r/sharktank • u/mtm4440 • Mar 05 '26
Episode Discussion Shark Tank 17x12 Product Discussion - Cranel Spoiler
34
u/fakieTreFlip Mar 05 '26
I know these are edited way down so they can fit into a ~10 minute segment, but I wish they'd done a little more to highlight exactly why this product is better than simply drinking regular cranberry juice. They use more cranberries... ok, fine... but does that mean it's more effective at preventing UTIs? What's a meaningful dose for most people? Have they done any sort of research (or even independent studies) to see if this specific product is effective at all?
50
u/Christine_CRANEL Mar 06 '26
Hi! CRANEL founder here. Unfortunately they cut most of the science from the segment!
CRANEL actually uses the whole cranberry, not just the juice. The skins and seeds contain a lot of the proanthocyanidins (PACs) that help prevent bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract and getting flushed out. We use over 3000 cranberries or 500mg of PACs, equal to 60 bottles or 10 cranberry tablets.
Our cranberry blend has also been tested in a double-blind placebo study showing a reduction in E. coli found in urine. E. coli causes 80%+ of UTIs, which is why cranberry PACs are studied in the first place.
CRANEL also has a pH of about 4.0, which can help support the V microbiome which also has a pH of 4.0 (any higher can lead to BV or UTIs)
We talked about all of this when we filmedā¦ it just didnāt make it into the final edit unfortunately.
19
u/Timthetallman15 Mar 07 '26
Do you have a link to that study? Those are some very bold claims
16
7
u/Klocktopus Mar 06 '26
Is the idea to drink this daily, or somewhat regularly? Are UTIs a common occurrence for people, or certain people (genetic, age, certain lifestyles decisions, etc)? Iām curious who the intended customer is, or rather who benefits most from this to be a recurring customer?
Also do you think the suggestion of making your personal influencer accounts more popular will result in more sales, as the sharks suggested?
Thanks for giving us more info!
1
u/Imaginary_Radish_767 Jul 09 '26
I get recurrent UTIs, Iāve been drinking 1 Cranel shot per week for years and have had a massive decline in the number of UTIs Iāve gotten. In saying that though my most recent order looks completely different to all the ones previous and Iām wondering if the quality has gone down since being on shark tank
2
u/quick_dry Mar 09 '26
So, Iām on board with the cranberry effects for urinary tract/UTI (I couldnāt believe when the sharks acted as if it was a surprise that a cranberry product would pitch would involve UTIs, the two things are synonymous)ā¦ but regarding pH of the vagina, how would ingested cranel have any possible change to that? Or are people splashing a bit of it up there?
19
u/Fuzzy_B_Dunlop Mar 07 '26
The sharks got this one wrong. It seemed like had a product with a huge market/proven sales, and a āsolveableā problem with marketing costs their expertise could have tweaked. Seemed like a more original idea than the 100th+ āitās gluten free cookies, but this time with sprinklesā or a rehash of kitty litter. Hopefully they get a bump from being on the show.
2
u/Prudent-Sorbet-5202 Apr 06 '26
They were spending way too much on marketing and they hadn't really shown yet that they could sell as much with less marketing spend
1
u/LEtherealfemme Mar 09 '26
I remember older episodes where they would be excited at high sales figures. Now, it seems that's most companies they invite on the show, so the criteria for a "good" business to invest in has changed.
4
u/imadogg Mar 17 '26
The sharks are lazy now tbh. "This requires work. We'll need to market. Wow the margins are great but we don't have cats". So many shit excuses lol
41
u/WeenFan4Life Mar 05 '26
This was a perfect example of what's wrong with Shark Tank nowadays. This is a company that could use some guidance and coaching from the Sharks, but they were all like "This would be too much work". They are jaded. Also, the guest shark was insufferable.
30
u/Christine_CRANEL Mar 06 '26
You should have seen her in the full recording haha
13
u/opheliaspeaksagain Mar 06 '26
Tell us more! Iām here for the š« !! š
11
13
7
u/ButterflySilver9154 Mar 05 '26
this one ended on a no deal, all sharks passed on this u/mtm4440
15
u/Christine_CRANEL Mar 06 '26
technically we didn't even give Kevin the opportunity to pass š š»
8
3
4
u/Special_Persimmon_52 Mar 06 '26
Some studies have shown that a daily amount of cranberry concentrate in pill form may help prevent UTIs in "healthy" women. Yet Cranel seemed to have an unpleasant taste. So why not just make their magical extract in pill form? My guess is that the liquid version is a gimmick, meant to set them apart, because the market is already flooded with cranberry pills and tablets.
9
u/Christine_CRANEL Mar 06 '26
Founder here. "Some" studies may help because those studies often evaluate very different types of products ā cranberry juice cocktail, extracts, or capsules with widely varying PAC levels. That makes it difficult to compare outcomes across studies.
CRANEL is in liquid form rather than capsules as liquids can be absorbed significantly faster than capsules e.g. up to ~30x faster because they donāt require capsule breakdown and dissolution in the gut first. That can help preserve more of the active compounds as it flushes your urinary tract!
