Written by For a long time, people thought coffee was a drink only for adults, and parents were worried about letting their kids try it.
But what if an 8-year-old showed that it’s okay for kids to drink coffee? Imagine this kid walking into ‘Shark Tank’ and introducing a brand-new coffee made just for kids!
Amazing, right?
Meet Ethan Sanborn, an 8-year-old who believes kids deserve their own coffee. He even made a deal on ABC’s “Shark Tank!”
Ethan and his dad, David, launched Kiid Coffee, a kid-friendly coffee business, in April 2024. Even though it has only been around for about a year, it caught the attention of investors.
And here’s a fun fact: Kiid Coffee is made for kids aged 4 and up! Their coffee is 99.9% caffeine-free! It’s full of calcium, vitamins, and minerals and comes in three fun flavors. Kiid Coffee is also completely vegan and has NO dairy, soy, gluten, or GMOs (genetically modified organisms).
The kid-approved flavors right now are Original coffee, caramel, and chocolate.
Pretty cool, right?
Now, you might wonder, “How did they develop this idea?”
Ethan got the idea for their special drink while recovering from broken bones at home. His dad, David Sanborn, was making sure Ethan got plenty of calcium, but the second grader wanted something different than just milk.
One day, when he mixed a bit of his dad’s black coffee with milk, he really liked it. After tasting his dad’s coffee, Ethan considered making a version just for kids.
They started experimenting to create a kid-friendly coffee that could be added to milk. The father-son duo worked hard, trying over 100 recipes in their kitchen and sharing samples with neighbors.
Their mix uses organic, water-decaffeinated coffee, which means it has less caffeine than hot chocolate or soda. Water-decaffeinated coffee removes 99.9% of the caffeine and is much healthier than the more common chemical extraction methods.
“Kiid Coffee! The world’s first coffee for kids!” Ethan and his dad said.
David focused on adding nutrients to their coffee because Ethan wanted it every morning. Their coffee includes prebiotic fiber, important minerals like calcium and iron, and vitamins like magnesium.
They started producing the coffee and were looking for celebrity investors, so they went on “Shark Tank.” The judges were cautious since the business was still new. Mark Cuban mentioned there was a lot of work left to do.
At first, Cuban wasn’t interested in investing. However, he changed his mind when he found out that the coffee was being sold in different coffee shops, both as bags and single cups. He saw this as a great way to increase sales compared to just selling online.
Cuban and Lori Greiner made a joint offer of $50,000 for a 20% share in the business. Daniel Lubetzky, the founder of Kind Snacks, made a similar offer, $50,000 for 20%, possibly giving back 5% if David joined the team full-time. O’Leary then adjusted his offer to $50,000 for 15%, down from 30%.
In the end, David and his partner chose Lubetzky’s offer. David confirmed that the deal went through after they finished filming.
By 2024, the product had generated about $150,000 in sales, and the company is reinvesting most of the profits. David still has a full-time job and three part-time employees to help with the business.
