S06.E14: Scratch and Grain, Bottle Bright, Vestpakz, EvRewares

[yeswedo]

 

A vest with a twist that was inspired by a girl's science project; baking healthy, homemade cookies.

 

Special day and time

[Eolivet]

Did there always used to be this many pregnant presenters? Has "I'm doing this for my family" now become "I'm doing this for my family on the way!"

 

What's the lead time for Shark Tank presenters, anyway? Just sayin'...anything for a business advantage.

[cooksdelight]

I hate to tell the water cleansing guys, but Lorri was right... it's like Efferdent. Which is what I've been using to clean stuff for years. There's a reason it works as good as it does with keeping dentures nice and clean with no harsh chemicals. I also use hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to clean my bathroom, cheap and very effective.

Why did Mark buy the stick-on ties? Did he just feel sorry for them? I cannot see him doing anything with that but handing it off to an underling.

The vest guys were ridiculous. I couldn't stop laughing.

[designing1]

 

Why did Mark buy the stick-on ties? Did he just feel sorry for them? I cannot see him doing anything with that but handing it off to an underling.

 

He said something to the other Sharks about wanting it for the Mavericks. And since 200 grand to Mark is like 5 bucks to us non-billionaires, I'm sure handing it off to an underling is precisely what he'll be doing.

Edited January 14, 2015 by designing1

[bilgistic]

The cookie women sounded like the Lizes (on "PubLizity") on Kroll Show. That nasally whine was all I could hear.

I'm terrible at math, but I figured out that they sold less than one box per week per store, if sales were over a year. (Even less than two boxes per week in half a year is not good.) Why the Sharks didn't catch onto that was surprising.

[Primetimer]

Everyone who appears on Shark Tank tonight gets told how terrible their business is. And yet, three of the four companies walk away with money. How does that work?

Read the story

[BusyOctober]

The vest thing was not a good product as it was shown.  It looked incredibly small to me. The back section didn't look like it was big enough to hold standard file folders or notebooks that even Pre-K & K kids carry to school.  I can see it being useful to take in a car or on vacation to put some crayons and paper or a favorite stuffed animal, but not for school aged kids.  And it didn't look big enough to put over a winter coat for those of us living in colder climates.  Is the kid supposed to strap that on first and put a jacket on over it? Even if they make larger ones, I do not see kids past 2nd or 3rd grade wanting to be seen in one of those. If it's taken 17 years to get it off the ground then I don't think it's a product the world is clamoring for.

 

The stick on ties were sooo stupid.  What a dumb idea.  I could maybe see if they made party decorations in that material - "Happy B-day" banners, pennants, balloon shaped stickers, holiday themed, etc.  The reusable feature would make more sense in those applications.  The ties look like some dopey novelty I could find in Spencers gifts.  What little kid wants to wear a tie at a party?  Come to think of it,in what circumstance would any adult want to wear a stick on tie?  Maybe I'm just not a "fun" person? They should be thankful Cuban took that loser off their hands.  These 2 sisters should go design cutesy invites and baby announcements for their suburban mommy friends.

 

The cookies sounded good, but I'd probably only buy them once.  I don't mind baking from scratch because I don't find it that taxing to measure, bake and clean up.  And I don't mind having "40 cookies around".  I freeze or give the extras away.  It's not rocket surgery.  For people who don't want or have the time to do all the measuring or waste money on ingredients, it may be OK.  But if I'm feeling that uninspired to bake from scratch, there are a lot of short cut options on the shelves already.  There are GF, vegan, organic mixes/kits out there in addition to the good old standby Pillsbury Roll O' Dough.

 

Water bottle guys didn't address how to clean the tops/spouts of some designs.  I guess you could just drop it in a bowl with one of the tabs?  I don't see the need for this one either.

[GenieinTX]

He said something to the other Sharks about wanting it for the Mavericks. And since 200 grand to Mark is like 5 bucks to us non-billionaires, I'm sure handing it off to an underling is precisely what he'll be doing.

The thought I had was a corporate environment.  Made a reuseable sticker (not a tie design) that says something about your company and your employees could wear it while working or something.  Or yes, maybe sports teams could see some benefit from this.  Go Mavs on a basketball design.