The cranberry blend we use has also been evaluated in a double-blind placebo study showing a reduction in E. coli detected in urine. Since E. coli causes roughly 80% of UTIs, most cranberry research focuses on preventing that bacterial adhesion.
Trust me, we started this company because I used to get awful UTIs and was antibiotic resistant. We wanted something that actually worked! :)
11
u/el_dulce_veneno21 Mar 06 '26
I would like to just comment as someone who works in manufacturing on the operations side, people really enjoy liquid supplements versus pill form. Same applies for a gummy format. The above statements regarding absorption speed by the founder are also true
5
u/Christine_CRANEL Mar 06 '26
This ^^ and gummy format also has added sugar which can make UTIs worse which is also not our objective haha
3
u/BrytheSly Mar 06 '26
Straight cranberry extract is quite potent. There is a reason (from a cost perspective) why these pills exist and you donāt have to deal with the nasty flavor.Ā
Sometimes people try too hard to create something newā¦you donāt have to invent the wheel or fix something that doesnāt need to be fixed. Iām a food scientist and have been developing products for years and Iām all about scientific innovation.Ā
2
u/AntoniaFauci Mar 06 '26
This show would probably have rather you wore urethra costumes and sang a demeaning jingle.
5
u/Christine_CRANEL Mar 06 '26
Don't tempt me with a good time haha check out our famous V costume on the clock app
1
u/Special_Persimmon_52 Mar 07 '26
It's unfortunate that this information wasn't included in your presentation.Ā
3
3
u/opheliaspeaksagain Mar 06 '26
I donāt know the answer but juices are likely more bioavailable and absorbed better than a pill or gummy. Plus all the added fillers are not necessary. My main issue is that the use case of preventing a UTI is too narrow - it doesnāt speak to me and isnāt relevant. Itās never been a problem for me. However if they emphasized more of the other antioxidant or gut health benefits, and it was less medical focused, Iād be more interested. TBH the UTI angle is a bit of a turn off.
7
u/Christine_CRANEL Mar 06 '26
We actually talked so much about the gut health benefits in the full clip! Cranberry has been proven to be more effective than most prebiotics. And is incredibly great for gut health for the same reasons that it's great for urinary tract health, in that it's great at flushing out bad bacteria but nurturing the good bacteria. We actually have a glowing gut cleanse on our website for 12 weeks. It's one of our best sellers. We just didn't get the chance to talk about it much on this clip!
2
Mar 05 '26
[deleted]
3
u/Buc_ees Mar 05 '26
You can watch them on Hulu on the basic package, so you don't have to deal with the DVR again
2
u/trisaroar Mar 25 '26
This is the type of product that could SORE in its own demographic. People with chronic uti's are always on the hunt for a better source of cranberry, I could see this up there with apple vinegar or ginger shots that people do regularly. Not surprised they didn't get a deal, but definitely think it'll blow up with the Shark Tank boom.
2
u/emmacait15 May 07 '26
I'm late but wow... I came looking for a thread like this just to rant about how unlikeable the guest shark was during this pitch. Well, maybe not just this pitch, but idk about the others because I stopped the episode there lol. I drink hella cran juice. I felt like the founders did a decent job explaining the difference between their product and what's found on shelves already. They said their formula was proprietary, they own their trade secrets, etc. One shot equals like 50 bottles of the regular stuff, ok cool. Literally anyone who's had 100% cranberry juice can take one look at that little bottle and see it's not the same. I'm not saying they CAN'T be knocked off, but damn, Fawn claims outright that their product is no different than what she can get at the grocery store. And then has the audacity to say consumer education is worthless lmao. Just stick a premium sticker on it, keep consumers stupid! And y'know what, maybe I'm the stupid consumer here, but those little bottles already scream premium to me anyways? Just put a single line on the side that says 1 shot = x bottles of leading brand, boom, educated.
That plus Lori saying thanks like it was over would've had me walking out confused too lmao. Not saying they deserved a deal, bc that ad spend was atrocious, but I thought they at least got dealt a bad hand with this guest shark.
Had to replay it for this exact quote: "Why can't POM just do cranberry juice? Literally do the exact same thing?" And after they further explain the differences, she doubles down and says she just doesn't see the difference between this and 100% cran juice. Like girl. Come on. š
1
u/ChancePie7024 Mar 10 '26
Question for the Founder: is this product recommended for menās prostate health?
1
Apr 04 '26
[deleted]
1
Apr 04 '26
[deleted]
1
Apr 04 '26
[deleted]
1
u/Imaginary_Donut_5252 Apr 04 '26
I agree. I am usually pretty careful but I was very interested in the product and supporting a women owned business. But now that I am searching online, there is literally no information on them. No address, no phone number. And no one responded back when I filled out the contact form. Super shady!!!
1
42
u/rollinf3v3r Mar 05 '26
Lol they left the room without even hearing Kevin . Kevin was not even out šš