S06.E06: Oilerie USA, Honeyfund, EmergenSee, Beatbox Beverages, Jimmy Kimmel

[yeswedo]

 

An olive oil bar where one can sample oils before purchasing; unique wedding registry idea; a product that can turn a smartphone into a personal security device; boxed wine geared toward millenials; a follow-up on Breathometer.

 

[Lola16]

An olive oil bar where one can sample oils before purchasing

 

 

That ought to appeal to Kevin.  Maybe there's a new twist on it but it's not new.  I went to one in Newport in August.   All puns delightfully unintended.

[cooksdelight]

There's one in my small town of 2,500 people. They're everywhere. Looking forward to seeing this ep. for that product.

[Skittl1321]

We just got an olive oil bar in my small city too (population 20,000).

 

I guess they are looking for franchising? What makes them different from the million of others?

 

These products all sound horrible.  I miss the days where I used to want to buy Shark Tank stuff.

[roctavia]

How are these things being billed as "new and innovative" ideas.... when they've been around being done by other people for years and years?? The honeymoon fund thing has been happening forever... wedding websites do that, resort websites do that... travel agents will do that. You don't need a special company to do it.

 

But I'm always surprised (like with the fake cake people last week) when the sharks act like they've never heard of this stuff before... it's been around for a long time.

[cooksdelight]

Beat Box is going to be a huge hit. Wine coolers in a box. Easy to take camping, to parties, etc. Great idea, in my circle of friends.

Jimmy Kimmel is crazy. In the best way possible. Poor Buttercup. The Spanx had me rolling. LOL

[Eolivet]

The Filling Station at Chelsea Market in New York has been doing what "The Oilerie" has been doing for years. Kevin was right -- it seems like a very regional market.

 

I hated the Jimmy Kimmel bit the first time they did one, and I hated this one even more. Pretend pitches are just not funny to me.

[leighdear]

I'm dying to try the "Beatbox"....I hope they roll it out to major chains....In CVS would be great, right next to the Franzia!  Perfect for taking to the beach. 

[KaveDweller]

But I'm always surprised (like with the fake cake people last week) when the sharks act like they've never heard of this stuff before... it's been around for a long time.

 

I never heard of the Honeymoon Fund thing before either, but did think it was a great idea.  I've seen stores where you can taste olive oils though.  They should give the Sharks computers so they can Google all these claims that entrepreneurs make.

 

I'm amazed those Beatbox people got a million dollars.

 

Pretend pitches are just not funny to me.

 

I was laughing because I was thinking how they've actually had pitches for crazier products.

[roctavia]

The honeymoon registry thing has been around long enough and wide spread enough that there is a big debate around it in the wedding etiquette world... That it's too much like asking for cash etc. but I'm sure many people have found it useful... I just don't think these guys have cornered the market on it... As Kevin might say... There's nothing proprietary about it :P

I did like the beatbox people... They actually had a different idea and a product that would definitely have a market. I can see why Mark was ready to lock in a deal with them.

The security app is good in theory, but it seemed to have some major flaws for right now.

I didn't mind the fake pitch, since you know it's fake... Sort of like the old SNL commercials... But I don't have any desire to 'see what happens next' next week on JK's show.

[retrograde]

Beatbox looked disgusting, but I'm sure I'd have been all over it when I was a teenager. Which is fine, underage kids who don't like the taste of alcohol is a pretty big market. 

 

The honeymoon thing has been done. The olive oil thing has been done. The emergensee app is stupid -- you have to unlock your phone, find the app, then open it, then press a button, and actually be getting video of whatever is happening, and be somewhere you can get decent data reception? Also how many people are paranoid enough to pay $9 a month for that?

 

I enjoyed the horse pants skit. 

[Amarsir]

Beat boxes will do well. I was thinking that in the past when I've bought boxed wine, about half of those times I'd have gotten something less traditional had it existed (and I had faith in the quality). And considering everyone except Kevin loved the taste, that's a pretty good endorsement.

