S14.E20: Honey Bunchies; Dapper Boi; Play Maysie; Tia Lupita

[JTMacc99]

 

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First into the Tank is an entrepreneur from Longmont, Colorado, who created a gourmet and all-natural energy snack inspired by love. Entrepreneurs from San Diego, California, present their revolutionary clothing line seeking a fit for every body type and shape; while an entrepreneur from Cleveland, Ohio, is on a mission to create quality play on the go for children and less mess at home with her product. Last into the Tank is an entrepreneur from Tiburon, California, who presents his handcrafted Mexican food brand inspired by his generations-old family recipe.

 

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In a "Shark Tank" update, husband and wife Nina and Sina Farzin from Potomac, Maryland, update us on their baby care brand Oogiebear, who have secured over $1.6 million in sales after partnering with investor Barbara Corcoran.  

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

 

 

[Cotypubby]

Dapper Boi!! I am a repeat customer of theirs! Can’t wait to see how they do.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Sharks-Mark, Daymond, Barbara, Kevin, Lori

Honey Bunchies-Nutrient rich energy bar, inspired by a love story.  $200k for 10%.  Seller’s mom developed this for her husband.  42% of bar is pure honey, with nuts and roasted sunflower kernels.  They have the honey version, and coconut almond. Some are dairy free, all are gluten free. Honey is the main ingredient, also in the coconut almond. They’re in King Soopers, Whole Foods, mostly in Colorado and nearby states.  This year $300k sales, and $500k this year.  They’re projecting $2.2 to $4 million in sales next year, 7-Eleven coming aboard with 8500 stores, a mass grocer large quantity store.    Mark and Lori are out, Barbara is out.  Kevin is out, Daymond is out.   This portion of the market is simply too crowded.  I hate it when sellers cry and beg.

No Deal.

Dapper Boi-Gender-neutral clothing brand, trying for a better clothing fit for all. $250k for 5% equity.   They want to make clothes for genderless and gender neutral clothing.   Direct to consumer is what they’re doing right now.  They started the company with jeans, and one seller shopped in the men’s department, but the jeans didn’t fit right.   $1.2 million last year.   Margins are wonderful.   They launch at 50% of retail, and with pre-orders.   They have manufacturing challenges.   The sellers sold their house to keep the brand going, and they’re broke.   They’re $450k in the negative over two years.   They spent way too much for marketing, and a marketing consultant.   As Daymond says, people will wait for 6 to 7 months for pre-orders because they have a sales community of customers.  Daymond will mentor them, but not invest, so he’s out.   Lori is out again. Barbara is out, she thinks the company needs a lot more money.   Mark is out, and tells the sellers not to collaborate with the other jeans company.  I bet this segment edited out the important part of their pitch, about fit for body shapes the current market can't supply, and the quality of their product.  

I think this brand could appeal to anyone who wants a better fit for their clothes.  

Daymond gives them his number for mentoring.  I hope they contact Daymond, and they'll get some marketing and promotion advice from him.   

No Deal. 

Play Maysie-Portable children’s toy, dollhouses shaped like old fashioned lunch boxes.  $150k for 10% of her company.   Opens on both sides, magnetic floors to attach furniture, when you finish playing, they close securely, and stack for easy storage.  They have different theme cases.   There’s a set of six gender neutral characters.   There is a book coming out about the characters by the seller.   She has trademarks and provisional patents.   Margins are about 70%.   2021 total revenue $171k.   She has an investor.   $400k sales this year projected.    Daymond is out, Kevin is out, Lori is out.   Mark is out, and tells her not to grow the company too fast.   Barbara makes an offer, $150k for 30%, royalty of $5 per dollhouse until she makes her money back, and plus some.  Barbara offers $150k, $7 royalty, and a line of credit

Barbara makes the deal.

Tia Lupita Foods-Healthy Mexican snack using prickly pear for salsas, chips and tortillas, developed from recipes handed down through seller’s family. (This reminds me of the Jicama products).   $500k for 5%. Products made from cactus aka nopales. Mark finds out some chips are hot.   Grain-free tortilla chips, low calorie too.   The hot sauce recipe is from his mother.   2020 $300k, 2021 $1.5 million, 2022 $4 million in sales.   In Wegman’s, Walmart, Publix.   They have money issues.  Daymond is out, he doesn’t love the food, and doesn’t like tacos.  Barbara is out.   Mark thinks there is too much competition, and he's out.   Kevin wants healthy and grain-free items for his Chef Wonderful.  Lori is out.  Kevin is the only Shark left.   Kevin offers $500k at 12.5% interest in a line of credit, and 10% of the company.   Barbara and Mark tell seller not to do the deal with Kevin.   

