Here's What Happened To IncrEdible Eats After Shark Tank

Renewable fibers in food-industry packaging and utensils are increasingly more common than in generations past. That's especially true with fast food restaurants, which go through an extraordinary amount of disposable products every single day. Efforts to mitigate that waste are admirable — but what if items like disposable cutlery just completely disappeared, with no need to recycle or compost the waste? That concept is exactly what entrepreneur Dinesh Tadepalli brought to "Shark Tank" in Season 13, Episode 3.

After entering the United States as a Master's Degree engineering student in 2007, Tadepalli was stunned to discover how much plastic waste was entering the environment. He brainstormed ways of contributing to sustainability efforts to create a better world for future generations. He particularly targeted plastic knives, forks, spoons, and other commonplace discarded cutlery, which number in the billions every single year. Somewhere along the way, he found his a-ha moment and IncrEdible Eats was born. 

From Tadepalli's brain, with funding from the sale of his own house, came what evolved into an entire line of non-plastic, edible cutlery. That's right — edible, as in completely digestible, leaving no imprint on the environment. He was selling his invention by 2019 but eventually wound up on "Shark Tank" seeking expanded funding — to the tune of $500,000. Here's a look at how that went over, and what happened since his swim in the Tank. 

Upon entering the entrepreneurial Shark Tank in 2021, just two years after launching IncrEdible Eats, Dinesh Tadepalli enthusiastically introduced his innovative product. Explaining that his sustainable edible cutlery was vegan-friendly and made with healthy ingredients such as chickpeas, brown rice, wheat, and non-GMO corn, he further wowed his potential investors with a wide array of tasty flavors. From sweet vanilla to pizza flavor, the judges nibbled away, showing signs of interest, soon followed by putting their money on the plate.

The starting ask by Tadepalli of $500,000 and a 7% stake soon got initial offers — but with much higher pushback on percentages. Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, and Daniel Lubetzky were willing to part with the half-million dollars but offered percentages ranging from 25-35% in equity. Lori Greiner claimed the winning bid with a $500,000 investment and a comparatively small 15% equity. 

The deal was sealed with a handshake — but not so fast. Viewers may not realize that a handshake on "Shark Tank" isn't necessarily a legal commitment. As was revealed during the episode, profitability had been an ongoing concern since Tadepalli launched IncrEdible Eats on his own two years prior. The 20 cents per spoon for an edible utensil was also much higher than the couple of pennies per utensil for plastic versions. These issues foreshadowed a rocky road for the Greiner/Tadepalli deal.

Just from the "Shark Tank" publicity and increasing notoriety, pre-sales of IncrEdible Eats cutlery soared — but its wings were clipped when Lori Greiner pulled out of the deal. Nonetheless, the company garnered $150,000 in sales, and Dinesh Tadepalli kept moving forward. He was able to snag a new partnership with Big Idea Ventures to the tune of $200,000 seed money and by 2022, IncrEdible Eats spoons were dipping their way through countless Dippin' Dots locations. 

As with most start-ups, solid principles and commitment to success go a long way. But potential deals, some of which were unaligned with Tadepalli's goals of sustainability and plastic replacement, have fallen through. Costs for the lofty goals continued to weigh on business viability. However, Tadepalli held his devotion while continuing to work as an engineer, reportedly vowing to avoid taking a salary or profits from IncrEdible Eats until the company reaches a goal of 100 million fewer single-use plastics across the globe.

In the realm of "Shark Tank" food products, this one seemed to land on solid ground. But goal fulfillment seems subject to long-term persistence.   

Unlike other companies like His & Her Bar and Wanna Date?, which both went out of business after appearing on "Shark Tank," IncrEdible Eats is still operating at the time of writing. According to the company website, products are still available, including both small and large spoons in varying flavors. Supporters and fans can still buy cocoa, vanilla, black pepper, and oregano chili spoons, as well as new "mixes" of the same flavors. The company has also introduced straws to the edible repertoire, selling vanilla and chocolate straws in packs of 100 for a discounted price of $15. The original price was $25, so it's possible the straws have struggled to find firm footing in the marketplace — or production costs have gone down.  

In 2023, IncrEdible Eats launched a Safe Note investment offering to keep the company moving forward. Stated company stats at the time showed 6 million spoons sold, eight innovation awards presented, not a single cent spent on marketing, and, crucially, a 75% reduction in production costs. The company also noted that it's gotten interest from thousands of businesses or individuals in 97 countries worldwide.

There haven't been too many updates on IncrEdible Eats in the last few years. The last posts on its Instagram and Facebook pages as of this writing were shared in June 2024, and both of them announced that the company's spoons were back in stock. But as noted above, IncrEdible Eats is still in business, and Dinesh Tadepalli appears far from throwing in the towel.

The task of running a lucrative business while remaining environmentally friendly may seem monumental, but the company's mission statement remains simple: "Incredible Eats is on a mission to remove plastic waste from the ocean." The website further proclaims, "By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans (by weight). You can help preserve nature by switching from plastic and eating your spoon. Our neighbors in the ocean deserve it."