iCapsulate, the maker of biodegradable coffee pods, was offered the biggest deal ever on Shark Tank Australia, but sadly the deal never went through! iCapsulate went from hero to nobody, becoming one of the biggest flops on the reality TV show. Andrew Banks withdrew his offer after discovering that founder Kane Bodiam’s claims were false. As of 2024, iCapsulate is valued at $0 and was shut down in 2018.
Kane Bodiam’s Background
Kane Bodiam is from Sydney, Australia, and graduated from the University of Technology Sydney. During his university years, he specialized in coffee machine maintenance and worked as a coffee machine technician.
Bodiam was employed as a technical expert by Gloria Jean’s Coffee and Dutch beverage company Douwe Egberts. Kane also worked at Mad Coffee Capsule and claimed to be the owner of the company on social media.
For this, his former employer took him to court in 2015, and the judge found that Bodiam had engaged in misleading conduct and ordered him to stop impersonating a Mad Coffee Capsule executive.
Build iCapsulate
Kane defended himself by saying that he was simply the victim of a smear campaign. Whether or not this was true, he was determined to start his own coffee company.
Despite his previous legal troubles, he had enough experience to build a company from scratch, and iCapsulate officially entered the market in 2016. They advertised their product as the first biodegradable coffee pod on the market.
Eighteen months later, the founder claimed the company had produced 35 million capsules for its own coffee shops and for well-known brands in Australia and New Zealand. In 2017, he reported annual revenues of $4 million.
Shark Tank Appearance
After more than 500 practice sessions, Kane Bodiam appeared on the third season of Shark Tank Australia in 2017. He made a bold request: $2.5 million for 15 percent of the business.
Investors were caught off guard and listened carefully as he began sharing iCapsulate’s numbers. They were impressed with how the company had racked up millions of dollars in revenue in such a short period of time. Kane also boasted that he turned down a $25 million offer to sell the company.
Steve Baxter was sceptical about the sale, and rightly so. However, Andrew Banks, Glen Richards and Naomi Simson took the bait and a fierce battle ensued. Andrew won the 22.5 per cent stake with a $2.5 million bid.
After Shark Tank
Andrew Banks and Kane Bodiam pulled off the second-largest deal in Shark Tank history behind only Zipz Wine. Sadly, the deal was never completed when the cameras stopped rolling.
Eight months after the deal was struck, Kane was asked about the claims he had made in his pitch. It was revealed that iCapsulate had not entered any well-known retail chains at all, and that they were not the only company producing biodegradable coffee pods.
In 2018, iCapsulate was placed into receivership. Kane tried to explain that this was due to internal disputes between directors and shareholders. Bodiam has since relocated to the UK and opened another coffee company, BBC Coffee. The company is based in Southampton and according to its website, they can produce more than 2.2 million capsules a day.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn