to be delightful, there are a few that don't go down so well with the sharks. This was true in the case of a company called Mother's Beverage, since the sample of their product left Lori Greiner in bad shape.

In season 10 of the show, Allison Ellsworth, along with her co-founder and husband Stephen Ellsworth, pitched her company Mother's Beverage, which provided a tastier alternative to apple cider vinegar. As the two began their pitch, they offered a few shots to the sharks. However, the shots turned out to be pure apple cider vinegar, and it left a bad taste in the mouths of the panelists. 

The duo then explained that a few years back, Allison was in the same position where she was taking shots of apple cider, but she didn't enjoy the taste at all. Thus, the couple came up with the idea of creating a light and refreshing drink that carries the probiotic goodness of apple cider vinegar. Thus, they formed Mother's Beverage, which is a light sparkling drink with the goodness of apple cider and 2-4 grams of sugar combined with flavor for taste. While the Sharks were intrigued by the product, Greiner said that she was having a hard time recovering from the taste of the vinegar and added, "I'm still dying."

The founders then handed out samples of their beverage to each of the sharks and boasted about the nutritional benefits of their product. While most of the panel liked the taste of the drink, Mark Cuban wasn’t a fan. Convinced about the taste and nutrition, sharks still wanted to know more about the numbers. The couple shared that they had been in business for 18 months and generated $500,000 in revenue. Furthermore, they had great margins as well as a single bottle cost about $0.80 to make, and could be sold for about $3.00.

While they projected sales worth $1 million by the end of the year through Whole Foods stores in the Dallas and Fort Worth areas of Texas, the Sharks couldn't understand why the company was planning on manufacturing the bottles on their own. Thus, one by one, the Sharks started dropping out.

While Cuban was hesitant to drop out, he eventually did as he didn't think the business was scalable. "The hard part is the scaling part and taking people's attention and sales away from other products. You're going to have to raise a lot more money after this and that's the part I'm concerned about," he explained.

Luckily, guest shark Rohan Oza, who is a big player in the beverage industry, was still interested in the company. He made the offer of $400,000 for 25% equity, which Allison and Stephen ultimately accepted. After striking a deal with Oza, Mother Beverage made a complete turnaround. The company eventually rebranded as Poppi, positioning itself as a trendy, healthier soda pop. 

The brand soon blew up, and today it is available at Costco, Whole Foods, Target, Publix, and Kroger, according to their website and social media.