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SALT LAKE CITY — When Marti Wymer got the phone call inviting her to appear on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” she thought she was being punk’d.
Wymer, owner of Spoonful of Comfort, started her soup delivery business in Sarasota, Florida, five years ago after she lost her mother to cancer. Soon after, she moved her business to Salt Lake City where her home-based business in her garage has turned into a successful brand.
Spoonful of Comfort delivers gift boxes containing 64-ounce jars of chicken soup, rolls, cookies, a ladle and personalized card to friends and loved ones of customers who could use a sentimental gift.
When Wymer’s mother was diagnosed with cancer, she couldn’t be there to comfort her. She searched the internet for a personalized gift she could send her mother to let her know she was thinking of her. She said the normal flowers, candy and fruit baskets just didn’t feel appropriate.
“I thought, ‘what do you send someone who’s sick? Chicken soup,” Wymer said. “I couldn’t find any (online).”
After her mother passed away, Wymer couldn’t get the idea out of her head to start a business that would let her send out her soup in honor of her mother to people whose loved ones needed it.
“This idea would literally wake me up at night,” she said. “It was an awesome thing for me to pour my grief into.”
Although Wymer had no background in food or starting a business of her own, she started making phone calls and before she knew it, she was packaging boxes of soup in her garage and sending it out.
“I just kind of went for it,” she said.
Five years later, “Shark Tank” contacted her, asking her to pitch on the show. At first, Wymer was hesitant to appear on TV, in fear that she might change her customers’ view of her and the company.
“That’s a little nerve-racking to go on a show like that and have your customers watch you talk about business,” she said.
After much consideration, Spoonful of Comfort appeared on “Shark Tank,” but did not get a business deal. However, they have still gained considerable business success since the show.
“We expected this big spike and to have business fall off, but it hasn’t,” she said. “It has spiked and stayed for the two weeks now, and so we’re super excited about that.”
Wymer said the company has continued to grow and customers and friends have continued to give loyalty and support. She said the most rewarding part of her job is not only receiving kind comments from customers, but seeing the notes customers send to their loved ones.
“The notes they write to each other are just so uplifting,” she said. “To get the kind of peek into that part of their world is such a treat.”