[readster]

The thought I had was a corporate environment.  Made a reuseable sticker (not a tie design) that says something about your company and your employees could wear it while working or something.  Or yes, maybe sports teams could see some benefit from this.  Go Mavs on a basketball design.

 

 

That's how I saw it. Making it a full product for the Mavericks or corporate logos like bumper stickers and and the like. Sell them at games or give them away at retreats. People will buy them. 

[zillabreeze]

 

Made a reuseable sticker (not a tie design)

I kind of gathered that the reuseable sticker patent was probably what was of interest to him.  Sports or otherwise - it might have an application only a Midas like Mark has thought of.

[Shibori]

If you are the kind of person who would be mad because you have too many cookies, then you are dead to me.  And I know math is hard, ladies, but if you're baking from scratch, it's pretty easy to halve the recipe.  Then again, with these two, maybe they got stumped trying to halve a recipe calling for one egg?  They didn't seem like the brightest bulb in the lamp.

[jackjill89]

Baking from scratch is not that difficult, time intensive or expensive. 

[Ketzel]

Water bottle guys didn't address how to clean the tops/spouts of some designs.  I guess you could just drop it in a bowl with one of the tabs?  I don't see the need for this one either.

That was EXACTLY my question, BusyOctober!  I don't know why they thought cleaning the bottle part was such an issue; I use a bottle scrubber (what a concept!) and some dish soap on all the beverage containers I haul around and have no problem with bad smells or growing mildew. But the tops, especially the tops with the built-in straws, are a nuisance to clean. If they had told me their fizzy  tablets could clean out the straw and all the little nooks in those things, they would have had me as a customer for sure. Seems like they solved only half the issue and that half wasn't even the problem.

Edited January 14, 2015 by Ketzel

[Eolivet]

Baking from scratch is not that difficult, time intensive or expensive. 

 

Unless she's baking the Martha Stewart-type recipes that call for 1/8 tsp chopped ginger root that you have to get in some specialty store for $7.49, I don't know what kind of kitchen has no other uses for flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Breading chicken? Sweetening coffee? Flavoring corn?

 

Also why she was so insistent that the ingredients could not be pre-mixed. It's a high-end mix -- stop trying to pretend it's not.

[cooksdelight]

I have been getting gifts of Mason jars layered with a mix for cookies my entire life. I also keep a pantry stocked with all the necessary items to bake if the urge hits me. If they'd come right out and said "We're targeting people who don't normally bake on a regular basis" they might have had more credibility with me.

[leighdear]

I originally thought the cookie ladies were touting their mixes as being healthier than what's available now, but they seemed to totally lose that track.  Lori briefly mentioned flax seeds & whole wheat flour in one of the mixes, but then everybody went off on other tangents.   Newsflash: You can replace most white flour with whole wheat and add flax seed, whole or ground, into almost any cookie recipe. 

 

I'm in total agreement that most cookie baking is neither terribly complex nor crazy expensive.  $11.00 for a mix that I STILL have to add eggs & butter to, and I only get how many cookies?  Less than 40, but does that mean 18? 24?  Bad sale, Barb. 

[cooksdelight]

I think the lady said 9 cookies. Must be some big cookies.

[AuntieDiane6]

 

Baking from scratch is not that difficult, time intensive or expensive.

 

It's just that you have to go into a packed cupboard and get out the flour which is probably behind two other items in the cupboard, measure it, wipe up the spilled flour and put the canister away.  Then you get out the sugar container, measure it, wipe up the spilled sugar and put the canister away.  I tell you -- most kitchens today ARE PACKED with junk (I'm a house-sitter and in-home pet sitter) and half the time you can't find the brown sugar or you are out of it or the sugar is dried and all hard if you don't bake often.  

 

 

 

I can see a market for these packs for sure.  

[theatremouse]

I'm also sick of mixes telling me how many cookies they make because, seriously, any time something tells me it makes 2 dozen, I'm all...how tiny did they think I was going to do this? I have 10 cookies here. I shudder to think what would happen if they're telling me I will actually end up with 9. Bah humbug.

[leighdear]

http://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Grain-Baking-Co-Natural/dp/B00CUO5OGY/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1421286699&sr=1-1

 

Here's the Amazon link.  You have to buy a package of 4 mixes.  Just under $44.00 including shipping, or $11.00 per pack.  Sorry, that's insane for me. 

