Milkify on Shark Tank: Why did Dr. Berkley and Pedro Silva start the business? Details explored

Shark Tank season 14 is set to return this week with a brand new episode. New businesses and entrepreneurs will make an appearance in the upcoming segment, including Milkify, in hopes of securing funding to become bigger and better.

The breast milk freeze-drying service was founded by Dr. Berkley Luck and Pedro Silva in 2019 as they aimed to provide nursing mothers with “shelf-stable, freeze-dried breast milk.”

Dr. Berkley stated while on an episode of Food is Water podcast that the service enables mothers to “freeze dry” their breast milk to store it and provides them with “enhanced convenience.

Tune in on Friday, April 7, at 8 pm ET to watch the upcoming episode of Shark Tank season 14 on ABC.

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All about Milkify ahead of its appearance on Shark Tank season 14

One of the products set to appear in Shark Tank season 14’s upcoming episode is Milkify which converts breast milk into powder to ensure that it lasts longer.

Milkify ensures no touching, no thawing, and doesn’t add additional ingredients that tamper with the quality of the milk it receives from nursing mothers. The website states that since breast milk requires sterile handling to prevent contamination, the Shark Tank company uses a “contact-free” process throughout.

The company ensures that each sample is processed individually in their SafeDry pouches (patent pending) which allows the water vapor to escape while protecting the milk.

It continues:

"The SafeDry pouches that protect the breast milk during processing and packaging at Milkify are specially manufactured and our patent-pending process has not been licensed out to any other companies."

It continues that the team works in IS05 “cleanroom workstations” and that every bag is individually packed by hand and processed separately to ensure that one client’s milk does not come in contact with another client’s.

Milkify keeps the milk frozen at all times while handling it and records the temperature of the milk when it comes in. It is then remotely monitored, logged in, and kept at a safe temperature throughout. The company further uses backup generators in case of a power outage.

It states:

"As part of our final quality control check, we measure the exact water activity (“dryness”) of your breast milk powder using a laboratory-grade water activity meter. This final QC check ensures that the freeze-drying process removed water from the milk efficiently. This is how we know that your breast milk powder will remain shelf stable for up to 3 years with no refrigeration when stored properly in a cool, dry place."

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How the process works

To use the upcoming Shark Tank product, consumers will have to ship their milk or drop it off at their main facility in Houston. The company sends consumers a shipping kit containing everything they need. They then freeze-dry the milk and convert it into a powder before sending it back to the consumers.

The shipping price varies from $79 to $209 and offers a refund of $1.75 per ounce if consumers ship less than 30-40 ounces per order. Milkify further charges $99 as their service prize.

Tune in on Friday, April 7 to watch the upcoming episode of Shark Tank season 14 on ABC.