S13.E16: Sunflow; Prepdeck; Oot Box; Do Amore

[JTMacc99]

Quote

First into the Tank are entrepreneurs from Short Hill, New Jersey, who present their ingenious and portable design that will take your beach hangs to the next level. An entrepreneur from Glendale, California, pitches her all-in-one meal prep system to help cooks stay organized and enjoy a stress-free environment; while entrepreneurs from Columbus, Ohio, want the Sharks to think outside the box with their portable and private workspace design. An entrepreneur from Houston, Texas, introduces her ethically crafted product line designed to not only bring joy to a new couple but also help alleviate the world's water crisis.

Quote

 

In a Shark Tank update, entrepreneur Pat Crowley from Salt Lake City, Utah, updates his investor Mark Cuban about Chapul Cricket Bars, energy bars fortified with protein derived from crickets.

The Sharks in this episode are Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner and Barbara Corcoran.

 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Guest shark Daniel Lubetsky, with Kevin, Lori, Barbara, and Mark.   

1. Sunflow- beach chair with an attached umbrella that turns into a back pack, with a phone bag, drink holder,etc.  push button operation.    Their valuation is $6 million, over $2 million in sales this year, all direct to consumer.     $198 for chair, plus accessories (60% of customers buy all of the accessories).  (The seller wife's father died a week ago.  My condolences for her loss, he sounds like a remarkable person).     They have a longer lounger coming, and a table.   I think this is a great product.   In my opinion, this product line will work for consumers, and beach gear rental companies.     They make a deal with Kevin. (My opinion is way over priced.    At $300+ per chair with all of the accessories, you better never leave the chair alone for a second. )

2. Prepdeck- all in one recipe system, with 15 ingredient containers that are also measuring cups and spoons, with tools included, like a grater.  Sales were $1 million 2019, and 2020 $6 million+, direct to consumer through their own website or Amazon.     I think he came on the show for publicity.  Who is going to get the box ready for each cooking session?    Someone will have to clean, and resupply after use.  Kevin makes an offer, and seller turns it down.

3.  Oot Box-portable extra space for an office, an outdoor plug-and-play experience conference room, office, pop-up shop, 80 sq. ft.   Oot Box rolls of the back of a truck, plugs into a regular outlet. They are made from old shipping containers, have heat and air conditioning.  Box starts at $20,500, they also lease.   This year's sales are $950,000.   They are technically considered a tool shed, and are temporary.   Sales are 40% margin, most people lease them monthly, averaging 8 months, some purchase them.  Kevin and Barbara make offers. Barbara makes the deal.  

4. Do Amore-engagement rings that give money to clean water efforts.  Ethically sourced stones, and recycled precious metals.   Each buyer gets a complete description of the exact well that their ring contributed to.  The use real diamonds, and lab created ones also.  Last year sales were $8.3 million, and anticipate $11 million this year.   Initial start up money was $18,000.    There is nothing exclusive about the products.   Kevin makes an offer, and Daniel jumps in with another offer.   Seller almost tanks the deal, but accepts Daniel's offer. 

Update on Chupul cricket protein bars.    People weren't buying the bars, and they now sell the insects, and soil enrichment from them.  Mark and Daniel are investors, Daniel invested a long time before Shark Tank. 

Edited March 20, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Tango64]

The beach chairs are so typical of what frustrates me with this show. They have a beach chair that seems reasonably nice and well designed, but they present it as the first improvement in beach chairs in the past 100 years. (A complete lie.)
The sharks respond as if they’ve never seen a modern beach chair. Oh, this is better than the crappy beach chair of 1922! You’re a genius! Even if their product is nice, I’m sure a 5-second Google search would show me 100 comparable options. So why are they special? Just because they got on the show?

Edited March 19, 2022 by Tango64
Clarification

[KaveDweller]

I thought the beach chairs looked nice and the button to close it up was cool, but they are completely wrong that there have been no changes in beach chairs over time. And were they seriously suggesting that no one else makes chairs with cup holders or sun shades? And the price seemed insane.

