Navy Seal turned entrepreneur, Elijah Crane hopes the Sharks open up and invest in his bullet bottle opener, called Bottle Breacher, in episode 608. Crane started selling his version of the bullet bottle opener on Etsy a couple of years ago. The reason I say “his version,” is there are many bullet bottle opener products available on the market today.
What makes Bottle Breacher special is active duty military, reservists and Veterans hand polish and finish each product. This is a 100%, made in the USA product. It’s also a “green” product, since they use re-purposed materials (spent 50 caliber bullets) to create their product. They also customize their bullet bottle for groomsmen gifts and corporate ad specialties.
Crane, who is no longer an active Seal, is a dad who wanted to start a business “because he wanted to make something unique out of products he used when he was deployed.” The openers are unique and sure to get conversations started; just don’t take them on a plane! The Bottle Breacher website warns the TSA might have a problem with a 50 caliber bullet in your luggage, even if it isn’t a live round.
My Take on The Bullet Bottle Opener
Everyone needs a bottle opener sooner or later. I have one on my fridge, several in my utensil drawers, one on my keychain, and one in my travel kit. I never want to be without a bottle opener! A bullet bottle opener would be a cool addition to my collection and would be a neat thing to have on the bar. It would be a cool gift item, too.
The only problem I have with the product is there are a lot of other bullet bottle opener products out there. I saw one in Urban Outfitters last week for $9.99. It didn’t look as shiny and polished as the Bottle Breacher, but it was a bullet bottle opener. A quick Google search yields many results.
That said, the other bullet bottle opener companies aren’t advertising that they are using active duty military and Veterans to assemble their products. That’s a good selling point; most Americans are patriotic enough to buy a made in the USA product, and the military angle is a good selling point too. The other companies aren’t appearing on Shark Tank either!
The customization Bottle Breacher is unique in the bullet bottle opener space, which makes them different enough to establish a brand. As long as Mr. Crane can differentiate his product from others like it, he should have a successful business. I’d buy one, probably as a gift, but will the Sharks buy it?
Will Sharks Bite the Bullet and Invest?
The biggest objection the Sharks will have is the same one I brought up: the product isn’t proprietary. Anyone who can lay their hands on some spent ammo can duplicate this business. The key to Bottle Breacher‘s success is branding. They’ll get a good opportunity to create awareness for their product with a Shark Tank appearance, but is that awareness and branding sustainable?
Penetration into the bridal gift and corporate ad specialties market is key to Bottle Breacher’s success too. If Crane can demonstrate he has solid market penetration in these markets, his case for the Sharks will be stronger.
I’m not sure if this is a QVC product, so I’m not sure if Lori goes for it. I honestly can’t see any Sharks getting too excited about this unless the sales numbers are super solid, BUT I think Bottle Breacher does get a deal. The reason I say this is they signed a lease for 1,200 square feet in July 2014. The address is listed as “industrial/warehouse” space.
Assuming they taped in June with the other military entrepreneurs from episode 608, a July lease would coincide with a Shark Deal. I am not sure which Shark invests in Bottle Breacher, but my gut tells me they get a deal.
Entrepreneur, auteur, raconteur. Rob Merlino is a blogger and writer who enjoys the Shark Tank TV show and Hot Dogs. A father of five who freelances in a variety of publications, Rob has a stable of websites including Shark Tank Blog, Hot Dog Stories, Rob Merlino.com and more.
Where can I purchase these????
I ordered a Bottle Breacher for my fiancé’s 50 th Birthday. My credit card sure got charged, but no product. I bought the chrome engraved Breacher, gift box, & holder. His birthday is tomorrow February 6, I’ll bet money I won’t see it & neither will he. I’m calling the authorities in Tucson Arizona.
I placed an order in the second week of November. Two or three days later, I got email that implied they had a problem with double billing, etc. From what I could tell, my order did not fit their error conditions. My credit card was billed almost immediately after my order. Now, a week before Christmas…they do not answer the phone. I sent email asking if they had a record of my order and when it would ship. I get no human on the phone and no response to email. By year end I will contest the CC charge and address with the better business bureau in their location.
I placed my order on November 22. To date, the only correspondence I’ve received was an automated confirmation of my purchase. I have e-mailed a couple of times and have not received any responses to my e-mails. Buyer beware.
Placed order, got order confirmation stating wait time will be 4-5 weeks. In the middle of the 5th week I tried contacting them and the phone number has been removed from the website and the only means of contacting them is through the website. The website cannot track my order by the order number I received via email, nor can it locate it by my email address. Horrible experience! Granted its a novelty item, its the principal of the matter. They were quick to charge my credit card and take my money, but not so quick to respond to my email, or ship my order. I expect to have to dispute the charge in the coming days with my credit card.
I placed an order for 3 plain bottle breachers way before Christmas and I just want to know what the status of my order is? Can someone please tell me what is going on, no response to emails or phone, I will just try to vancel my order, I am not waiting 6 months. Thanks, Elizabeth Guilbeau, gjqh@att.net
My order was placed 11/8/14 via Esty. I made an inquiry on 12/1/14 when my status still read “Not Shipped” and I had not yet received any type of confirmation from the company. I quickly received a response assuring me that my order would arrive before Christmas. I understood that with the recent jump in sales from their TV appearance that the wait times were longer than usual.
On 12/26/14 I contacted the company via private message on Facebook as the opener I received did not have the custom engraving on it for which I had paid. Three days later I was told that my issue would be sent to their redo person and I should hear from her “in the next couple days”. On Jan 19th I still had not heard from anyone – really 20 days and no response?!?! So I again sent a private message. They apologized and said I should be contacted that day.
Another week had passed with no contact so I sent yet another private message this morning asking for a corporate number. Well low and behold I finally received an e-mail. However this is what she had to say about the custom engraving that was not done … “Sorry for the delay. In researching your order I don’t show that you purchased a gift box. I have attached a copy of your order invoice for your reference…..”
She is right by stating that I never purchased a gift box, but that wasn’t my reason for contacting them about a redo in the first place!!!! The additional engraving on the opener was however clearly shown on the invoice.
I e-mailed her back and said just forget it. This truly isn’t worth the time and hassle over a $5.00 add-on engraving.
It is unacceptable to make a customer wait a month to get a response. It is even more unacceptable to completely dismiss the real issue. That shows that she neither took the time nor the effort to “research” (as she stated) what was wrong with the order (although it was clearly stated in my contact with the company). The end result is that I, the customer, do not feel like my order is valued by Bottle Breachers, other than just another dollar sign.
They recently posted they got product in on their Facebook page and issued a blanket apology. Check it out…
My office ordered a Christmas gift for our employer on Nov.17,2014. I received a confirmation on the order and have nothing else on the order. I , as many others, have tried to call and email with no response. It has now been over ten weeks. I am now filing a complaint against them with the Better Business Bureau . This is total unacceptable behavior for any company.
I know of someone in Illinois that has the registered Trade Mark on the same product, and has had it for many, many years. It covers any ammunition that opens bottles. Possibly some issues there creating the product pitfalls!