People usually complain about losing their container’s lid and how this affects the surroundings of their microwave by creating a food mess. That’s where Michael Tseng’s plate topper enters the picture. He came into the most famous inventory shark tank with his incredible invention known as the plate topper.
But many people ask now, what happened to the plate topper after the shark tank? The website where the product was available disappeared in 2018, indicating no more sales.
In this article, I’ll walk you through all the information related to the plate topper, his inventor, and what happened to the plate topper after the shark tank.
What Happened To Plate Topper After Shark Tank?
Although the deal was signed and sealed between Lori and Michael, later on, Lori refused to invest in the product, stating that she “wound up not liking the product.”
Then Michael also announced that he didn’t give the decision-making power to Lori for one year. However, just because the product didn’t get enough funding or investment doesn’t mean that the plate topper didn’t get proper publicity. The plate topper got huge recognition after the shark tank and became a very useful product.
The company website was opened, and in 2018, Michael introduced another product called a bowl topper to be used over bowls. This product was similar to the plate topper. But, today, the company’s website is no longer active, and we can assume that it is maybe because the company ran out of business.
The product didn’t perform very well on famous sites like Amazon and Walmart; these things reveal that the plate topper wasn’t actually as functioning as Michael expressed it. The product’s overall rating was reduced to 3.5/5 or something, which shows the public didn’t like the product much as well.
More About Michael Tseng?
Michael Tseng graduated with an electrical and biochemical engineering degree. He was about to start his professional career as a physician. Still, he came up with an excellent idea of inventing a plate topper using the tips and techniques he learned during his academic career.
Creating a plate topper avoided spillage from containers without a lid and prevented food burst in the microwave. He told everyone on the show that he had the idea of creating a plate topper seven years ago, but it took him some time to finally come up with the product practically.
More About Plate Topper?
The plate topper is an excellent product widely used in kitchens by homeowners. People find it very frustrating when they want to store their leftover food but can’t find the right containers. You can use it for covering the excess food as it features an airtight lid with a suctioning ability.
The edges of this product are made up of a plate topper and don’t let air enter the plate. When you place the topper over the plate, it immediately attaches tightly to the plate, and you can lift it by the topper without worrying about it falling off.
You can warm your food using this topper in a microwave oven without worrying about the damage, as the material used in its manufacturing is microwave-friendly. And you can also store the food in the refrigerator and freezer by placing it in the plate topper.
The plate topper came in four varying designs named as:
● The original plate topper
● Plate topper mini
● Plate topper tall
● Cake topper
It’s also safe in the dishwasher and easy to pick up with a handle.
Shark Tank Pitch
Michael was a very intelligent person; he keenly observed the challenges people in normal households go through. Sometimes the container lid goes missing, or the top isn’t microwave friendly. This thing causes food splattering all over the microwave.
To prevent people from this everyday hassle, he invented a plate topper that perfectly fits different plates and makes an airtight seal. This amazing kitchenware helps people store food without worrying about spillages and provides a clean way of storing food.
He then featured his product on QVC and patented his idea to protect the product from copyright claims.
Before we go into the details of what happened to the plate topper after the shark tank? I will first tell you briefly about the plate topper shark tank’s pitch.
Michael Tseng appeared on the 4th season, episode 8 of Shark tank. He introduced his product with a very sentimental speech stating the hurdles of the everyday household when we don’t find the perfect lids for containers and how the containers get disfigured and de-shaped. His product solved many problems, and he also won Walmart’s Get On The Shelf Contest.
Tseng went on to say that the plate topper “Transforms your circular plates and kitchen counters into an airtight sealant or lid” The sharks looked very impressed by his pitch, so he offered the sharks equity of 5% for $90,000. But there was more to the deal; anyone who invested in his product would get three different designs of plate topper for free.
He said that he wants the help of sharks to introduce his product in the market and biggest retail locations or stores as the product will help people a lot in their daily kitchen chores.
A shark present on set named Mark Cuban wanted to know about the most sales the top platter made in 12 months of being introduced to the public. Michael replied that they had earned approximately $1 million and more getting pre-orders, but these stats were just for the first four months. He, later on, revealed that he made more than $500,000 with that $1 million.
Then the other shark, Kevin O’Leary, came in. Although he liked this product very much, he didn’t like the idea of getting only 5% equity for $90,000. Instead, he would like to get a 5% royalty on $90,000. Although Michael wanted this offer from Kevin, he thought it’d be good to hear from other judges.
Lori was more interested in knowing the sales and stats of the product and got to know that Michael’s first sold approximately 6080 units on QVC, from which he made the first $1 million. Lori gave him a proposal of $90,000 for 30% equity and told him that she would get the plate topper sold at a huge level as she has contacts with the world’s well-known and largest retailers.
Another shark, Daymond, tried to put down Lori’s offer by offering Michael $1 million for 25% equity. He also told him that he is already present on QVC, and no one can make Michael’s plate topper an ultimate success and get him the best sales. When Michael heard further offers, he apologetically refused Kevin’s offer, realizing he was getting more than Kevin offered him.
Now judges were getting quite frustrated knowing how easy it is for Michael to turn down offers, and he isn’t sure about his future decisions. Realizing their confused state of Michael, Lori again asked him what if she reduced the offer to $90,000 for 5% equity because Michael liked this offer.
Everyone was getting frustrated with time as this pitch became the longest ever pitch on shark tank, and many people were assuming that Michael may not be able to seal a deal today. Michael agreed to Lori’s proposal for $90,000 for 8% equity.
It’s A Wrap!
Michael Tseng founded the plate topper and introduced it as the best kitchenware product that helps people save or store the leftover food without worrying about the lost container lid. The product prevents the hectic search operation for getting the right microwave-friendly cover.
The plate topper uses the suction mechanism and is partially made of silicone to ensure that no air enters the stored food. Then he introduced his product on the famous reality show Shark Tank and asked them to invest in his development, stating the prominent features of the plate topper.
The sharks liked the product very much, but they were pretty annoyed due to the behavior of Michael and his weak decision-making power. At last, he sealed a deal with Lori of $90,000 for 8% of equity, which too ended because Lori didn’t like the product. After Shark tank, the plate topper made pretty good sales, but today the company website isn’t active, and no more sales.
