Pittsburgh man takes beer idea to 'Shark Tank'
The idea emerged on a fly-fishing trip to West Virginia a few years back.
It crystallized six months later in a Gibsonia tree stand.
On March 18, it enters the public's consciousness on the ABC reality show “Shark Tank.”
“You go from being an obscure, unknown company to suddenly having 5 to 8 million people see you overnight,” says Pittsburgh attorney Michael Robb, who will appear on the show to pitch his invention, the Beer Blizzard. “It gives you instant recognition.”
The product: Reusable, freezable gel packs that fit into the little space at the bottom of every beer can to keep the beer cold, even on hot days.
Robb came up with the idea on that fishing trip, in 2013, to the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. While picking up beer cans he and his buddies had scattered around the campfire the night before, he noticed the indented dome-shaped bottoms.
“I started putting an ice cube in the space” at the bottom of his beer koozie, Robb recalls. “And it worked — it kept the beer cold.”
One problem: The ice melted and dripped all over his pants.
But six months later, while hunting in Gibsonia, he found a solution. After leaving his boots outside overnight, the gel insoles froze. Still, he laced up and climbed his tree stand. That's when, with his feet freezing, he realized that the nontoxic gel freezes, stays cold and doesn't drip.
“That's when I knew I had a good idea,” he says.
Two years later, he and friend Tom Osborne, an executive at Cincinnati-based AdvancePierre Foods, have sold more than 100,000 units, mostly through their website, beerblizzard.com.
Now they're hoping to go global by pitching their idea to potential investors on “Shark Tank.” The segment was shot last summer in California, and Robb is not allowed to discuss results before it airs. But he says the experience was unforgettable.
“It was very hectic,” he says. “There are dozens of people, from makeup people to continuity people, who make sure you have the same clothes on every time you go out. It spins your head.”
Even if the appearance results in a windfall, Robb will not quit his day job.
An associate for the Downtown firm Savinis & Kane LLC, he fights for workers suffering from mesothelioma and lung cancer.
“Steel-mill workers, power-plant workers, laborers — anyone who gets their hands dirty for a living,” Robb says. “They need people to speak for them. The average person doesn't know how to go up against corporations that did something wrong to them. We do. I'm very proud to stick up for those guys.
“I'm also proud to show my (two) children that if you have an idea, all you have to do is try, and something good can happen for you.”
Chris Togneri is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-380-5632 or ctogneri@tribweb.com.