9-Year-Old Shark Tank Founder Builds $2M Beverage Brand by Creating New Morning Ritual for Kids

One year after its Shark Tank debut, the father-son startup has expanded to 400+ retailers and is on track to exceed $2M in annual revenue while building a new functional beverage category for kids.

One year after appearing on ABC’s Shark Tank, now 9-year-old founder Ethan Sanborn has grown Kiid Coffee from a family experiment into a seven-figure kids’ drink brand distributed in more than 400 retail stores nationwide. But the bigger story isn’t revenue: it’s category creation.

Kiid Coffee wasn’t born from a trend report; it started with two broken legs. After fracturing both legs in separate accidents, Ethan’s parents soon realized he rarely met his daily nutrient requirements through food alone. Although he loved the idea of ‘coffee’ with his dad, he didn’t enjoy drinking plain milk. The solution was to create a 99.9 percent caffeine-free, healthy kids’ drink made with premium ingredients, no added sugar and fortified with the specific nutrients kids are most commonly missing.

“I remember watching my Dad drink coffee every morning and I just wanted to have some with him,” said Ethan Sanborn, Founder. “Even though I wasn’t allowed to drink regular coffee, I loved the taste of coffee in milk. When I wanted to make something of my own, my parents said it was okay if we removed the caffeine and added certain nutrients.”

National dietary research supports the problem. A peer-reviewed analysis of nearly two decades of U.S. nutrition data found that more than 63 percent of children ages 9 through 18 fail to meet recommended calcium intake levels. This nutrient is vital before age 18 when peak bone development is occurring. Yet, many children miss out, including kids already taking daily multivitamins. Kiid Coffee positions itself not as a coffee substitute but as a new category of healthy drinks for kids that allows families to come together for one most culturally significant daily rituals, morning coffee.

From Shark Tank to 400+ Retailers

After appearing on Shark Tank Season 16 Episode 12, the Sanborns secured a $50,000 investment from Daniel Lubetzky, founder of KIND Snacks and Camino Partners. Over the next twelve months, the company has:

• Scaled to more than $2 million in projected annual revenue.
• Expanded into 400+ specialty retail locations and entered grocery stores, including Raley’s (Northwest) and Fresh Thyme Market (Midwest).
• Grown its flavor line to five SKUs: Choco’latte, Caramel, Original, S’mores and Minty Mocha.
• Announced a first-of-its-kind caffeine-free “tea” line launching next month.

The Shift Toward Functional Nutrition

Millennials and Gen Z have transformed how the food and beverage industry operates. Parents are reading labels, comparing ingredients and treating health benefits as a baseline purchasing requirement. Children’s products have not kept pace. Most brands respond to demand with surface-level reformulations, swapping conventional ingredients for organic alternatives while leaving sugar levels and weak nutrient profiles largely unchanged.

Kiid Coffee was developed to address this gap directly, built around a healthy routine, better-for-you ingredients and the nutrients children are most commonly deficient in: calcium, vitamin D, magnesium and fiber.

“When Ethan had his second leg break, we weren’t looking to start a business; we were simply trying to get our picky eater more essential nutrients,” said David Sanborn. “Improving kids’ overall wellbeing through education, awareness and significantly more nutritious food is something that will always inspire me as a parent.”