[starri]

There is an olive oil tasting place in an upscale neighborhood of my smallish city hometown.  The guy seemed like a nice guy, but he's hardly the only person in the space.

 

This is just the person who was raised by a woman who knew her Emily Post backward and forward, but I find couples asking for monetary contribution to help toward their honeymoon incredibly tacky.  But when they were showing photos of couples that have used their service, they had a same-sex couple, so in a display of my own prejudices, that made me feel slightly more charitable.

[Eolivet]

I didn't mind the fake pitch, since you know it's fake... Sort of like the old SNL commercials... But I don't have any desire to 'see what happens next' next week on JK's show.

 

But when I tune in to SNL, I expect to see skits and parodies. This was two minutes of free publicity for Jimmy Kimmel, who isn't a real inventor, and had nothing to do with Shark Tank except that they air on the same network. I didn't like it when they used it to plug "The Neighbors" either. I'd have rather those two minutes have been given to another one of the pitches, so I could learn something more about real products.

 

I guess I'll just turn it off next time. But if I tune in to the last two minutes of Survivor and see the cast of Criminal Minds trying to solve an immunity challenge puzzle with victim body parts, reality shows and I are going to have words.

[Primetimer]

America's second-best late-night talk show host named Jimmy shows up to do a comedy bit. But some of the actual pitches on tonight's episode will make you laugh until you cry.

Read the story

[Jamoche]

I just came back from a weekend in Sonoma, CA (for a wedding which was entirely paid for by the couple, imagine that!), and there are plenty of olive oil tasting places tucked in with all the wine tasting tours.

[EllieH]

Olive oil tasting? I did that just last week at a farmer's market, and have certainly been in other little stores that do the same thing, several that offer olive oil and flavored balsamic vinegars and other odds and ends products to taste. Also, how often do you buy olive oil? Its not like coffee where you could potentially be popping in every day!

Honeymoon crowdsource funding? Yeah... maybe a bit tacky. And done before.

[Larry-bob]

The Jimmy Kimmel joke is a ripoff of something serial prankster Alan Abel did in the 1950s with SINA: Society for Indecency for Naked Animals (which there is a Wikipedia article about). They even put out an LP with a picture of a horse with pants.

[dusang]

Clearly I'm not WASPy enough to see the purpose of a honeymoon crowd funding app - just put a cheque or cash in the card and deposit it in the convenient and attractive box provided by the bride and groom for that purpose.

[no1skittishkitten]

I think Lori's hair is looking much better this season. Maybe it's because she isn't always wearing that "I'm 15 and it's 1983" side-pony.

[BusyOctober]

The honeymon funding idea is so tacky IMO. If a couple wants to get married and have whatever level of meager to extravagant wedding, the burden of costs/ budget for the big party, including the honeymoon, should be on the couple, not the invited guests. I wish these grabby greedy brides and grooms would realize NO ONE cares about their "big day". After your friends have gone to 3 or 4 college roommates' weddings, they DREAD seeing yet another save the date or invite in their mailbox. It isn't up to your buddies or Great Aunt Sopie to fund your wedding.

No one said when you marry you must have a splashy reception at the Four Seasons with lobster tails and filet mignon. There is no rule your wedding attire must be hand made silk, satin and lace sewn by French nuns in Alsace. Emily Post never decreed the newly weds should expect a free lavish retreat on a tropical island after the ceremony. If YOU can't afford the dress, the venue or the vacation "of your dreams", lower your expectations, pony up what you ( or your parents) can afford and focus on forging a life together with your new partner instead of shaking down your family & friends for money.

(Yes, I am married. My husband and I had a very nice affordable reception with beautiful flowers and great food. Then we spent 7 days in Napa/ SF for our honeymoon. We paid for everything except the limo ride to/from the airport)

[Dusty]

 

The honeymon funding idea is so tacky IMO. If a couple wants to get married and have whatever level of meager to extravagant wedding, the burden of costs/ budget for the big party, including the honeymoon, should be on the couple, not the invited guests.