[cooksdelight]

Dollar Tree sells the bags of Betty Crocker cookie mix for a dollar. A whole dollar! Makes a bunch of cookies or a few, depends on the size you spoon out onto the baking pan.

$44??? Insane is right.

[Temperance]

I didn't like most of the items last night. I thought most of them were stuff we could live without but then a lot of shark tank is stuff we could live out and it raises the whole question of our consumerist society, etc.

The backpacks were silly mainly because they were really tiny. I also thought their presentation was a mess. I wouldn't have made all about the daughter considering.... she wasn't there.

I too like the bottle cleaner.

My least favorites of the whole episode were the baking ladies, although I agreed with them in part:

Baking from scratch can be rewarding and skillful.

I have to admit I do sometimes halve recipes to make fewer cookies. I guess I have fewer people to give 'em to.

Also I didn't think their name was bad at all. Scratch and Grain Baking Company seemed like a nice enough name and not too confusing.

That being said I got tired of the ladies by the end of their presentation. I would be more interested if the cookie flavors were more innovative or just different. I don't have a problem measuring out ingredients. In general, I found the whole concept rather lackluster. I feel these women could have the same effect with blog where they publish recipes. Or a cookbook. Or a cookie book. ;) and so on and so on.

I just read what the cost and that seems high. I sold cookie mixes that cost almost as much in junior high as a fund raiser for the school.

The sticker tie sisters lost me at reusable. I don't think anyone would really care to reuse them over and over. They'd probably lose the stickiness sooner than later. I also think they cost too much. I was impressed they took the deal. I thought their presentation was good and if the product was better they would have gotten a deal with them in it.

The Spy dude ranch seemed good enough as a idea or a concept, but it seems like a lawsuit friendly business. Especially if they establish more spy camps all around the USA. It seemed to be better as a one-off location. I imagine to afford it, you'd probably have to have money to fly to the Utah or wherever it's located. It is good idea, but still seems like something could go wrong.

[ichbin]

One of the sticker sisters lives near Indianapolis and one of the news stations there said they later decided they couldn't part with the business and backed<br />out of the deal. Cuban is supposedly going to stay involved as an adviser.<br /><br />

[starri]

One of the sticker sisters lives near Indianapolis and one of the news stations there said they later decided they couldn't part with the business and backed<br />out of the deal. Cuban is supposedly going to stay involved as an adviser.<br /><br />

Didn't they say that they lived in/near Raleigh?  Weird.  There was something off-putting about the two of them, and it wasn't just because they were both getting up to full-on tears over the idea of selling a product that A) wasn't working, and B) was really, really stupid.  

 

Scratch and Bake is a perfect Whole Foods product:  both expensive and designed to make the purchaser feel smug.  Their target isn't people who want to make cookies from scratch, it's people who want to use a baking mix without feeling like they're using a mix.  That's why the women were so insistent that they not put everything into one bag.

 

Bottle Cleaner guy was fine, except that he grated my teeth when he said that his product was better because they were using things that were "mineral- and organic-based."  Well, sure, most things are.  Putting some baking soda and citric acid so it effervesces like Alka Seltzer isn't somehow magically "better" than cleaning a bottle some other way except that the end result probably tastes better.  I'd also question how clean it really gets the bottle, but there was nothing wrong with the tablets overall.  And I do like them trying to do environmentally-friendly packaging.  I hoped they solved that one.

 

The Vest thing was just...sad.  And between the two guys, the one wearing the sunglasses indoors seemed really shady (no pun intended) and the man with the daughter and the very long development cycle...well, look, this is just me being a snob, but if I was a venture capitalist like the Sharks basically are, I think I'd be predisposed to not be very enthusiastic toward someone hitting me up for an investment when his/her speech is so...folksy.  I know that makes me a terrible person, and I know my tendency to speak the Queen's English is probably makes me utterly pretentious, In my meager defense, I grew up hearing a very odd dialect called the Tidewater accent, which is very British-sounding, and a lot of it sunk in for me.

Edited January 15, 2015 by starri

[needschocolate]

Three of the presenters - cookie ladies, vest guys, and bottle cleaner dude - had products that there was no need for.  

