LOS ANGELES — Two years ago, members of the former Halo Top ice cream team tackled chocolate, launching a low-calorie take on the classic Hershey’s bar. And while the product has reached shelves in thousands of stores nationwide, including Walmart, Safeway, Albertsons and Sprouts Farmers Market, co-founders and brothers Doug and Ryan Bouton believe the business is missing “the spark.”

The pair appeared on the reality television series “Shark Tank,” seeking support from one of the program’s multimillionaire and billionaire investors, as well as widespread exposure; per Nielsen data cited in Forbes, some 4.2 million people tune in on average.

“There’s a missing puzzle piece here where we need help because we have national distribution without national awareness,” said Doug Bouton, who began his career as a lawyer prior to joining Halo Top Creamery as co-founder, president and chief operating officer.

A nod to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, Gatsby features packaging inspired by the decadence and glamour of the 1920s. Products are formulated with allulose and esterified propoxylated glycerol, a modified plant-based oil that tastes and functions like fat with fewer calories. Other ingredients include soluble corn fiber, cocoa, palm kernel oil, sugar, sunflower lecithin and natural flavor.

“What if we told you that we created a chocolate that has about half the calories and up to 75% less sugar than most of the other chocolates out there?” Doug Bouton told the panel of investors.

Following negotiation, the brothers accepted a deal with Lori Grenier and Mark Cuban for $500,000 in exchange for a 20% stake in the business. Doug Bouton said the opportunity adds “some much-needed momentum” for the brand.

“We are almost on our last leg here,” he said on the show. “So, this was super impactful, where had we not come on the ‘Tank,’ had we not gotten a deal, I don’t know that Gatsby Chocolate exists beyond this year.”

In its heyday six years ago, Halo Top generated $350 million in sales, transforming the ice cream category by marketing its high-protein pints as an acceptable serving size at around 300 to 360 calories. When Blue Bunny maker Wells Enterprises, Inc. agreed to buy the company two years later, it was reportedly valued at approximately $2 billion. Ryan Bouton held various marketing and communications roles at Halo Top Creamery, and the brothers remain top executives at Halo Top International, according to LinkedIn.

“After years of hard work, I led the sale of the business, which was the ultimate cherry on top,” Doug Bouton said on “Shark Tank.” “Now we’re poised to do the same thing that we did with Halo Top, but with chocolate.”

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