Where Is Biem From Shark Tank Today?
Warm your butter up for too long and it'll burn. It appears that's exactly what happened to Biem, a startup whose founder struggled to choose a deal when offered several from the "Shark Tank" judges. Over time, this entrepreneur also watched his venture go up in flames, suffering a canceled investment along with customer complaints.
It all began with Douglas Foreman, former founder and CEO of Guiltless Gourmet (its baked tortilla chips were a U.S. first) and the founder of Beanitos, the chip made from beans — per LinkedIn. Back in 2016, Foreman devised a way to melt (without burning) and spray butter onto food. He called it Biem. Later that same year, he went on Season 8 Episode 4 of "Shark Tank" and offered the judges 5% equity in his company in exchange for $500,000.
Mark Cuban wasn't interested, but all other Sharks made offers. However, Foreman's indecisiveness made both Daymond John and Robert Herjavec rescind their deals. Lori Greiner undercut Kevin O'Leary's offer, yet Foreman still hesitated. So, Greiner almost backed out, too, forcing him to hastily accept her terms. Foreman couldn't stand the heat and melted in the kitchen, but all's well that ends well, right? Wrong.
How did Biem get scorched?
As is often the case for "Shark Tank" products, Biem initially seemed like it was on a path to success after securing an investment. Shortly after Foreman's episode aired, Foreman told Heavy, "We have had an incredible amount of interest in the Biem from all over the world. So, we have a lot of work ahead of us and will be concentrating on getting the Biem to everyone who wants one across the globe." Plus, the company was actively developing new products.
Unfortunately, the handshake deals struck on "Shark Tank" don't always go through, as Sharks do their due diligence and sometimes find young enterprises aren't all they're cracked up to be. "Lori Greiner has no affiliation with this company," Lori Greiner Companies' COO stated in 2018 (via KVUE ABC). "She did not make an investment after the 'Shark Tank' episode aired because they did not have a working prototype during due diligence."
Worse still, around that same time, the Better Business Bureau received dozens of consumer complaints about Biem, some complaining of malfunctions and others of unrefunded money. Brevda, Inc. (the corporation behind Biem) claimed to be working on an updated model that would soon be sent out to remedy any clogging issues. 10,000 units of Biem had impressively sold during its launch, and yet, because of these hiccups, it all went up in smoke.
Foreman is still heating up
Biem wanted to transform the way you cook with butter, but it seems it never got the chance. Comments on the original Kickstarter over the past handful of years indicate many backers never actually received the product, neither the 1.0 nor the 2.0. Those who did get the Biem Butter Sprayer reported even more issues going forward. Many called it a scam.
On Biem Spray's e-shop, the Biem Butter Sprayer V2 and its Gift Pack are now sold out, indicating production has shut down. Batteries and chargers are still up for sale, but those are likely just leftover, unwanted accessories sitting in a warehouse. Amazon also lists the 2.5-star-rated Biem Butter Sprayer V2 and 3-star-rated gift pack both as currently unavailable. The Biem Butter Spray Twitter also hasn't posted since 2019. That same year, Foreman actually tried to Kickstart a third version of Biem, which only raised about $4,000 out of its $63,000 goal.
Foreman's LinkedIn still lists him as the current founder and CEO of Brevda, Inc. up to the present day, but a closer look at his "about" section reveals this isn't accurate. Biem is now referred to in the past tense, while Foreman has moved onto a new startup: Austin Automation Design. Even though Biem is all but ash now, Foreman is still trying to revolutionize cuisine with an automation integration service. Its flagship product, Tacomation, can supposedly make tacos without human contact. Still, it's doubtful any Sharks will be investing any time soon.