 

I often bake cookies from scratch, but am not opposed to using a mix.  I don't like the roll of refrigerator dough, because it often has a "plasticky" flavor to me, but the boxed mixes are good.  And they are a lot cheaper than $11 a box.

 

Perhaps the vests do distribute the weight more evenly, but they were so small, that putting that amount of weight into a back pack wouldn't be a problem.  Now, if it could handle the everything a college-bound, over-achieving high school student carries in a backpack, it would still be ugly. 

 

Bottle dude would have had a better chance if he could prove his cleaner would do a good job with the spout and/or straw, but he didn't even mention it.

 

The only product I could see a possibility for was the stickers, but they lost me with the price and the re-usability.  I could see $2 ties with "Luck of the Irish" for St. Patrick's Day and sports teams logos for fans that don't want to paint themselves or whose team jersey is in the hamper.  I can also see a use for stickers that turn a everyday outfit into a halloween costume (I can't think of an example, but I think it could be possible). However, people aren't going to save them to use again.  And they were too expenses for most people to use once.  

[MrWonderful]

The vest is brilliant, in my opinion. The royalty structure obviously isn't good for an investor, and that complicates it. And maybe it won't sell in Wal-Mart based on people picking it up off the shelf. I do think there are a lot of people out there who don't want their kids to lug around 20 pounds on their back without proper support. But maybe I'm just a wuss.

 

I really think the Sticky Ties girls got the deal of the year. Probably the deal of the show's history.

 

I read that the owners of the company didn't own the material that made the Sticky Ties stick. Apparently it was licensed from a billboard company and it's the same material that holds the advertisements to billboards. (I couldn't tell you, as I've never seen a Sticky Tie or billboard up close). Mark Cuban must have felt bad to make that deal. Sure, the Sticky Ties gals did have a right to use the material from the current owner of the patent (and it was exclusive based on what they said on the show), but there has to be an equally good material out there. Cuban surely has the resources to go find it too.

[cooksdelight]

Mark Cuban must have felt bad to make that deal.

Not as bad as the girls, who backed out of the deal (see ichbin's post above.)

[starri]

The vest is brilliant, in my opinion. The royalty structure obviously isn't good for an investor, and that complicates it. And maybe it won't sell in Wal-Mart based on people picking it up off the shelf. I do think there are a lot of people out there who don't want their kids to lug around 20 pounds on their back without proper support. But maybe I'm just a wuss.

With my standard caveat that I don't have kids, from the size of those things, they wouldn't be much use for any kid in any grade later than about third, because they really didn't look like they held much.  

 

You really want to save children's backs?  Give them all tablets with the books preloaded and most other apps locked out.

[bilgistic]

Here's an article about the sticker company backing out of the deal.

 

When I was in school, I carried all my heavy books in a regular bookbag and walked a quarter-mile to the bus stop. My back is fine. Stop whining, special snowflake kids and parents.

Edited January 15, 2015 by bilgistic

[jackjill89]

It's just that you have to go into a packed cupboard and get out the flour which is probably behind two other items in the cupboard, measure it, wipe up the spilled flour and put the canister away.  Then you get out the sugar container, measure it, wipe up the spilled sugar and put the canister away.  I tell you -- most kitchens today ARE PACKED with junk (I'm a house-sitter and in-home pet sitter) and half the time you can't find the brown sugar or you are out of it or the sugar is dried and all hard if you don't bake often.  

 

 

 

I can see a market for these packs for sure.  

If you aren't a regular baker, and don't have the stuff on hand to bake, I don't know if you'd go for the high-end mix or just grab a tube of Pillsbury cookie dough. If I'm going to spend that much on a cookie, I'd just go to the bakery and get some really yummy ones and not get a mix and bother with it. 

 

I love to bake, so I have stuff on hand to whip up a batch of cookies whenever. I can make my mom's chocolate chip oatmeal cookies in 1 1/2 hours from the time I begin mixing to the time I've got the last batch out of the oven. No big mess, no big deal, and I get about 4-5 dozen. I wouldn't spend $44 for a baking mix for 36 cookies. I just don't find it the arduous task they were making it out to be. 