Kevin makes the deal with the loan for $500k at 12.5% interest, and 5% non-dilutable shares

Update:  Oogie Bear, investors were Barbara and Mark.  Yes, it’s an infant booger remover, and other baby products.  This is a product from the live season premiere.   Their business has increased to over $400k a month since Shark Tank.  Barbara actually puts on the mascot costume.  

Edited April 19, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[EtheltoTillie]

On 4/13/2023 at 12:04 AM, Cotypubby said:

Dapper Boi!! I am a repeat customer of theirs! Can’t wait to see how they do.

Those clothes looked great!  I know some people who will love these clothes, I think.  People who wear men's pants and the like and they don't fit right. 

[DrSpaceman73]

Those play Maysie toys looked pretty boring.  Especially for $50 each

I didn't get they clothes and the specifics of how they are different. But not my demographic. Clothes looked nice though. 

I'd try the cactus chips. 

The honey bars seemed overpriced and irs a crowded market. 

Once again Barbara with an ugly as sin monochromatic dress. Looked like something my grandma would wear 40 years ago.  

[Quickbeam]

I am a long time Dapper Boi customer and I didn’t think they framed the product correctly. I buy their shirts because they are literally the only button downs I can find that don’t gap with a full bust. Their stuff is well made. I understand they want to focus on gender fluidity but I thought they could have explained their design ethic better. 

[EtheltoTillie]

Cactus chips:  didn't they have a cactus product once before?

[DrSpaceman73]

8 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Cactus chips:  didn't they have a cactus product once before?

Yes nopalera cactus soaps and bath products. 

 

https://allsharktankproducts.com/shark-tank-products-health/nopalera-mexican-botanicals-cactus/

 

 

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, Quickbeam said:

I am a long time Dapper Boi customer and I didn’t think they framed the product correctly. I buy their shirts because they are literally the only button downs I can find that don’t gap with a full bust. Their stuff is well made. I understand they want to focus on gender fluidity but I thought they could have explained their design ethic better. 

Yeah, I didn’t get the Sharks trying to pigeonhole the customer.   These outfits are for people with a body type that traditional clothing manufacturers don’t cater to.  

[tired and hungry]

2 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

I am a long time Dapper Boi customer and I didn’t think they framed the product correctly. I buy their shirts because they are literally the only button downs I can find that don’t gap with a full bust. Their stuff is well made. I understand they want to focus on gender fluidity but I thought they could have explained their design ethic better. 

I agree. They didn't really do a good job explaining why their clothes were different or what issues gender fluid people faced when buying clothes that their brand was trying to solve. Because from the stuff the models were wearing, the clothes seemed pretty generic and nothing really stood out as such. They were too caught up in the "we want to make a new category for our community" that they could not differentiate themselves properly.

The honey energybar presenter was nice but way too optimistic about her future deals. It's highly unlikely that she was going to have every single one of those deals follow through in the future. 

Play Maisie - Seems like a good idea for maybe 2-3 uses. I can see kids playing with it a few times but at the end of the day it's a dollhouse in a tin lunchbox that u can carry around. The novelty of that will wear off pretty quiickly.

Cactus chips guy has good sales. I liked how all the sharks were helping the presenter by trying to make Kevin change his deal. Non-dilutable shares is something I've never seen on the show before! I laughed when it was Kevin who said "You have a deal!" I don't even think he was expecting that!

[seacliffsal]

I liked the Dapper Boi clothes even though I am not gender neutral or fluid.  I think they're limiting their market; just having good designs and fit would bring the market to them I would imagine (I would still buy their clothes regardless of how they market).  The clothes looked comfortable and that's the biggest selling point IMO.  Of course, I'm not a Shark, so who knows...

Lots of snack bars and grain-free chips already available.  Those products along with beverages just seem like a headache to sell and make profitable.  When I buy any of those, I really pay attention to price, so these niche products that sound great but are expensive are just not appealing to me.

I think lunchbox toys presenter would be best served in a licensing deal.  I know she wanted to create a whole product line around her "characters" but I think by licensing already known characters would best sell her product.  Plus other kids would (probably) know the characters and want to play with them as well-hence creating play-date opportunities.

[silversage]

My teeth hurt just looking at the Honey Bunchies. Besides a lot of honey there is also tapioca syrup.

The reason for the creation of Play Maysie was so a child didn’t have toys all over the floor. The website for it says when the child is finished playing with it they can put it away. Well, can’t children be taught to put away all their toys? The idea behind this just didn’t sit well with me. I think it would be a nice item for travel but the idea of playing with it instead of being creative on the floor with other toys didn’t sit well with me.  

[eel21788]

On 4/14/2023 at 7:00 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Honey Bunchies- They’re in King Soopers, Whole Foods, mostly in Colorado and nearby states. 

 

Yet another presenter with delusions of grandeur. I live 11 miles from her, and I've never seen her product in any of the stores she mentioned.