My sister tried to do this and her reasoning for it made sense to me.  They don't need gifts.  They were already living together so it's not like they're making a new home for themselves.  They don't need a gravy boat or whatever.  They have the household items that they need.  But it also failed miserably for her so there you go. I do think that they did get cash from the guests at the wedding so people probably honestly forgot. The invitations and RSVPS were out a few months before the wedding.  People probably thought they'd do it closer to the date even though that doesn't make sense because it doesn't give you time to actually buy the tickets or whatnot you'd need to go after the wedding.  From what I remember of the website there was no sense of urgency or deadline.  If they had a deadline/countdown timer like on Kickstarter it might've helped.  I thing I hated paying for was the bridesmaid dress.  I'll never understand why I have to pay for a dress that I do not want.

Edited October 25, 2014 by Dusty

[KaveDweller]

The honeymon funding idea is so tacky IMO. If a couple wants to get married and have whatever level of meager to extravagant wedding, the burden of costs/ budget for the big party, including the honeymoon, should be on the couple, not the invited guests.

 

I don't see how it's any tackier than asking for the various things on a normal wedding registry or just expecting cash.  

[nottopbravo]

On EmergenSee:

 

Let's say a loved one of mine is being pursued by some ne'er-do-well in a parking garage and activates EmergenSee to alert me to her plight; I imagine all that app is going to do is send me into a blind, impotent panic. (EmergenSee does offer a premium version for $9 a month that sends alerts to a private security force

 

Throughout the whole pitch, I kept saying to myself, "But what if it's a false alarm?"

[Morbs]

I kept thinking that too.  It seemed ridiculously unnecessary.  Just call 911.

[nlkm9]

I live in Charlotte and last nite they showed a rerun of the movie "Rudy" instead of the new Shark Tank" episode.

I am so annoyed and do not understand why the network would do that:(.

[Amarsir]

Re: Honeyfund

 

I wouldn't mind seeing tradition change a little to get with the times.  Macy's et al have a good racket where couples who don't really need anything will register for high-priced stuff they don't want just to be "traditional".  If I'm going to spend X on a wedding gift, my only request is that it be something they actually appreciate.  Whether it's flatware or a honeymoon or the wedding itself doesn't bother me.

 

I do understand that asking for cash can be tacky, but I think that's why the fund actually helps.  It classes up the request by making it objective-driven and out of their hands.  Much the same as registries did to gift giving, saying "here are items we'd appreciate" vs "If you're coming to my wedding, buy me these spoons."

[SnarkyTart]

Did anyone else order the Shark Tank Special on BeatBox's website?  Just me?  Hahaha...I'm such an easy sell.  Still, that's the first product I've ever ordered from seeing it on Shark Tank. 

[Guest]

If Beat Box can get on store shelves, they'll do well for a while, I think.  Remember California Coolers, Bartles & Jaymes, Zima, Boones Farm, etc.?  I agree, it's the market that is underage drinkers and other new drinkers who haven't acquired a taste for non-Koolaid-like alcoholic drinks.  Though the box size probably means it'll cost at least $20, which might price it out of many kids' leagues.  There's probably a reason all those other products were typically sold in 4-packs.  

[zxy556575]

The Shark Tank special on the Beatbox website is $65 for two boxes, so stores are probably charging at least $35 each box, or around $4.65 per bottle. Well, "stores." It's carried by 7-11 and several gas station chains, so despite Kevin's sneers, it's obviously a high class beverage.

 

Those two clods also made me look up orange wine: Orange wines are, in fact, white wines — but white wines treated like reds. This means that they are purposefully allowed, while still freshly crushed juice, to remain in contact with grape skins for days, months or even years.

 

I enjoyed the bit with Jimmy Kimmel, so have fully embraced self-satisfied mediocrity!

[Day2Day]

I feel there should be equal consideration given to female horses with regard to wearing apparel.  Mr. Kimmel presented only Horse Pants. As demonstrated in this photo, the mares may also like getting dolled up if they feel like "horsing around" or leaving the stables for a night on the town.