[psychoticstate]

The vest is brilliant, in my opinion. The royalty structure obviously isn't good for an investor, and that complicates it. And maybe it won't sell in Wal-Mart based on people picking it up off the shelf. I do think there are a lot of people out there who don't want their kids to lug around 20 pounds on their back without proper support. But maybe I'm just a wuss.

 

 

I liked the concept of the vest, especially for younger kids.  Not just to alleviate any issues with back and neck (which I have and it sucks) but also so that kids keep up with their things (a problem I had with my stepchild).  They did seem a bit smallish but maybe if they were tweaked they could work.  I don't see them working with older kids though.

 

The stickers would work in a sports arena setting but I don't see them working with much else.  The women were way too married to the idea and company though.

[marny]

To me, the best justification for the cookie mix was, if you aren't someone who bakes often, you don't want to have to buy all those ingredients in the large quantities they come in.  You don't want 5lbs of flour, a pound of sugar, etc., you just want enough stuff to bake a batch of cookies.  And especially with the types of ingredients in their mix (flax seed, organic sugar, whatever), you're going to pay a lot more than $11 to get those ingredients-- and have way more quanitity than you want.  If you add up what you'd pay just to get all those ingredients, you'll pay closer to $30-40, and then wind up having a lot of leftover ingredients you may never bother using again.  It's perfect for the upper middle class Whole Foods parent who is looking for a way to keep the kids busy for a few hours.  For someone who bakes regularly, it isn't meant for you.

[leighdear]

I just don't find it the arduous task they were making it out to be.

But they are MOMS!  And as we're told by every pair of moms that appears on this show, THEY know best, they are the experts and only THEY can solve all the world's problems.  And obviously, baking cookies is a SERIOUS PROBLEM!  *LOL*

 

In backing out of the deal, the sticker ladies proved just how emotionally attached they are to their "business".  Passion & loyalty are good, and essential to a successful company.  But their sentimentality may do them in.  And I don't believe Mark the Shark is going to stay in touch as an "advisor".     

Edited January 15, 2015 by leighdear

[designing1]

 

And I don't believe Mark the Shark is going to stay in touch as an "advisor".

 

No way that's happening. He's usually the first one to bow out when it looks like there'll be a lot of hand-holding involved. If he really has use for their product he can have someone who was already on his payroll look into how to make something similar. If it's just a matter of licensing the material from the manufacturer as a poster indicated above, would there really be anything to stop him from making original designs for the Mavericks?

[augmentedfourth]

With the vest investor guy, all I could think of was Marvin Tikvah from MADtv. I think it was the tinted glasses that made him give off a creeper vibe, and even my husband agreed.

 

Did anyone else notice that they spelled "Croatian" wrong on Robert's tie? Whooooops. That would be reason enough for me to not want to go in on that deal.

[jcbrown]

I am emphatically not the market for the dimwits with the cookie mix--I have no fewer than eight or nine different flours in my kitchen at any one time and am a serious baker and a serious cook. I can make cookies in less than three hours because I am not a moron. So yes, I am not their demographic, but I am still offended at the number of people today trying to peddle things to make cooking seem so onerous and hard. I just hate this kind of crap.

 

This episode was full of losers, no?

[starri]

And yet, with 3/4 getting deals (even if the last one didn't go through), it's one of the most successful episodes we've seen.  What is this madness?

[Kel Varnsen]

Baking from scratch is not that difficult, time intensive or expensive. 

I didn't get that either. I am no baker, but my wife baked a ton of cookies over christmas, pretty much all for scratch and the process didn't really look that difficult. And if people are worried about ending up with dozens of cookies, like others have said just give them away, or go to a bulk food store (there is one two blocks away from where I live) and buy only the amount of flour our sugar that you need. 

[cooksdelight]

Even when I was in my twenties, single, living in a small apartment, I had flour and sugar in canisters on my counter. You need them for things besides baking cookies. Those women live in another world. Stepfordville, maybe.

[Oinky Boinky]

My gift to you: (cookies in less than 15 minutes)

1 2 3 cookies:

 

1 part fat (shortening, butter or marg)

2 parts sugar

3 parts flour

Add raisins or nuts or chocolate chips if you like.  This could be 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 flour and make less than 2 dozen cookies. No salt, no vanilla, no levening

 

or;

The Kraft peanut butter recipe

1 cup any peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

Add chocolate chips and it makes about one dozen gluten free very tasty cookies. Recipe on any Kraft PB jar.