I didn't get the kitchen prep thing? Was it just a bunch of kitchen supplies packaged together to keep people organized? How is it different than using all the containers, measuring cups, cutting boards, etc that I already own? He said it was to help with clean up, but cleaning up all those pieces looks like a huge pain. 

I liked the ring guy trying to help people get access to clean water. He seemed to legitimately want to help people.  But all I could think was, do the Sharks get to keep those diamonds?

[Madding crowd]

I thought the same thing about the diamonds! My husband loves to cook so at first I thought the prep thing looked cool but then I realized that every time he made a dish he would have to set that whole thing up, put spices and sauces in little cups and put veggies in separate containers etc and I know he would never do it. The beach chairs were too expensive considering even the drink holder is a separate charge. Our beach chairs came with drink holders and carrying bags, fold up quick and cost $25 each. I don’t like these people now who are desperate for multiple sharks-as long as you get your money and one shark it should be enough.

[dogdays2]

Looked at Sunflow online. Can’t in my wildest nightmares imagine paying nearly $300 for a beach chair.  Don’t care how great it is, it’s a  beach chair.  I can wear a hat.  I can go without a cellphone for a few hours.  I can take 5 seconds a to fold up the chair.  And pay less than $50 and be very happy. 

[Vermicious Knid]

Or just use one of those fold up chairs that fit in a carrier. I have two and they were both giveaways for free.

Oort Box prices are also crazy. My sister and BiL bought an entire 20' shipping container for I think $4000.

[BusyOctober]

10 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

so at first I thought the prep thing looked cool but then I realized that every time he made a dish he would have to set that whole thing up, put spices and sauces in little cups and put veggies in separate containers etc and I know he would never do it.

I thought it looked cool at first, because I am a little OCD, and obsessed with storage containers. But, as soon as I counted all the little gadgets, cups, tools to be washed afterwards, I thought it wouldn’t save me any time at all.  Plus, in order to fill all the cute little compartments, I still need to get out all the produce and cut it to go into those cups.  And I have no idea where I would store that big bin.  I don’t have a lot of counter space, and I certainly can’t give up an entire shelf in a cabinet for it.  I do cook quite a bit, and I was taught from a young age. I have enough prep bowls to do exactly what Prepdeck can do.  I’m out.

The beach chair looked similar to the ones I bought a few years ago…cup holder, shoulder strap, flipable sun awning.  Mine even have a little detachable pillow.  The only thing it doesn’t have is the one-click to close button.  I think I paid $50 per chair, and I was hesitant then to pay that much. But we rent a beach house for 2 weeks every year, and the 4 I bought have lasted many summers.  My $200 investment 4-5 years ago wouldn’t buy one of these Sunflow chairs today.  I’m waaaaay out.

I am not the audience for the ring or the people pods. 

[Msample]

Those beach chairs are aimed at the YETI cooler crowd based on the price point . Based on YETI's success I can see how they would succeed ( YETI also now makes furniture ) . 

 

The Prep box might make some sense but it has a huge footprint. As Alton Brown would say, its a unitasker. 

 

The Chapul update was rather underwhelming considering how long it was since Mark invested. 

[eel21788]

On 3/18/2022 at 7:01 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Sunflow- beach chair with an attached umbrella that turns into a back pack, with a phone bag, drink holder,etc.  push button operation.    Their valuation is $6 million, over $2 million in sales this year, all direct to consumer.     $198 for chair, plus accessories (60% of customers buy all of the accessories). 

Do the snarks ever do the math before they make an offer? $2 million in sales at $200+ apiece is fewer than 10,000 units sold! That's not my idea of fantastic sales.

Nobody asked them what they were going to use the $1 million investment to do for the company (or it was possibly edited out). That was my big question.

I can see hotels that charge you rent to sit in their chairs deciding it was worth buying, but not much of anyone else. 