6 hours ago, tired and hungry said:

The honey energybar presenter was nice but way too optimistic about her future deals. 

Year to date she has sold all of 100K units, yet she claims in the next year she will sell 1.3million of them? I think she is really counting on The Snark Tank Effect more than anything else.

3 hours ago, silversage said:

My teeth hurt just looking at the Honey Bunchies.

Nobody mentioned that they're not vegan which is the target market that most "new innovative" food products are going for. Without catering to that niche, I don't think she stands much of a chance in a vegan mecca like much of Colorado.

[eel21788]

On 4/14/2023 at 7:00 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Tia Lupita Foods- Kevin offers $500k at 12.5% interest in a line of credit, and 10% of the company.  

Kevin makes the deal with the loan for $500k at 12.5% interest, and 5% non-dilutable shares

Can someone explain the difference between a loan versus a line of credit to me? Thankx.

7 hours ago, tired and hungry said:

Cactus chips guy has good sales.

After 5 years in business, he has only had one profitable month. I needed an explanation for that since he was trying to claim projected sales of $4million this year. Where is all that revenue going? To repay the mortgage he took out on his house?

His refusal to go over 5% in equity was a huge red flag for me.

[DrSpaceman73]

10 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Can someone explain the difference between a loan versus a line of credit to me? Thankx.

After 5 years in business, he has only had one profitable month. I needed an explanation for that since he was trying to claim projected sales of $4million this year. Where is all that revenue going? To repay the mortgage he took out on his house?

His refusal to go over 5% in equity was a huge red flag for me.

A loan you are given a certain amount of money and pay it back, all the money is given to the person taking the loan

A line of credit the person/ company can take up fo that amount of money if needed but if it's not needed, they don't have to take/ use it and therefore don't have to pay interest on it if not used

A line of credit is like a credit card with a credit limit. 

Edited April 16, 2023 by DrSpaceman73

[eel21788]

3 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

A loan you are given a certain amount of money and pay it back, all the money is given to the person taking the loan

A line of credit the person/ company can take up fo that amount of money if needed but if it's not needed, they don't have to take/ use it and therefore don't have to pay interest on it if not used

A line of credit is like a credit card with a credit limit. 

Got it! Thankx.

I can see the guy's reluctance to take the full loan amount considering what he already owes in business and personal debt.

[eel21788]

On 4/15/2023 at 11:06 AM, DrSpaceman73 said:

I'd try the cactus chips.  

The prices on his website are a lot higher than what he mentioned on the show.

Curiously, using the store locator, his products are available in King Soopers in Boulder on 30th St but not in the Table Mesa store which is closer to my house. The stores are only 3 miles apart. You'd think they carry the same products.

[BusyOctober]

Honey lady’s voice made me cringe. Had to mute until her pitchy - pitch was done and she was off the tv.

The clothing concept seems like a great idea.  I hope they get help to grow.

Like others, I don’t get the lunchbox toy.  Good for a car ride maybe?

Not into cactus chips…these may be delicious for some people, but I tried some years ago in L.A. and didn’t like them.

Edited April 18, 2023 by BusyOctober

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, BusyOctober said:

Not into cactus chips…these may be delicious for some people, but I tried some years ago in L.A. and didn’t like them.

So, once again we're being told it is a unique product when there actually is a competitor?

It's the same for the honey bars. Other brands of the same product already exist. She's not just trying to break into a really crowded space. She's trying to knock off someone else in the process.

[seacliffsal]

I find the name Honey Bunchies way too close to Honey Bunches of Oats.  And, like others, I don't care for honey so that is an immediate 'no' for me.

[aemom]

Doll house lady was talking about toys on the floor and I was sure that she was referencing the very painful "Step on Lego pieces" experience that many parents have had so I was very surprised to see that her solution was.... a portable doll house?  Kids want to play with all kinds of things and make messes.  They are not going to exclusively play with the dollhouse.

When I was kid, we would take a rather large cardboard box, and cut holes in it to make windows, glue some fabric scraps to make curtains, and I would make furniture, rugs , etc. out of more cardboard and scraps.  Then my dolls would play inside.  When I was done, everything was in the box.  It was a lot bigger than the tiny lunch pail and involved me having to be creative to build it as well as playing with it.  When it got trashed, I would start over again.  So, I was just really unimpressed by the whole thing.

The price of snack food has just skyrocketed - at least where I live - so I can only imagine how much a bag of these things would cost if they were available in my area.

The Honey Bunchies seem super sweet with so much honey - I don't know why everyone got so excited about this, because there's nothing healthy about it.

The Dapper Boi clothes.  I was also confused by all of this.  It seems as if they are targeting gender fluid people but many people with other gender identifying identities seem to like the clothes as well.  I hope they do well, they seem the have good heads on their shoulders.

