Coffee Brand Gifts is a company that sells gifts and other souvenirs for coffee lovers. It consists of mugs, t-shirts, games, stuffed toys, and so much more. Since there aren’t a lot of brands that make coffee-specific products, this is for all coffee lovers who want something to showcase their favorite beverage.
Dan Cafferty founded this company when he went to a coffee trade show. While attending, he was disappointed by the lack of coffee-themed products available. He saw that people were selling many different things, but when he wanted to purchase a t-shirt that said, “I LOVE COFFEE” or a mug that said something similar, there was nothing. He decided to take care of this himself, and after discovering that they were available, he got the patents for words such as “latte,” “cappuccino,” and “java” and set to making his line of products.
The bestselling point of Coffee Brand Gifts is that no one else owns the patent to these words, so Cafferty didn’t have to worry about competition from any major brands. These coffee-specific words could only be used in his products, which made them stand out from the rest.
Additionally, these souvenirs can also be used as gift items. If someone is looking for something to gift someone and they’re in a hurry, these are perfect for purchasing for your friends and family.
Before coming to Shark Tank, Cafferty had already created the prototypes and conducted surveys to see how many people were interested in buying his products. He intended to use the Shark Tank investment to start making the products for selling.
Are They Still an Active Company?
No, they are not active. Their business shut down after receiving no investment.
How Did the Shark Tank Pitch Go?
Dan Cafferty entered the Tank with an initial ask of $300,000 for a 40% equity in his business.
Cafferty started with a solid pitch, telling the Sharks that he owns the patents to all the words specific to coffee. Just as he’s explaining about his patents, Robert asks him why is that of any importance.
Cafferty replied that since he owned the patents, he wouldn’t have competitors trying to sell the same products. If coffee lovers wanted to buy something, then their products would be the only available option. Dan also told the Sharks that he had done a lot of surveys in different coffee shops, and he found out that many people loved his games and wanted to try his products.
He then appealed to the Sharks by saying he’s confident there’s a substantial market for his products and has already invested $400,000 of his money. He is looking for investment from the Sharks to start mass manufacturing his creations so they can be put on the market.
Kevin asked if he has already received orders for this, but Cafferty had no reply as he had not sold anything. This made the Sharks lose faith because without sales, there was no money to be made, and starting with Kevin, all of them said they were out.
Dan Cafferty left the Tank without any investment.
Our Review of Coffee Brand Gifts
From what was pitched, we can gauge that the products were easy to use, and the customers had a lot of variety. The products were unique as we didn’t find others just for coffee-lovers. We could choose from different designs and colors, which meant there was something for everybody.
The bad news is that the products weren’t worth the money. They were pretty, but the price made them reconsider. Nobody would be willing to spend so much money when they could easily buy a regular mug at a much cheaper rate.
Pros of Coffee Brand Gifts
- A variety of products: mugs, t-shirts, etc.
- Mugs can be used for everyday use instead of just for coffee
- Available in different colors
Cons of Coffee Brand Gifts
- Expensive
- The designs will wear away after being washed a few times
- Not a lot of design variety
Who is Coffee Brand Gifts for?
Coffee Brand Gifts was for all coffee lovers who like cute souvenirs specific to coffee. The souvenirs have words such as coffee and cappuccino for people who prefer those. It was also for anyone who wanted an adorable stuffed bear, a mug for everyday use, or someone who wanted to try out coffee.
Are There Any Alternatives?
When it was pitched, Coffee Brand Gifts was among the few coffee souvenirs available. But now, there is a lot of competition in the market, and several products for coffee lovers have been manufactured.
Coffee Mugs are an excellent alternative to coffee souvenirs. Just like Coffee Brand Gifts, they are made for coffee lovers and help to keep their drinks hot for a long time. A few design choices are also available to get the design you like. They can also be used for other hot or cold beverages if you want to drink something other than hot coffee.
Unlike Coffee Brand Gifts, they do not have designs specific to coffee lovers. They also don’t use coffee-specific words; their target audience is anyone who likes hot drinks.
Our Final Thoughts
Overall, Coffee Brand Gifts was a good idea theoretically, and the prototypes were well made, but they weren’t a must-have product. If someone walked up to the store, they might like the mug’s design, but they won’t be willing to spend that much money to purchase something just because it has the word “coffee” on it.
If the design was improved and the price reduced, this product might have had the orders Cafferty was looking for instead of just empty commitments.
