Wink Frozen Desserts melt in the Shark Tank

Wink Frozen Desserts
Wink Frozen Desserts in the Shark Tank

Friday’s episode of Shark Tank featured Wink Frozen Desserts, a Stamford, Connecticut company that offers a healthy alternative for ice cream that is only 100 calories for an entire pint. The owners, Ani Blinova and Gabe Wolff, entered the Shark Tank seeking $300,000 for 15 percent of their company.

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All Wink products are free of the top 8 most common allergens while being vegan and non GMO certified and an alternative for anyone who has a dairy allergy.

The inspiration behind the creation of Wink:

“When Gabe was 17 he met his worst nightmares — Celiac disease and a dairy allergy. Shopping with food allergies is tough, and not being able to enjoy ice cream was the hardest part of all. He was already using pea protein in his diet and realized he could cover the taste with natural flavoring to make a healthier version of his missed treat.” – Wink Frozen Treats

In the Tank

Ani and Gabe handed out samples of Wink to the all of the Sharks. At first blush, the Sharks didn’t appear impressed with the taste of the product. Robert even described it as being a bit bland.

Wink is available at some local retail locations in Connecticut, as well as some Whole Foods locations. With $534,000 in sales over the past three years, Ani and Gabe predict they will top $650,000 in sales in 2015.

Barbara was the first Shark to drop out – due to low sales and the taste of the product.

Mark, who is lactose intolerant, said he “wanted so much to love this” but also dropped out, saying “I’m sure it’s an acquired taste, it just wasn’t my taste, so for that reason, I’m out.”

Robert wished the couple all the success in the world but also dropped out.

Lori said the problem for her was that she “didn’t really love the taste of it, I really wanted to, but I’m out.”

At this point the only Shark still in the tank was Mr. Wonderful.

Kevin called the product “taste free” and went on to say the product tastes “like crap.” Kevin admitted the product has a customer base – people who need it for health reasons – but he said they could do better to meet taste expectations before he dropped out.

With all the Sharks out, the game was over for Wink in the tank. The Sharks devoured Wink but didn’t come back for seconds.