"I'm still dying" — When Shark Tank's Lori Greiner reacted to tasting apple cider vinegar

Entrepreneurs Allison Ellsworth and Stephen Ellsworth appeared on Shark Tank season 10 episode 8, which aired on September 20, 2013, to pitch Nutritional Apple Cider Vinegar Beverage, Mother Beverage. The company was geared towards providing a tasteful alternative to pure apple cider vinegar.

Before the co-founding couple began their pitch, they offered all the sharks shots of pure apple cider vinegar. It had a strong taste and the panel couldn't hide their instant reactions.

Shark Lori Greiner almost had tears in her eyes and said that she was "still dying" because of the aftertaste.

"I'm still dying," Lori said.

The founders then introduced their beverage, boasting the nutritional benefits of apple cider vinegar but with a more palatable flavor.

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Mother Beverage on Shark Tank: Allison Ellsworth and Stephen Ellsworth secure a deal with guest shark Rohan Oza

Entrepreneurs Allison Ellsworth and Stephen Ellsworth sought a $400,000 investment in return for 10% equity in their company.

Allison shared that she started drinking apple cider vinegar to detox and lose weight during pregnancy. She loved how it made her feel, however, she found that the taste was too strong; so they created, Mother Beverage.

Mother Beverage's each bottle had a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. The Shark Tank contestants further shared that they had to dilute apple cider vinegar in their drink because originally it was hard on a person's esophagus.

At the time of filming the episode, they were about 18 months into business and their lifetime sales were about $500,000. Furthermore, making cost of each bottle was between 78 cents and 85 cents.

Lori chimed that she would be their customer, however, she wasn't willing to be a partner. Meanwhile, Kevin O'Leary felt that Mother Beverage's valuation was "insane" so he took his exit as well.

The problem is there's no such thing as just a little marketing. The hard part is the scaling part and taking people's attention and sales away from other products. You're going to have to raise a lot more money after this and that's the part I'm concerned about. And so as much as I would love to help a Dallas company, I'm out," Mark Cuban added.

Guest shark Rohan Oza saw potential in the product and closed a deal with the couple for $400,000 for 25% equity.

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Mother Beverage was later renamed as Poppi

Mother Beverage's Shark Tank appearance provided them the boost they needed. The co-founders Allison Ellsworth and Stephen Ellsworth returned to the reality show for an update segment in season 11, episode 18, which aired on March 6, 2020.

"The night Shark Tank aired, within a few hours we were sold out. But we hit a major roadblock. We quickly learned that we couldn't trademark the word "Mother" in Mother Beverage," Stephen shared.

Stephen added that Rohan advised them that they needed to rename their company. Initially, they had to say no to all the retailers that were approaching them. However, despite putting their business on hold, he shared that they still did $1,000,000 in business.

Mother Beverage was renamed to now Poppi. Allison explained that Poppi was a playoff of soda pop. Stephen added that it was an alternative to soda because it was low in sugar and had a lot of benefits.

"I love how this whole package turned out. The design feels like an artist designed it. You want to grab it. You see it on the shelf, you want to gravitate. I love the brand so much that I've doubled the investment," commented

Rebranding gave their business a new life. Before Shark Tank, Allison noted that they were only in 200 retail locations. However, post appearance they were launching their brand in over 1000 locations nationwide, starting with "Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Lifetime Fitness".

"The whole Shark Tank experience, we honestly couldn't have asked for more. We gotta deal with the shark that we wanted and we've created the company and a brand that we feel truly amazing about.," the co-founders concluded.

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Shark Tank season 16 episodes air every Friday on ABC.