What Happened To Litter Jewelry After Shark Tank?
"Shark Tank" may be known for launching successful companies like Scrub Daddy and Bombas Socks, but it's also responsible for a long line of flops. There was that butter-spraying device in Season 8 and Laid Brand pheromone-infused hair care ... In Season 3, Episode 5 sisters Mackenzie Burdick and Rachael Mann appeared on the show to promote their aptly-named business, Litter. Here's the idea: Old and broken items from yard sales and alleyway dumpsters can be transformed into something beautiful. The sisters specialized in creating headpieces and body jewelry (very 2010s Coachella vibes), and their business had already taken off in some celebrity circles. According to co-creator Rachael Mann, they'd worked with the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Vanessa Hudgens, and Lucy Liu. Litter designs had also made waves in Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, and there were whispers of an upcoming deal with Urban Outfitters...
All things considered, Litter Jewelry was cheap to produce — expenses totaled about $2 per piece. However, Burdick and Mann still made most items by hand, making the distribution process time-consuming. They needed an investor to take charge of their business dealings and help them expand. That's where the sharks came in.
Litter Jewelry had a successful Shark Tank Pitch
After Mackenzie Burdick and Rachael Mann appeared on "Shark Tank," things were looking up, at least for a little bit. They asked the sharks for $80,000 in exchange for a 51% majority share of the company. Burdick and Mann had already proven their environmentally friendly idea could work, selling each piece for upwards of $100 and earning close to $80,000 from jewelry sales in 2010. They expected to earn a total of $150,000 in 2011. What could go wrong?
Following their on-air pitch, long-time shark Kevin O'Leary expressed skepticism surrounding the business' future profits, Robert Herjavec explained to Burdick and Mann that jewelry just didn't interest him (he's manly like that), and Barbara Cochran took pains to warn the sisters against Daymond John, who offered them $80,000 in return for a staggering 70% share ... However, John also promised to pay them each an annual salary and bring Mark Cuban, the shark with the highest net worth, in on the deal. It was just too good to pass up, and the sisters shook hands with their new partners.
In the months following their appearance on "Shark Tank," Daymond John negotiated a partnership between the sisters and model Selita Ebanks, who called the company "ingenious."
The Litter website and social media pages aren't current
Although Litter Jewelry showed a lot of promise in its early years — they earned an impressive $25,000 in the days following the episode's release — it seems to have fizzled out over the last decade. The brand's Instagram has over 15,000 followers, but the most recent activity is from April 2020. Apparently, they were selling chain-woven face masks ... Pretty ineffective for stopping the spread of COVID-19. Before that, their last post was in December 2018. Litter's Facebook page is similarly silent, and their expertly crafted Mark Cuban-led website is no longer up and running.
Although Mackenzie Burdick's and Rachael Mann's LinkedIn pages indicate that the business is still active, Cuban doesn't mention Litter on his list of investments. Considering that it's impossible to buy one of their products online, it's pretty clear the company has folded. If you're still looking for environmentally-friendly accessories, you can always buy recycled ocean jewelry from Etsy or make your own earrings out of discarded bottle caps. The possibilities are endless.