On 3/18/2022 at 7:01 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

 At $300+ per chair with all of the accessories, you better never leave the chair alone for a second.

I was more concerned about the bag on the side that should be labeled "Here are my valuables. Steal this first."

[eel21788]

On 3/18/2022 at 8:58 PM, KaveDweller said:

I didn't get the kitchen prep thing? Was it just a bunch of kitchen supplies packaged together to keep people organized? How is it different than using all the containers, measuring cups, cutting boards, etc that I already own? He said it was to help with clean up, but cleaning up all those pieces looks like a huge pain. 

I have no problem keeping myself organized as I cook and use far fewer containers that I need to wash afterwards. 

I can, however, see someone who is a total mess at cooking thinking "Wow! This will get me organized," and then using it only once after they realize how much more time it takes to get all your containers stocked then having to clean them up afterwards. Plus, it didn't look as though any of their containers were big enough to hold more than 2 hard boiled eggs. Where are you supposed to put anything larger than that?

Again, at $100 each, $6 million in sales means they have only sold 60,000 units which is not that impressive.

[eel21788]

On 3/18/2022 at 7:01 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Oot Box-portable extra space for an office, an outdoor plug-and-play experience conference room, office, pop-up shop, 80 sq. ft.   Oot Box rolls of the back of a truck, plugs into a regular outlet. They are made from old shipping containers, have heat and air conditioning.  Box starts at $20,500, they also lease.   This year's sales are $950,000.   They are technically considered a tool shed, and are temporary.   Sales are 40% margin, most people lease them monthly, averaging 8 months, some purchase them.  Kevin and Barbara make offers. Barbara makes the deal.  

Again, when you calculate revenue per unit, it isn't very impressive.

I also don't believe their claim that it is acceptable to all HOAs.

They didn't explain if they have a way to level it if your backyard has uneven terrain. They would also need a crane to lift it over my house to get it in and out of my backyard. My backyard isn't that accessible. No thankx.  

Edited March 20, 2022 by eel21788

[eel21788]

On 3/18/2022 at 8:58 PM, KaveDweller said:

  But all I could think was, do the Sharks get to keep those diamonds?

On 3/18/2022 at 9:34 PM, Madding crowd said:

I thought the same thing about the diamonds! 

 

 I'd be willing to bet that he was hoping the snarks would love them so much they would want to buy them on the spot.

$25,000 for a lab-made diamond is ridiculous. They don't appreciate in value the way a real diamond does. I would think someone who has that much disposable money to spend would want the real thing.

Without the philanthropic part, I don't think he would have been offered a deal.

[eel21788]

10 hours ago, Msample said:

The Chapul update was rather underwhelming considering how long it was since Mark invested. 

Big surprise! (sarcasm). No one would buy the product more than once. Didn't we predict that? I'm not interested enough to go back and read the old forum to check and see.

He made $400,000 selling compost and crickets last year, and he expects to top $20,000,000? I hope he gets some help for his delusions of grandeur. He is in for another disappointment.

[yourdreamer]

I was one of the people who actually purchased the PrepDeck from its Indiegogo campaign. It takes up too much counter space to leave out. It’s overwhelming when it’s opened to fill everything. I remembered why I prefer those 5 ingredients or less cookbooks and put it in storage. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 3/19/2022 at 11:09 PM, eel21788 said:

Again, when you calculate revenue per unit, it isn't very impressive.

I also don't believe their claim that it is acceptable to all HOAs.

They didn't explain if they have a way to level it if your backyard has uneven terrain. They would also need a crane to lift it over my house to get it in and out of my backyard. My backyard isn't that accessible. No thankx.  

I agree.   Many HOAs don't allow auxiliary buildings, even sheds.   I don't consider an office in a box with heat, air conditioning, and built out like this to be temporary, or anything but what it is, an addition to a house.    I think it's for people with a lot of land, and no close neighbors.   I really can't see it as a pop-up shop or some other uses they cited either, unless it's for a pop-up shop at a temporary venue as an office, or selling event merchandise, but the price is pretty expensive.      For the purchase price, I bet you could put a small addition on, and with a stand alone air conditioner / heat pump, and small bath or half bath, and have a permanent office or whatever you need the pod for.  

My HOA doesn't enforce much, but having a stand alone office like this would never happen, plus as close as many homes are, you would have to crane this to a lot of back yards, not just dump it in a driveway from a flat bed.  

Edited March 22, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[BusyOctober]

7 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Many HOAs don't allow auxiliary buildings, even sheds. 

My mom’s best friend lives in a 55+ community.  The HOA rules fill a 3” binder!  Mom’s friend is an enthusiastic gardener and has always done gorgeous plantings outside her homes. She was issued a warning and a citation for planting “unacceptable flowers” in her window boxes.  I think she planted the “wrong color” flowers with some ivy or vine and these were “expressly forbidden”.

 So, no, Oot-Box Inventors, not all HOA’s are OK with these additional space boxes.  If the color of petunias sends the HOA a into a frenzy, there is NO WAY these mini dictators are going to be cool with ugly, electrified, mini shipping containers  sitting on the property.  I know several neighbors associations don’t even allow PODS or UHauls to remain on the driveway more than 24hours when people are moving in/out.  

[DrSpaceman73]

21 hours ago, Msample said:

Those beach chairs are aimed at the YETI cooler crowd based on the price point . Based on YETI's success I can see how they would succeed ( YETI also now makes furniture ) . 

 

The Prep box might make some sense but it has a huge footprint. As Alton Brown would say, its a unitasker. 

 

The Chapul update was rather underwhelming considering how long it was since Mark invested. 

Yeah.....Basically chapul didn't work at all so now they are doubling or going in for 10x as much with a whole indoor bug farm?  Do t understand. 

 

I would never pay $200 for a beach chair for all the reasons mentioned.  Not that innovative, overpriced. 

The diamond guy probably had the best idea.  Custom made rings.  Though I'd be surprised if other similar companies don't exist.  Man made diamonds are like 50 percent cheaper than natural and higher quality. I think he does both with ethically sourced natural ones but the point  being there is little reason to even want a natural diamond for a ring. And his obvious play was with Mr wonderful,  bad choice. 

Prep box, don't get it. But I can see the Williams Sonoma crowd who love overpriced kitchen gadgets buying it. 

The $20000 80 square foot box, kind of cool Idea but expensive and as mentioned HOAs are going to reject that. I know mine would. Would be better off focusing on government projects for the homeless with those. I know no shower or water I guess but still better than tents smd camps. 

[Tango64]

I remember seeing the prep box thing in a Facebook ad and being intrigued. I’m all for mise-en-place when I cook, so I thought it would be great to walk up to this box and have all my ingredients prepped in such a neat way. 
Then I remembered that I’m a normal human being cooking at home and I don’t have a sous chef to prepare my precious little box of ingredients for me. It would only add more work, cleaning, and storage. 

[eel21788]

2 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Prep box, don't get it. But I can see the Williams Sonoma crowd who love overpriced kitchen gadgets buying it. 

He should be marketing it to people who have cooking channels on YouTube who want to look more professional. Other than that, I don't see a need for it. 

[Welshman in Ca]

13 hours ago, eel21788 said:

 

I also don't believe their claim that it is acceptable to all HOAs.

 

I thought they said you wouldn't need planning permission as it was deemed a shed rather than all HOAs but I wasn't paying too much attention as I'm also not their target audience.

[TM101]

Beach chairs I didn’t get either. I have a Tommy Bahama beach chair that folds and goes on my back as well and it is more than sufficient. Their product is not revolutionary whatsoever and there’s tons of products out there.

Prepdeck I didn’t get either. So basically I need to prep my ingredients first and then put it in the prep box? I don’t get that. Seems like just as much work. Also, seems like the product has a million different components and would just be a cleaning and organization nightmare with pieces of the product all over my kitchen.

Space box thing was ridiculous. Let me go ahead and throw this thing on front lawn or backyard. 

[aemom]

On 3/18/2022 at 9:01 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Guest shark Daniel Lubetsky, with Kevin, Lori, Barbara, and Mark.   

1. Sunflow- beach chair with an attached umbrella that turns into a back pack, with a phone bag, drink holder,etc.  push button operation.    ...... At $300+ per chair with all of the accessories, you better never leave the chair alone for a second. )

Seriously.  I also thought the chairs were really nice but to pay that much for a single chair? In USD no less?  Yikes.  I would love to hear about the durability of these chairs because at that price, they better last a long time.

Something else that I wondered - would it be possible for sand to get inside the frame and interfere with the clever one-button closure?

To me, this chair and all of it's accessories are aimed at the jet-set who wouldn't blink about spending that kind of money on a chair.  Not really geared to the majority.

 

On 3/18/2022 at 10:58 PM, KaveDweller said:

I liked the ring guy trying to help people get access to clean water. He seemed to legitimately want to help people.  But all I could think was, do the Sharks get to keep those diamonds?

I wondered the same thing!  I really liked him and what he was doing - I hope that he does well.

 

The foodprep thing: Thank God I'm not alone in my thinking.  I don't understand this thing at all.  I regularly chop up a ton of veggies to make salad fixings that last for days.  How on earth would I use this and these tiny little boxes to make my food prep easier?  And then clean all these little boxes.  I was shocked by the amount of sales.  The only thing that I saw a possible use for this was if I had to pack a bunch of ingredients to take somewhere and prepare something.

The sheds were cool - but the type of thing that you could probably use on a large estate or possibly in the yard of a standalone house.  You would definitely want to check your city bylaws before signing up for one of these.

Edited to add: Barbara and her pleather pants looked so hot and sweaty.  All I could think of was Ross on Friends: "It made a PASTE!!!!!!!!"

Edited March 20, 2022 by aemom
Forgot Barbara

[jcbrown]

This episode put me to sleep. Twice.

And I am a serious cook who in no way needs that stupid food prep thing. I can do mise en place just fine without it, thanks.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 3/20/2022 at 12:59 PM, Welshman in Ca said:

I thought they said you wouldn't need planning permission as it was deemed a shed rather than all HOAs but I wasn't paying too much attention as I'm also not their target audience.

That's what I heard, too. 

[jabRI]

On 3/20/2022 at 10:08 PM, jcbrown said:

And I am a serious cook who in no way needs that stupid food prep thing. I can do mise en place just fine without it, thanks.

Right? Love to go to NY shopping, so I have a great set of Chinatown bowls (really lovely design) for veggies, meats, and ramikens for spices, oils, etc., and my go-to silicone chopping boards.. to  me this is a product in search of a solution.  And if you have the space to put this, you obviously have a kitchen counter, so to me it takes up a lot of valuable space.

As for the beach chair, I'm annoyed they got a shark, should have been laughed out of there.  Maybe it's OK for the Hamptoms crowd, but yeah, most beach chairs are give aways or under $25.  I live near the best beaches on the east coast (bragging rights) I got a chair with an awning for like $20 at our Job Lots, with a cup holder, thank you.From what I heard, too, they  really had sold all that many chairs, about 2/3rds of the sales came from the 'add ons' like the stupid cup holder.

Sorry, this episode just really annoyed me. I've watched shark tank from the beginning, but lately its like finding a product for such a niche, overpriced market.  Like how many people need an extra shed? We had a tool shed built on site, and my husband built another, and it is not just a 'drop and walk away'.  There is a concrete foundation or a major prep to the ground, so I think they were over simplifying.  And if a half-shipping container got delivered to my property, I'm sure one of my neighbors would be calling the town hall.

[JeezumCrow]

Kevin’s beach chair deal fell through.

[Welshman in Ca]

1 hour ago, JeezumCrow said:

Kevin’s beach chair deal fell through.

Can you paste it here? I clicked & all I saw was about them getting a deal with Kevin.

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 3/24/2022 at 9:53 AM, Welshman in Ca said:

Can you paste it here? I clicked & all I saw was about them getting a deal with Kevin.

Scroll down on the written part on the right, and it says about the deal falling through.    I can't believe I got something to work for me.   Usually when I try to scroll down, I get the log in box.  

Here it is:

Leslie Hsu and her husband, Greg Besner, are big beach fans. In fact, the couple is planning on relocating from Short Hills to Spring Lake soon, and they're bringing their million-dollar beach chair design, Sunflow, with them. Hsu wanted to build a better beach chair, one that wasn’t messy in its portability but also aesthetically pleasing. "Shark Tank" investors agreed. Kevin O’Leary made a $1 million dollar offer on the chairs.

But that's not all. Since the 'Shark Tank' show is not a legally binding contract and a lot happens behind the scenes, the deal ended up falling through. However, due to their success on "Shark Tank" their existing investors, provided $3.5 million, even more than their TV deal. You go, Sunflow! ( @getsunflow ) The link in our bio has more info.

A lot of the deals fall through after the show, when the Shark is doing due diligence, confirming everything about the company.    I think Mark is the Shark with the best follow through record on deals. 

Edited March 26, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[LuvMyShows]

On 3/18/2022 at 9:01 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

2. Prepdeck- all in one recipe system, with 15 ingredient containers that are also measuring cups and spoons, with tools included, like a grater.  Sales were $1 million 2019, and 2020 $6 million+, direct to consumer through their own website or Amazon.     I think he came on the show for publicity.  Who is going to get the box ready for each cooking session?    Someone will have to clean, and resupply after use.  Kevin makes an offer, and seller turns it down.

I echo everyone else's comments and I remain completely baffled by this product.

On 3/19/2022 at 1:33 PM, Msample said:

The Chapul update was rather underwhelming considering how long it was since Mark invested. 

I actually found the update interesting, to see them pivot so much to a completely different enterprise.

[jabRI]

I saw a Prepdeck commercial, and actually thought it was a joke, like the Geico ads or the old SNL ads.  Who needs this taking up valuable cooking space? Its like I never understood the 'meal prep' business model, honestly, how hard is to buy steak, some pasta, olive oil, basil. I don't get it, I find meal prep a great time to decompress.  Chopping is therapeutic!

[eel21788]

16 hours ago, jabRI said:

 I find meal prep a great time to decompress.  Chopping is therapeutic!

I volunteered in a soup kitchen for 12 years. After spending all week at my "real" job, I found it very therapeutic to get to play with the Big Knives for several hours at a time. 

[eel21788]

On 3/19/2022 at 11:33 AM, Msample said:

The Chapul update was rather underwhelming considering how long it was since Mark invested. 

On 3/28/2022 at 5:21 PM, LuvMyShows said:

I actually found the update interesting, to see them pivot so much to a completely different enterprise.

 

Their initial pitch was all about how they were going to revolutionize the Western diet with this low-cost, high-protein food choice. The update didn't dwell much on how wrong they were about being able to convince Westerners the value of eating insects. Essentially, now they're eating crow instead of crickets.

[DanaK]

I initially thought Prepdeck looked pretty interesting, but I agree that in reality it looks unworkable for the real world cook. I got more into cooking with the pandemic and do a food meal kit or recipes from online regularly which usually involves a lot of prepping of ingredients. I have different sized prep bowls + different sized mixing bowls for bigger items so the mostly same sized containers seems like a waste for small ingredients or not workable for large ingredients. Plus cleanup is still a lot of work. Even more so, for a small meal with a little prep, I wouldn’t want to haul this thing out, and I would be concerned with getting stuff in the containers I didn’t use and therefore would have to clean them. I’m a messy cook especially with prepping ingredients, so I would likely get the box itself messy and I wonder if cleaning it would be a nightmare. As others have suggested, it might be useful for those folks cooking online and who might want to make a nice presentation