A stressful part of the holiday season is wrapping presents. How does one gift wrap a houseplant or neatly envelope a teddy bear? Jeffrey Miller brings ease to the impossible task with his invention, CoolWraps, a shrink-wrap gift paper. Place the item inside the shrink wrap bag, seal it with the built-in adhesive strip, and shrink it to size with a hair dyer. There is no tape or scissors required, and you're not stuck with leftover paper scraps you have no idea what to do with. It makes the task more accessible for those with dexterity challenges, and it's the perfect product for anyone who finds gift wrapping tedious.
The idea came to be when Miller and his friends were looking for an easier way to decorate presents. They passed by a boatyard where the vessels were covered in shrink wrap, and the lightbulb went off. Years later, Miller dived into the "Shark Tank" seeking $100k for 40% equity in CoolWraps. He pitched the utility-patented gift wrap to Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec, hoping to land a partner with worthwhile connections. It was a successful pitch that reeled in two significant offers. Rainbow Wrapping Paper
At the time of the Season 4 taping, Jeffrey Miller had already released CoolWraps to the market a decade earlier. The company had sold out on QVC and CVS. However, the gift wrap business reached a stalemate when Miller and his partners couldn't fund more purchase orders. Back then, Miller only owned 20% of the company. Now, he was in the tank as the sole heir, looking to grow CoolWraps with a Shark on board.
The investors were skeptical about Miller's lack of sales skills and the product being dormant for a decade, but Lori Greiner was interested in the product enough to buy Miller out. She offered the entrepreneur $150k for the entire company. Mark Cuban liked where Greiner was going and undercut her deal. The billionaire Shark offered $250k for 100% of the company with a 3% royalty to Miller. The business owner accepted and left the tank with a quarter of a million-dollar deal.
Usually, after a business airs on "Shark Tank," fans hurry to the company website, and sales skyrocket. Jeffrey Miller received over a million hits on the CoolWraps site when the Season 4 episode aired. However, the product was not available for purchase. The shrinking gift wrap was unavailable online and in stores. The first wave of publicity died at the shore.
CoolWraps faced another hit when the contract with Mark Cuban didn't close. Cuban did not acquire the company, and Miller did not receive a royalty check every time the shrink-wrap paper was sold. Instead, the entrepreneur continued to sell the product on his own after eventually getting a website running. When the CoolWraps episode reaired, Miller even offered "Shark Tank" promos, a buy two get one free special. In 2015, two years after their "Shark Tank" premiere, CoolWraps appeared successful. That year, they received a nomination for the best new product at the New York National Stationery Show. But the success was short-lived.
Despite having products available online and tons of traffic thanks to "Shark Tank," CoolWraps is no longer in business. The company's Facebook and X page, formally known as Twitter, has not been updated since 2015. The company's website is also no longer active. In 2016, the homepage read, "We are currently working on a new website to bring you even more shrink-wrap gift bags, in more stores. If you want to be updated you can keep up with us on Facebook or Twitter." The site did return online in 2017, but by 2022, the CoolWraps domain was unclaimed.
The company had an excellent product, but it seems the Sharks' concerns about Miller not being an adequate salesperson were valid. CoolWraps also needed an investment when Miller went on the show, but the company doesn't appear to have ever got one. This gift-wrapping enterprise joins the list of unsuccessful "Shark Tank" products.
Jeffrey Miller eventually sold the company, but it's unclear to whom and for what amount. It might have been when the site was down and returned revamped. However, CoolWraps is off the entrepreneur's hands. As of February 2023, Miller is the 3D Environmental and Experiential Designer for Cramer, a content marketing agency. His designs have won him several awards from various organizations. Running a gift-wrapping business might not have been his guaranteed route to success, but breathing artistic ideas to life is his specialty.
Laminate Sheets For Paper Although CoolWraps is no longer in business, its patent is still active. So, no one can run off with the shrinkable film wrap idea. The anticipated expiration date is not until July 2034. Perhaps the company will revive during this time. Miller did bring it to "Shark Tank" after 10 years of no sales or manufacturing. Until then, we'll use a creative way to repurpose old shoeboxes for wrapping awkward-shaped presents.