[Kromm]

I think the disconnect between Philip Michaels and the Oilerie idea could be the one between people who simply use Olive Oil for cooking, and those who use it as well... food in of itself. Someone like Mr. Wonderful takes it very far in a snooty direction, but I can see the mid-range that the Oilerie represents working, because it's catering to a less snooty very inclusive Mall crowd. One of the Sharks even mentioned wanting some bread to dip in the oil, and I think that's the experience many might want to replicate at home--going to a quality Italian restaurant and getting a little plate of reasonably good Olive Oil (often greenish instead of the more gold color people cook with) and dipping bread in it.

 

That said, stating it has Starbucks type potential is laughable.  I could see an Oilerie at a lot of Malls, doing decent business in that kind of venue, but not on every damn street-corner.  Outside the Mall setting I doubt it would do well. But the Mall market just by itself is pretty big. if the numbers worked I think this WAS invest-able, as long as someone knocks some sense into that guy about where these stores can go. Mid-range Malls that get people with disposable income, who will see it as a luxury item. Or make a deal with Whole Foods to have branded kiosks inside their store. That's the IDEAL market for this--that kind of mass-marketed pseudo-luxury bracket that's way below what a snob like Kevin would buy, but a genuine luxury item to the masses.

 

Oh, and Jimmy Kimmel can shove it. That lame ass skit certainly wasn't going to make me want to see his show.  Better yet, put every late night host named Jimmy in a cage match and make them fight it out. Frankly they're both lame.

Edited October 26, 2014 by Kromm

[Morbs]

Yeah, kiosks in existing stores would be a good idea.  I could see buying a bottle once and then never using it.  I like olive oil, but I'm crazy about counting calories and fat, so I use it rarely.  Even malls seems so risky to me, just because I feel like malls are on a downward spiral, at least in my area.

[bilgistic]

I live in Charlotte and last nite they showed a rerun of the movie "Rudy" instead of the new Shark Tank" episode.

I am so annoyed and do not understand why the network would do that:(.

I also live in Charlotte. ABC aired the show tonight instead. I have no idea why. Edited October 27, 2014 by bilgistic

[Morbs]

My local CBS affiliate aired Rudy the other day and bumped 48 hours, even though I could see the rest of the country talking about it on twitter.  I guess people just love Rudy.

Edited October 27, 2014 by Morbs

[cooksdelight]

My local CBS affiliate aired Rudy the other day and bumped 48 hours, even though I could see the rest of the country talking about it on twitter.  I guess people just love Rudy.

The real Rudy has been on some sort of media blitz lately, talking about his life and about the film. He's 66 now, and maybe he's in poor health or something? Could explain why it's popping up on TV.

[Genius]

The Jimmy Kimmel cross-promotion (which ABC had him doing all week) was a little groan-worthy, but Jimmy is NOT the Jay Leno of the Millennials! Gross! Jimmy is actually funny, smart, quick, and talented, and nothing like the hack Jay Leno is.

[starri]

 

Jimmy is actually funny, smart, quick, and talented, and nothing like the hack Jay Leno is.

Believe it or not, Leno was once those things too, but had to bury a lot of his edgier material to appeal to Carson's old audience.

 

 

I do understand that asking for cash can be tacky, but I think that's why the fund actually helps.

I guess it's just different strokes for different folks, but turning a wedding gift from a recognition of a new couple starting their new life together (even if the couple were both working professionals with their own household already set up) into a just direct cash-grab is really appalling to me.  I know there are regional differences (I'm Southern, I've never seen a Dollar Dance until I went to the Long Island wedding of a college friend), but there's something that I find really, really gauche about having a hand directly out for a fabulous vacation.  It goes from something that I said about the fake cake mother and son:  you have the wedding (and honeymoon) that you can afford.  I didn't have a wedding registry either (I'm still not quite sure how etiquette works for same-sex couples), but my grandmother (who is now deceased) gifted us with a set of china that she'd been given when she and my grandfather had gotten married.  It wasn't fancy; it was a line that was aimed at military families during WWII and the Korean War, and I don't have any real use for it, but I treasure it, a lot more that sipping Mai-Tais on a beach somewhere.

