Where Did Touch Up Cup Paint Container End Up After Shark Tank?

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Unless you're incredibly lucky, when you're done with a paint job, you've almost inevitably left with a tiny bit of paint left over. Annoying? Possibly, but the upside is that you can keep it aside for touch-ups as needed, as the paint will fade over time, chip, or get a bit grimy as the result of being touched by sticky fingers. The only problem is that you're then left with large paint canisters that take up space, and can leak, rust, and degrade if stored improperly. That is why one father-and-son duo sought to simplify this issue and make touch-ups more convenient with a device they called the Touch Up Cup. You might mistake it for a protein shaker, and the concept isn't all that different. Instead of storing large, difficult-to-store paint cans, you just pour any leftover paint into one of the Touch Up Cup tumblers, which includes a spiral that, when shaken, easily recombines any separated paint and lumps. To make your life even easier, each cup has a label that you can mark down what the shade color and date used are, as well as what room you used it in. 

From Cincinnati, Ohio, father Jason Grill and son Carson made their pitch for this handy device on "Shark Tank" season 12, episode 1. Having already received a patent for the Touch Up Cup and the product available in 4,000 locations, the judges were shocked by Carson Grill, the teen CEO, and his astounding business know-how, considering that he just graduated from the 8th grade. 

Jason and Carson Grill began their pitch by showing a pile of messy, spill-covered paint cans and explaining how the idea came to them. One day, the pair prepared to do some much-needed touch-ups on their home's walls, saying they were coated in fingerprints from little ones. However, when they went to retrieve the paint cans, they discovered the cans were covered in rust and the paint itself had spoiled, taking on clumps and a foul smell, rendering it unusable. Inspired, young Carson sought to design a product that would eliminate this issue, which resulted in the Touch Up Cup. 

The Grills went on to describe the current state of their business, citing a partnership with a painter's tape brand and their manufacturing agreements. Despite initial success, the Touch Up Cup founders came seeking $150,000 for a 10% stake in the company. As the Sharks pressed for more details about manufacturing the product, Carson wowed the panel with his savvy, delving into complex business details and concepts. The Sharks even noted that when other father-son duos appeared on the show, the parent almost always led the pitch, while Carson certainly took the reins in this case. 

After the initial pitch, "Shark Tank" guest judge Blake Mycoskie and regular panelist Daymond John duked it out to make a deal with the Grills. Mycoskie ultimately won out, offering $200,000 for a 25% stake, seemingly swaying the founders with commitment to direct involvement, while John made clear he'd prefer to outsource as neither father nor son could commit to working for the brand full-time.

Part of what made Blake Mycoskie's offer appealing was that he insisted on offering more cash than was asked for in order to give the company some more freedom to get product on shelves. Though this required giving away more of their company than they liked, it seems this agreement ended up being a great choice. The episode aired October 16, 2020, and the Touch Up Cup was estimated to top $2 million dollars in sales in 2021, and is said to have made approximately $5 million in 2024 alone according to an article in the International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews. 

If you watched the original episode of "Shark Tank," you may quickly notice one obvious difference between the product that appeared on the show and what's on store shelves: The color! Originally, the Grills were producing a tumbler with a red lid, but somewhere along the way, they switched to blue. The reason for this change isn't clear, but blue is the dominant color in all of the brand's packaging and marketing materials. Another change is the material the Patented Blending Sphere is made out of. The Touch Up Cup initially had a stainless steel spiral, but seems to have since been replaced by a blue plastic one. This could be in order to reduce manufacturing and shipping costs, as plastic tends to be cheaper and lighter than stainless steel, but the brand hasn't spoken about the reasoning behind the decision. However, by all indications, this new spiral is still one of the best ways to mix paint that has been sitting for a while. 

Even though receiving a deal on "Shark Tank" may seem like a happily ever-after story, it's just the beginning of what's to come, and often, a company will still go out of business even if the deal goes through. Thankfully, that wasn't the case for Touch Up Cup, which is one of the iconic "Shark Tank" products still on the market.  Part of Touch Up Cup's success is likely thanks to the fact that it solves an everyday problem with an affordable product. 

There are many 5-star reviews on Touch Up Cup's website from customers who rave about how great the product works. Not only do the containers help you condense leftover paint into a smaller, easy to store tumbler, but they make it convenient to do touch ups as necessary since you're not lugging a heavy can of paint around the house, nor do they require a paint tray as you can dip your brush directly into the cup. One reviewer wrote, "Who wants to deal with paint cans when the touch up [sic.] begins? Not me." Another says that they own a short-term rental property that requires lots of touch-ups between tenants, and the cup has made this a much less daunting task. And, since the unit uses six different paint colors, the cups made it easy to tell which color belonged in which area. The major issue most customers have with the product isn't that it doesn't work well, but that they'd like to buy the tumblers in a bigger size when they have more than just a little paint left over. 

In addition to the Touch Up Cup, Carson Grill also briefly spoke about two other patented products, which were donut/bagel and muffin containers. Each container is designed to fit the unique shape of donuts and muffins without squishing them like some rectangular containers might, or leaving them to go stale in a box on the counter. While they weren't involved in the on-screen deal, it seems that they are still being sold on Touch Up Cup site. In addition to the original Touch Up Cups and food containers, the company has also released a few other paint-related products such as brush and roll preservers, painting tarps, and paint brushes. You can buy products directly from the Touch Up Cup website and have them delivered straight to your home. You can also find the Touch Up Cup on Amazon, as well as the home improvement retail giant Lowes. 

Neither Carson nor Jason seems to have spoken to the press in recent years about any future plans. From the show, we know that Jason hoped to quit his day job in medical sales to commit to Touch Up Cup full-time, while Carson was just beginning his freshman year of high school. According to his LinkedIn, Carson is currently attending university, while Jason appears to still work in medical sales, but remains the president of Touch Up Cup.