[Welshman in Ca]

42 minutes ago, aemom said:

.

When I was kid, we would take a rather large cardboard box, and cut holes in it to make windows, glue some fabric scraps to make curtains, and I would make furniture, rugs , etc. out of more cardboard and scraps. 

 

Oh you were rich rich having curtains in your box. 😂

[BusyOctober]

5 hours ago, aemom said:

When I was kid, we would take a rather large cardboard box, and cut holes in it to make windows, glue some fabric scraps to make curtains, and I would make furniture, rugs , etc. out of more cardboard and scraps. 

I had a dollhouse that a family member made for me, but I didn’t have a lot of furniture. I made stuff like you did.  I used the those white plastic coffee creamers that you get at restaurants and made lamp shades from them for my Play-doh lamps. The beds were cut up kitchen sponges.

[Vermicious Knid]

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the very painful "Step on Lego pieces" experience that many parents have had

When toys become caltrops...

She's planning a book for the characters along with all their accessories. I suspect she wants it to be the next American Girl. 

Dapper Boi I get. Persons born female who prefer more masculine clothing still run into the problem that men's pants are not cut for someone with hips. I hope they take Damon up on his offer for mentoring too. 

[needschocolate]

On 4/17/2023 at 12:57 PM, seacliffsal said:

I find the name Honey Bunchies way too close to Honey Bunches of Oats.  And, like others, I don't care for honey so that is an immediate 'no' for me.

My first thought upon hearing the name is "they are going to hear from the people who make the cereal."

They have changed their name to Bon Bee, but, according to their website, it wasn't because of the name being too close to the cereal's name ...

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Back in 2020 we gave our packaging a facelift. In 2021 we introduced our second flavor, Coconut Almond! Most recently, our family decided that our Gourmet Honey Bars could use a name that will grow along with them. That's why in April 2023 we became Bon Bee™ Honey!

 

[seacliffsal]

18 minutes ago, needschocolate said:

My first thought upon hearing the name is "they are going to hear from the people who make the cereal."

They have changed their name to Bon Bee, but, according to their website, it wasn't because of the name being too close to the cereal's name ...

 

I don't see them changing their name at this time without concerns about being too close to a trademarked/copyrighted name of a large company because they probably expected a huge bump in demand due to the shark tank effect.  Changing their name so close to their appearance could be confusing, so I think there is more to the story (IMO).

[eel21788]

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Most recently, our family decided that our Gourmet Honey Bars could use a name that will grow along with them. That's why in April 2023 we became Bon Bee™ Honey!

I'm not buying her rationale for changing the name. She made such a big deal in her presentation about how sentimental the name was to the company. Suddenly, deciding "oh, I think we can do better" doesn't fit with that. I'm betting that she tried to trademark Honey Bunchies, and it failed. 

[aemom]

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Back in 2020 we gave our packaging a facelift. In 2021 we introduced our second flavor, Coconut Almond! Most recently, our family decided that our Gourmet Honey Bars could use a name that will grow along with them. That's why in April 2023 we became Bon Bee™ Honey!

Ok, but jeez louise, now it sounds too much like this company.  Is it really so hard to pick a name that doesn't sound like someone else's?

https://www.bonniebeehoney.com/

[LuvMyShows]

On 4/14/2023 at 9:00 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Dapper Boi - They launch at 50% of retail, and with pre-orders.  

Did they ever explain why, given how much money they were losing, that they kept with the discounted pre-order strategy?  They know people were willing to wait for months, which means people must really like the product, so why keep offering it at a discount?

On 4/14/2023 at 9:00 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Honey Bunchies - Seller’s mom developed this for her husband. 

I thought it was that the mom used to make something, and then the husband decided to try and he ended up coming up with something better, which was this product.

On 4/15/2023 at 3:57 PM, tired and hungry said:

The honey energybar presenter was nice but way too optimistic about her future deals. It's highly unlikely that she was going to have every single one of those deals follow through in the future. 

I don't know if she had read too many sales-hype books, but no matter how they phrased it, she refused to come out and say that those were just prospects and not one had an actual purchase order.  There is indeed such a thing as being too optimistic, and I think in part it cost her the deal, because she wasn't just being optimistic, she was basically presenting her optimism as a factual source of income.

On 4/18/2023 at 11:18 AM, aemom said:

The Honey Bunchies seem super sweet with so much honey - I don't know why everyone got so excited about this, because there's nothing healthy about it.

I love a little honey on my peanut butter sandwich, but I have no interest in just shoveling honey into my mouth!  Also, I really, really don't understand the appeal of this.  The coconut one has a whopping 18g sugar, which is an insanely large amount.  The reviews on the website talk about how great an energy/snack bar it is.  If you like the sweet taste, then just admit that it's basically a candy packaged as something more.  But as an energy/snack bar, it sucks.