[Kromm]

Fallon has become the new Jay Leno, in terms of pandering.  Mostly that's in terms of how he interacts with guests and speaks in general though (as opposed to his actual humor).

 

Kimmel's weaknesses are slightly different.  His humor is often smug, and at other times kind of stupidly broad.  "Horse pants" sadly is very typical of him.  Not that he can't come out with something very funny on occasion (even Fallon and Meyers can, despite both having their own huge weaknesses), it's just that there's certainly some real crap to be waded through among that quality.

[bilgistic]

starri, what's a Dollar Dance? (I mean, besides what one can see at the Uptown Cabaret, the "classy" strip joint in town.)

[starri]

That's probably more appropriate over in Small Talk.

[Kel Varnsen]

The wine thing was interesting. It looks like it would be competing with coolers and other flavoured drinks. Although being wine based instead of a hard alcohol drink it probably allows it to be in more stores. Plus they said themselves they are marketing it to young people so the fact that it is 11.5% is probably a nice selling feature for young people who are looking to get drunk without actually tasting anything that might taste like alcohol.

 

The security app seemed kind of stupid. I get the idea, but like the other poster above said, how do they deal with false alarms. Do they want someone hitting the app every time they are in a parking garage or on an empty street and they see someone who looks kind of creepy? Plus really in that kind of emergency how useful would the video footage be. Using their example, say you are on a dark street and you think someone is following you. You hit the app and the camera comes on. But unfortunately it is a dark street, and you are nervous so a bit shaky so I am not sure a phone camera would actually get any kind of footage that would be worth anything.

 

I do understand that asking for cash can be tacky, but I think that's why the fund actually helps.  It classes up the request by making it objective-driven and out of their hands.  Much the same as registries did to gift giving, saying "here are items we'd appreciate" vs "If you're coming to my wedding, buy me these spoons."

Yea I was sort of torn on it. I think it was less tacky than asking for cash. That said, I got married 6 years ago and even without asking a lot of people just gave us cash. But asking for people to help pay for your hotel or something on a trip kind of makes it a bit nicer I guess. The only other thing that surprised me was that the only money they made was through paypal revenue. Why was there no advertising? It seemed like the perfect site to have featured partners. Like if a couple is looking at a trip to Hawaii, the site will hit them with paid ads from hotels or restaurants or car rental places or surfing lessons or stuff like that. Seems like those kind of targeted ads, to people that are already looking, would be a better way to make money. 

[Meushell]

Saw and tried a wine and vinegar tasting at the last fair I went to. They offered tiny bread sticks to taste. Trying oil by itself sounds gross. I wonder if anyone walks back out of the store after hearing "We want you to taste the product." I know I would.

I don't think the honeymoon thing is a bad idea, but I wouldn't want others deciding what we do on the honeymoon. I know the couple decided what they put on there, but once they are honeymooning, they may decide they want to do X instead of Y. I don't know how it works. Maybe they just get the lump sum instead. Then they might anger someone if they used the money different than intended.

Some of the other funds seemed annoying though, like the birthday party. "I didn't bring you a gift, but I paid for these plates." I know with some occasions, people don't want gifts, but that makes it worse. "Please, don't bring a gift. Instead, pay for the party."

Edited January 27, 2015 by Meushell

[atir]

Sipping the oils isn't bad. Grant you, it sounds weird but if you really want to know how it tastes before you buy, that's what you have to do. I flove those shops! I have several yummy vinegars & oils from them.

[NikSac]

I've actually seen olive oil tasting quite a bit - it's kind of a 'thing' at the Farmer's Markets near me (Northern CA), and I also see it a lot in the various "wine country" regions around me. Usually there's a plain/bland bread available to dip in it though, if you don't want to sip straight olive oil.

