ALPHARETTA, Ga. — An 8-year-old coffee lover from the metro Atlanta area has big business plans.
Working with his dad, Ethan Sanborn of Alpharetta and his father David Sanborn are going on the hit ABC show “Shark Tank” to pitch his invention: an all new type of coffee, just for kids!
Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen got to get a look behind the beans and spoke to the second grader who’s roasting up a buzz.
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Ethan Sanborn may be a bit of a daredevil. The inspiration for his special drink he invented with his father came from an unlikely situation.
“First, I dropped a bike on my leg. Then I was at my grandma’s house and did a jump,” Ethan said. “I fractured that one too.”
While he was recovering from broken bones at home, David Sanborn upped his son’s calcium intake, but the second grader’s taste buds wanted more than just milk.
“I also wanted to get my dad’s coffee!” he told Channel 2 Action News.
“It was actually my youngest at first, saying ‘coffee, coffee, coffee!’ He really liked the taste of it,” the father explained.
Together, they made a special drink and realized they were onto something.
“Can we sell this?” Ethan asked, laughing.
So, the father and son duo decided to take their special drink where it could sink, or if they’re lucky, swim to new heights of success: Shark Tank on ABC.
“Kiid Coffee! The world’s first coffee for kids!” they call it.
That caught the attention of the show’s millionaire and billionaire hosts.
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“Okay, okay,” David said. “I know what you’re thinking. What parent is gonna hand real coffee to a child?”
“This guy!” he laughed.
The father-son team explained that their “coffee” is actually 99.9% caffeine free. Instead, it’s full of calcium, vitamins and minerals and comes in three flavors.
They’ve already started making it, but they are looking for some celebrity investors. That’s what brought them to the show.
“So Sharks, who wants to take a sip with me?” Ethan asked the hosts in a preview of the episode.
His once-in-a-lifetime shot to become a coffee king all started with a broken leg.
The Sanborns ended up accepting an offer from Daniel Lubetzky, founder of snack company KIND, of $50,000 for a 20% equity stack in Kiid Coffee with 5% returned to the Sanborns as stock options.
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