Overview
Peanut butter is one of the most popular spreads in the world, but getting every last bit out of the jar can be frustrating. Enter Andy Scherer’s Peanut Butter Pump, a product that makes it easy to dispense peanut butter without any waste.
Although the Peanut Butter Pump didn’t secure a deal on Shark Tank, the company is still operating and has been featured in various media outlets.
As of 2024, the Peanut Butter Pump is valued at $250,000.
Andy’s Shark Tank Pitch
Scherer appeared on season 11 of Shark Tank seeking $200,000 in exchange for 15% equity in his company. While the Sharks found the product amusing, they were not impressed with the business.
They laughed at Scherer’s expense, and some of the Sharks were concerned about the product’s refrigeration requirements. Ultimately, none of the Sharks agreed to invest in the Peanut Butter Pump.
Update After Shark Tank
Despite not securing a deal on Shark Tank, Scherer continues to operate the Peanut Butter Pump business. The product has been featured in various media outlets, including the Food Network and Cosmopolitan.
However, the company has faced challenges with manufacturing and shipping.
As of February 2024, the Peanut Butter Pump is still in pre-order status, with an estimated shipping date of March 15, 2020, on the company’s website.
Scherer has been providing regular updates to his patient backers on Indiegogo.com, and production samples arrived in August 2022.
However, additional issues need to be addressed before production can begin. Scherer is still waiting for the tooling creation to start, and it is uncertain when the pre-orders will be fulfilled.
Andrew Scherer’s Background
Andrew Scherer is a well-educated individual from Burbank, California.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Comparative Literature from UC Santa Cruz in 2001, followed by an MBA with a focus on marketing and finance from UCLA.
Scherer’s career began as the funds’ transfer VP at California Commerce Bank.
He later became the Global Compliance Director at Associated Foreign Exchange in 2007 and was promoted to Business Development Director in 2011, where he worked on mergers and acquisitions.
The Inception of the Peanut Butter Pump
After being fired from his job in finance in 2016, Scherer decided to pursue entrepreneurship.
As a peanut butter enthusiast, he came up with the idea for the Peanut Butter Pump, which pumps peanut butter out of a jar without any waste.
He established Peanut Butter Ventures in 2017 to develop and market the product.
Scherer launched an Indiegogo campaign in 2019 to raise funds for the Peanut Butter Pump.
His initial goal was to raise $20,000, but he ended up raising over $163,000. However, he needed additional funding to fulfill pre-orders.
In conclusion, the Peanut Butter Pump is an innovative product that makes it easy to dispense peanut butter without any waste. Despite facing challenges with manufacturing and shipping, Scherer remains committed to fulfilling his pre-orders and delivering a quality product to his customers.
Lessons From Peanut Butter Pump’s Success
From the subtitle of the Shark Tank episode about the Peanut Butter Pump, here are three practical tips for aspiring young entrepreneurs:
1. Identify a common problem and innovate
Andy Sharer identified a common issue with peanut butter being hard to get out of the jar and messy to use. By innovating a solution to this problem, he created the Peanut Butter Pump.
Aspiring entrepreneurs should look for everyday problems and think creatively about how to solve them.
2. Leverage personal experiences for inspiration
Andy’s inspiration for the Peanut Butter Pump came from a personal moment of making a sandwich.
Drawing from personal experiences can provide unique insights and authentic motivation for developing new products or services.
Entrepreneurs should reflect on their own experiences and use them as a foundation for their ideas.
3. Validate your idea through pre-sales and crowdfunding
Before fully developing the product, Andy tested his idea through a crowdfunding campaign, which not only validated the demand for the Peanut Butter Pump but also provided initial funding.
This approach allows entrepreneurs to gauge market interest, gather feedback, and secure financial support without significant upfront investment.
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