Where Is Slate From Shark Tank Today?

There are certain pastimes adults once enjoyed as kids but may never re-experience in middle age due to lack of opportunity. If you grew up drinking the somewhat mysterious Yoo-Hoo drink, there's a good chance you've abandoned the chocolatey beverage in adulthood. Beyond MyRecipes outlining how those yellow and blue bottles didn't contain real milk anyway, you may be attempting to steer clear of all potential milk-based products if you're one of the 36% of U.S. adults whom ProCon.org states are lactose intolerant. 

But who says adults — even lactose-intolerant ones — can't drink chocolate milk, too? That's what entrepreneurs Manny Lubin and Josh Belinsky thought when they created shelf-stable chocolate milk just for grown-ups.

According to Northeastern Global News, Northeastern graduates Lubin and Belinsky came together in 2017 to create a modern chocolate milk targeted specifically for adults. Not only is Slate low in sugar and high in protein, but it's also lactose-free; both of the company's founders are lactose intolerant, per Northeastern Global News. The duo received a $10,000 grant from the university to get their product off the ground and opened a Kickstarter campaign in 2019. While the budding businessmen had help and support from various sectors within Northeastern University, they decided to take their chances on "Shark Tank" to propel their product into mainstream markets.

Manny Lubin and Josh Belinsky's Kickstarter campaign eventually amounted to more than $50,000. But the duo appeared on Season 11, Episode 23 in 2020 before any sales actually took place and with only a prototype in hand, asking for an investment of $400,000 for 10% of their business, per Shark Tank Tales. 

According to Northeastern Global News, the friends were determined to give chocolate milk a "clean slate" and appeared on "Shark Tank" with three flavors for the judges to try: dark chocolate, classic chocolate, and mocha flip. But following the adverse reactions from the judges during the sampling process (via YouTube), Lubin and Belinsky left the show without a deal. 

The duo appeared on a podcast by the Sports Lifestyle Network in 2021 and said that while they weren't able to garner a deal from the judges, their TV appearance spurred continued interest in the product. The founders learned from the experience, and Forbes reports that they spent a solid year after their "Shark Tank" debut changing the prototype to account for those taste-test reactions.

Despite the entrepreneurs' rocky start on screen, Slate founders Manny Lubin and Josh Belinsky were not left without the help of investors who believed in their product. According to Forbes, Slate has brought in roughly $6 million in funding since the early days of the protein-rich, lactose-free chocolate milk. And the company's growth remains strong.

DairyReporter.com says the company saw a remarkable sales year from 2020-2021, seeing an astounding 300% growth. And Lubin expected the company to continue to grow in the coming years. FoodNavigator-USA.com outlines how the brand has been able to expand into more than 4,000 retail locations and continues to gain traction on social media.

According to the Slate website, each can contains 20 grams of protein and around 100 calories. All flavors contain zero added sugars and undergo a special ultrafiltration process that removes lactose. One 12-pack of 11-ounce cans costs $36.99 and can be ordered directly from Slate; the drink has also been spotted at Costco, among other retailers. Overall, the company seems to be seeing continued success, as Slate released new vanilla-based flavors and posted the release on Instagram in September 2022.