 

The honeymoon thing is really not new at all. We considered it when we got married in 2001, and it was a fairly new idea then but still widely offered by various travel agencies. I looked into it enough to discover that most of them were basically just a cash gift. It was along the lines of "give the couple a swim with the dolphins experience!" (which cost X amount of $$), but in the end the couple pretty much just got the money. I wonder how it works for the one promoted on the show?  And I totally agree, funding for example a birthday party is kind of out of control. If you want to offer to bring something, call the host and ask what you can bring. I'd be okay with being asked to bring plates, food, or whatever, but kind of irritated to be told "oh please don't bring a gift, but you can pay for the plates."

[LeGrandElephant]

I was invited to a wedding recently where they did the honeymoon fund thing. They nicely said on the website that your only gift should be showing up, but if you do want to give something else, you can check out this honeymoon fund website. It was set up so you feel slightly less like you're giving cash because you choose specific amounts for specific things, like "$30 for tour of (some local attraction where they're going)". But then, you still give them the cash or check directly, not through the website. Which I guess is better - they can't take a cut that way. I had an odd feeling about just giving money, but in the end, it makes more sense. If I bought a blender off a registry they'd still know exactly what I spent on it, and most people these days who get married later and already live together don't need a lot of household junk. I can't make it to the wedding, but I mailed a check with a card and a printout of the experience I chose off their list. They were also good about having a wide variety of price ranges available.

Also, I could be wrong, but I got the vibe they can afford the honeymoon regardless (they must have already bought tickets, right?), but that people contributing helps them do more stuff on the honeymoon.

Edited February 11, 2015 by LeGrandElephant

[PRgal]

Also, I could be wrong, but I got the vibe they can afford the honeymoon regardless (they must have already bought tickets, right?), but that people contributing helps them do more stuff on the honeymoon.

 

Not everyone goes on a honeymoon immediately after the wedding.  A friend of mine went on a "minimoon" shortly after her wedding back in the fall - an extended weekend stay just out of town - but won't be going on the REAL one until this summer. 

[JBC344]

I was invited to a wedding recently where they did the honeymoon fund thing. They nicely said on the website that your only gift should be showing up, but if you do want to give something else, you can check out this honeymoon fund website. It was set up so you feel slightly less like you're giving cash because you choose specific amounts for specific things, like "$30 for tour of (some local attraction where they're going)". But then, you still give them the cash or check directly, not through the website. Which I guess is better - they can't take a cut that way. I had an odd feeling about just giving money, but in the end, it makes more sense. If I bought a blender off a registry they'd still know exactly what I spent on it, and most people these days who get married later and already live together don't need a lot of household junk. I can't make it to the wedding, but I mailed a check with a card and a printout of the experience I chose off their list. They were also good about having a wide variety of price ranges available.

Also, I could be wrong, but I got the vibe they can afford the honeymoon regardless (they must have already bought tickets, right?), but that people contributing helps them do more stuff on the honeymoon.

Yeah, this was my experience when my cousin set up her honeymoon registry, the idea was that they were going on the honeymoon regardless in the sense that my cousin and her new husband had already bought their tickets and planned their honeymoon to Hawaii.  When they offered the honeymoon registry it was in lieu of a traditional registry because they had recently bought a house and didn't need help setting up the house.  What they offered on their registry was for those that wanted to contribute in lieu of a traditional gift you could buy them a meal at the hotel restaurant, horseback riding, scuba diving, or you could help pay for their individual hotel stay.  Myself and the rest of my family thought it was a great and clever idea. I don't understand the idea of it being tacky. 

 

The options that they offered were pretty reasonable in price and it was the equivalent of what I would of sent them in cash or a check in a card anyway.  I ended up buying them brunch on one of their days in Hawaii, other family members bought them meals, activities, and even defrayed a lot of the cost of their hotel stay.  I think it is a really great idea in general, I don't understand what would be tacky about getting someone a gift you know that they want and will really appreciate, especially if it is affordable.

.

Now with all that said I didn't understand what the couple on the show was doing that was inventing the wheel there.  I did agree with the sharks that they shouldn't be trying to offshoot their business with other sites and that they needed to grow the main business that they had by offering advertising as well as concentrating on their royalty fees from PayPal, which by the way sounded like a really smart move on their part.