Dipaly Banerjee
One of the most frustrating things to do in the kitchen is cleaning up the mess, especially after chopping. This household problem has caused families to take a snare at cooking as the post-clean-up scenes are not only tiresome but simply ruin the cooking aesthetic. Late fireman and chef Keith Young came up with the idea of Cup Board Pro, a great kitchen device that takes a normal cutting board to the next level with its attached cup-like holder that holds all the scraps and chopped foods for easy and mess-free disposal.
Due to the tragic passing of Keith, his children Christian, Keira, and Kaley Young realized their late father’s dream to present his useful invention to the Sharks. The siblings first appeared on ‘Shark Tank‘ season 10, episode 3, leaving the investors and the viewers heavily emotional and impressed. Naturally, the public is eager to know more about the brand and what the company is up to these days. So, let’s explore it together, shall we?
Cup Board Pro: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
In 2010, Keith Young, a firefighter in New York City, created the Cup Board Pro to reduce the time it takes to clean up messes in the kitchen after preparing a meal. Being a family man at heart, Keith greatly prioritized family time and felt that cleaning up kitchen messes was taking away precious family time after cooking a great meal. He came up with the idea to simplify the work in the kitchen and make cooking easier and more convenient without the hassle of unnecessary clean-ups. Thus, he attempted to create his own prototype by building it by cutting up plastic cutting boards and perfecting the design.
Finally, in 2010, Keith created his unique design of Cup Board Pro. Hailing from Wantagh, New York, he had completed his education at Johnson & Wales University. For over 24 years, up until his demise due to 9/11-related cancer while working in Ground Zero, Keith served as a Firefighter at L-158. As the Inventor and President at Firehouse Chef Inc, Keith revolutionized the kitchen game with his product, Cup Board Pro. His loving and caring children, Christian, Keira, and Kaley continued their father’s legacy and fulfilled his lifelong dream of presenting his product in front of the Sharks.
Keith had realized how practical and useful the simple kitchen tool was and thought of millions of kitchens that could use a tool that could help in easing out daily tasks. One can easily use this product to chop vegetables, chicken, and many other food items without having to touch or clean messy wet scraps.
Cup Board Pro Are Expanding Their Brand Today
The Young siblings, Christian, Keira, and Kaley, presented their late father’s idea in an emotional pitch along with a video representation of their father demonstrating the product, which he made for ‘Shark Tank.’ The sharks turned their attention to financial data and demanded to know how much it costs to produce just one Cup Board Pro unit. The three siblings disclosed that a single unit costs $12.50 and that they are presently being sold online for $40 each. While they had only introduced the product three weeks earlier and had 2,000 units in inventory, they had 300 sales at the time of their ‘Shark Tank’ pitch.
The siblings had asked for $100,000 for 10%, and in an unexpected turn of events, all the sharks together agreed to a contract of $100,000, each paying $20,000 for 20%, and vowed that all future proceeds would go to a family charity. Following their first appearance on ‘Shark Tank,’ the business grew and achieved great success. Once the program aired, Cup Board Pro’s entire stock was gone in a matter of minutes. Around 100k emails from consumers requesting to acquire the Cup Board Pro were sent to the company, but they soon ran out of cutting boards and were overrun by the volume of inquiries.
As a result, Williams Sonoma was introduced to the siblings by the sharks, who were able to market, develop, and produce the product more profitably. The product was revamped by William Sonoma to improve the efficiency of production and packaging. Every cutting board got smaller and lighter. The previous Cup Board Pro weighed approximately three times as much as the updated model. The Cup Board Pro has become more widely available to customers because of William Sonoma’s ability to produce the product in large quantities.
Due to this new arrangement, the Cup Board Pro could now be found at several US retail chains in addition to being sent internationally via the website. The siblings went online and set up a GoFundMe page to help collect money for the FDNY (The Fire Department of the City of New York) foundation after Cup Board Pro’s success. The Young family’s GoFundMe campaign was so successful that it earned $41,119. In a formal ceremony that the sharks had attended, they donated the funds to the FDNY foundation. The Natural Board and the Synthetic Board are two new variations that have been introduced to the company’s product line.
The Synthetic Board is a less expensive, dishwasher-safe alternative to the Cup Board Pro that uses lighter materials. Currently, large physical and online retail chains sell the Cup Board Pro in numerous nations across the world, and can be simply ordered through Amazon. The Synthetic Cup Board Pro costs $74.95, but the Original Cup Board Pro costs $114.95. The popularity of the product pushed the siblings to produce more and make reappearances on the show. So, considering the hard times that the siblings have gone through in order to come out and make the brand as big as it is today, we can bet on their sheer determination and perseverance to take this brand to a higher level in the coming future.
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