Where Is Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream From Shark Tank Today?

If an entrepreneur doesn't present a cogent business plan to the circling school of sharks on "Shark Tank," the pool of potential angel investors will eat them alive. Sadly, more than a few business owners have left the set of the ABC series with disappointment in their hearts. However, from time to time, the stars of "Shark Tank" also snack on food items that the show's hopeful entrepreneurs bring them.

The sharks got to sample a sweet treat when presented with Makenzie Marzluff's Delighted by Hummus, which introduced sugary flavors like snickerdoodle and brownie batter to the historically savory chickpea spread (via Insider). The Cookie Dough Cafe, which sells edible cookie batter, gave the sharks another sugar rush, and today their products are available at around 10,000 locations across the country. On the savory side of things, the sharks have also encountered Misfit Foods, which made sausages that were half vegetable and half meat. 

Since they appeared on "Shark Tank," some of the aforementioned businesses have a mixed record, but luckily, Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream has become a sweet success.

Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream was featured on "Shark Tank" Season 4, Episode 13. In the second half of the episode, company founders Jerry and Naomi Hancock presented their product to the sharks, hoping to lure the investors in with a tasty treat no one could refuse. In addition to highlighting the convenience of their particular ice cream model, the Hancocks were also eager to emphasize the potential profitability of the endeavor. 

In their pitch, they requested an investment of $300,000 from the sharks in return for a 12% share of the company. Their appearance on the show was prompted by a previous partnership that had gone awry and lost the couple a whopping $500,000. Ultimately, none of the sharks chose to invest in Sub Zero, though they didn't leave the Hancocks without any words of encouragement. Lori Greiner expressed that she felt that the couple didn't need an investor to succeed, and all of her fellow sharks offered similar support for the product.

Despite the franchise's televised investment request being rejected, Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream still went on to become a serious success story. By 2020, when the franchise was celebrating its 15th birthday, there were over 50 Sub Zero locations in operation, which live in 17 different states, per Franchising.com.

So, what exactly is the difference between regular-old ice cream and the ice cream created by Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream? In 2021, WKBN interviewed Shaun DaVill, the founder of another nitrogen ice cream chain, who delved into the noticeable textural difference between nitrogen-frozen ice cream and ice cream frozen by traditional methods. As it turns out, the difference in techniques is all about the time required to freeze the ice cream. 

At Sub Zero, your ice cream is made to order, chilled to the perfect creamy consistency at -321 degrees Fahrenheit and is ready in 30 seconds. This stands in direct contrast to the traditional chilling method, which takes considerably longer. It's during this process that the biggest difference between the two techniques is seen. In essence, the lack of large ice chunks created by the traditional freezing process gives the nitrogen ice cream a noticeably more creamy consistency. 

Of course, it was likely this massive differential that led the founders of Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream to invest so much of their own time and money into the business. According to the official Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream website, Jerry and Naomi Hancock previously owned a New York Burrito franchise, but their customers convinced them in 2004 to make and sell ice cream using the location's excess space. In 2005, Jerry attempted to secure a patent for their customized method of freezing ice cream with liquid nitrogen, which he was eventually granted in 2014, a year after appearing on "Shark Tank."