SquareKeg is an innovative way to store your favorite party drinks. and it doesn’t take up much space, so you can put it in the fridge. When taken out, it turns into a sort of cooler. Tim Loucks pitched the product on season 14 of Shark Tank and got a deal with Kevin O’Leary. As of 2023, SquareKeg is worth an estimated $2 million.
Tim and Birgitta Loucks
The husband-and-wife duo of Tim and Birgitta Loucks are residents of Spokane, Washington. Birgitta studied beauty therapy after high school. While Tim graduated with a degree in business, communications, and life sciences from Eastern Washington University.
He initially worked in construction, mortgage lending, and sports promotion. Later in his career, he worked in sales and account management. Tim was a sales director at Spok for over two years and now works as a sales representative at Stryker.
Founding SquareKeg
Earning a degree seemed like an accomplishment at first, Tim soon regretted it. He was unsatisfied with the corporate world as it limited his creativity. During this phase, he got the idea of creating a container that could keep beverages cold.
He hired a team to design a minimalist product that can be placed inside a fridge and on top of a table with ease. He also teamed up with his wife after the previous partner left. After months of hard work, they finally produced the first SquareKeg prototype.
Tim often refers to his product as a pony keg and the company launched in 2017. In 2020, the founder launched a Kickstarter campaign looking to raise $150,000 but ended up getting $60,000.
Getting on Shark Tank
In 2022, Tim and Birgitta Loucks were approached by Shark Tank producers. The couple couldn’t say no because they realized how much value the Sharks could bring to their company. They signed up but Tim pitched the product by himself. The episode was filmed in July 2022 and three months later, it was announced that it would officially air on television in season 14.
After Shark Tank
When the episode aired, Tim saw a big bump in orders from the publicity. In the short-term it helped lower their customer acquisition costs, as they relied heavily on paid advertising which is very expensive. The business lost $250,000 in 2021 and has recently become profitable.
They sell two mini keg products, SquareOne and SK Nitro, which are available exclusively online. You can buy their products at Amazon and SquareKeg.com. On their website, the SquareOne model has an average rating of 4.9 stars from 103 reviews. The business hasn’t yet launched the wine device that impressed Kevin.
The only negative review we saw highlighted that it doesn’t work well with non-carbonated beverages. Also, the SquareOne model sells for $299 through their site and $279 on Amazon. Overall the product is pricey but there aren’t many portable kegs on the market. Currently, SquareKeg is making around $200,000 per month in revenue and is worth an estimated $2 million.
