Bleni Shark Tank Update: Where Are They Now?

With the world adopting a healthier lifestyle, soft drinks and sodas have taken a backseat in the “drink game,” and smoothies have been winning. There is a growing demand for freshly-made gluten-free smoothies. However, most don’t want to go through the hassle of making it from scratch. Few have the time or patience to make smoothies amid the hustle and bustle.

To meet the demands of freshly-made smoothies in under 1 min, brothers Stuart Shapiro and Peter Shapiro appeared on Season 14, episode 18 of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank‘ to provide a safe and automated solution for fresh smoothies. Bleni Blends is an innovative smoothie vending machine that makes differently flavored smoothies filled with nutrients in under a minute. With such an exciting product on display, we got intrigued to learn more about the company, and here is what we found out!

Bleni: Who Are They and What Do They Do?

Brothers Stuart and Peter Shapiro founded Bleni Blends, a smoothie vending machine, in 2019. With years of expertise in the food, beverage, and contactless delivery industries, the entrepreneurs recruited some of the most creative minds to develop a vending machine that serves delicious, nutritious smoothies prepared from natural fruit in only 60 seconds. The creators of Bleni Blends were introduced to comparable unattended retail technologies and possess an unrivaled understanding of market trends and tastes, corporate operations and sales, machine maintenance, and total self-serve kiosk solutions, which helped them to formulate the technology.

The Shapiro brothers have worked in the Food and Beverage industry for many years. Stuart completed his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management, General from Tulane University. He began his career at his creditors’ rights-focused family law firm, Shapiro Law Office PC. Stuart worked as a Legal Assistant, an Accounts Receivable Manager, and finally became the Department Head for Negotiations. To buy both short-term and long-term homes in the Pennsylvania Pocono areas, he partnered with Peter in 2015.

Stuart and Peter owned, managed, and sold 15 rental houses in the Pocono Mountains over four years. In the Greater Philadelphia region, they established Robotic Desserts, LLC in 2016 as the owner-operator of the Reis & Irvy’s frozen yogurt robot. Peter completed his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management, General from Tulane University. He later received his MBA degree from Temple University. At Tulane University in New Orleans, Peter began his academic career.

Peter was in charge of 30 employees in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions while serving as the Vice President of Enrollment Management. He established Four Seasons Investments, LLC in 2006 with the goal of buying and selling distressed receivables, shortly after hurricane Katrina. In 2019, the siblings launched Bleni Blends, a smoothie vendor machine that prepares smoothies of real fruits in just 60 seconds.  This machine only produces smoothies without dairy, and some of them contain oat milk. This device is entirely cashless and is able to run up to 24/7 hours.

Bleni Has Been Thriving Since the 2019 Launch

Since its launch in 2019, Bleni Blends has had great success in the market. The turquoise vending machines make on-demand smoothies in seven varieties using ingredients such as strawberries, bananas, mangos, pineapples, spinach, berries, coffee, and chocolate. The 16-oz cups of dairy-free sweet delights come with nutrition information that can be viewed before buying. Although some vending machines’ prices differ, a Bleni Blends smoothie typically costs $5.50. The 12-square-foot mixing kiosk is slightly bigger than a typical vending machine and only needs one electricity plug-in.

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Every vending machine is cashless and accepts payments by credit, debit, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and a few campus cards from colleges. The Shapiro brothers hope their “Shark Tank” appearance would boost their brand and help them land additional vendors and businesses looking to install the vending machines at airports, college campuses, and healthcare facilities. The company is primarily self-funded; seventeen vending machines are run by Bleni Blends around the greater Philadelphia area, emphasizing the region’s numerous healthcare facilities.

This machine has been installed at 51 locations in Malls, airports, museums, hospitals, and universities. It currently offers five fresh smoothies and two iced coffees. The Methodist Dallas Medical Center at Weber State University acquired this device in February 2022. The creator displayed their invention with Compass Group USA in September 2022. We hope Peter and Stuart are looking forward to developing and stocking test new products shortly. It is lovely to witness Bleni Blends rise to the top, and we are confident that the company is headed for further success in the years to come.

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