 

I resent, resent baking packages that have you add the fat and eggs - all it is is a pkg of self raising flour and sugar. And it still doesn't taste quite right.

As someone said- this is not rocket surgery.  If you can't master a simple 3 ingredient recipe - buy your cookies. Many pkgs are more work than scratch.

[Lola16]

To me, the best justification for the cookie mix was, if you aren't someone who bakes often, you don't want to have to buy all those ingredients in the large quantities they come in.  You don't want 5lbs of flour, a pound of sugar, etc., you just want enough stuff to bake a batch of cookies.  And especially with the types of ingredients in their mix (flax seed, organic sugar, whatever), you're going to pay a lot more than $11 to get those ingredients-- and have way more quanitity than you want.  If you add up what you'd pay just to get all those ingredients, you'll pay closer to $30-40, and then wind up having a lot of leftover ingredients you may never bother using again.  It's perfect for the upper middle class Whole Foods parent who is looking for a way to keep the kids busy for a few hours.  For someone who bakes regularly, it isn't meant for you.

I didn't find this so objectionable.  I used to bake more often but now only do it at holidays.  Stuff goes bad if you don't use it.  I had to make a lemon pound cake from scratch so I went out and bought all the fixings.  Cost a ton.  Would have been better off buying the lemon loaf from Starbucks.  Hours later, I wound up with one loaf and one bundt cake.  I thought it was yummy.  My mom's reaction?  Meh, she likes the Starbucks cake better.  #smh.  So last year?  Yeah, I got my guy at Starbucks to put a loaf aside for me.  5 minutes and $20.  Worth it!

[psychoticstate]

The cookie ladies should have just admitted they were going for a niche market of people who wanted  the convenience of having ingredients premeasured for them and with no objection to cost.

[UsernameFatigue]

I wouldn't spend $44 for a baking mix for 36 cookies

 

Yep, if I am going to spend $1 per cookie I want someone else making it.  I used to bake eons ago, but found as I baked less and less and had the problem of not having all of the ingredients I needed (or not fresh) that the Quaker bag of cookie mix that I just had to add water and an egg to did the job just fine. I think the cookie ladies are another couple of people who have invented a solution to a problem that does not exist.

[Guest]

Put me down as another who thought high-end cookie mix was stupid.  What kitchen doesn't have use for a bag of sugar, flour and baking soda now and then?  Even if you made a batch of cookies then threw it all out, you'd be ahead money.  They thought it was "wasteful", but how wasteful is spending ten times the money on something than you need to?  

 

I bet you save maybe 5 minutes of time, using a mix.  You still have to do all the steps except finding the dry goods, measuring them and putting them away.  

 

I didn't like the vestpacks, either.  A lot of elementary schools don't have space for rolling backpacks, they're not going to want to store those.  And here it's too hot 99% of the time for a vest, and even when it's cool, I'd put my kid in a real coat with sleeves.  

[Lola16]

Put me down as another who thought high-end cookie mix was stupid.  What kitchen doesn't have use for a bag of sugar, flour and baking soda now and then?  Even if you made a batch of cookies then threw it all out, you'd be ahead money.  They thought it was "wasteful", but how wasteful is spending ten times the money on something than you need to?  

 

Me.   I have white sugar.  I like to use white and brown when baking.  I bake so infrequently the past 3-4 years that the brown sugar goes bad.  As does the flour.  The smallest amount of the store brand of each of these ingredients would run $8.26 at Waldbaum's (a cheap grocery store) in my neighborhood. Then I'd still need to buy chips, oats, raisins, nuts, vanilla --- something else so it's a cookie with flavor.  And these would be low quality ingredients.  The stuff in the box on Shark Tank were higher quality/organic.  This is what comes in the chocolate cookie box:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Grain-Baking-Co-Natural/dp/B00CUO5OGY/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1421286699&sr=1-1

 

The smallest quantity of all those ingredients would cost me $25.71 at Waldbaum's.  $5.49 are walnuts so without that, $20.22.   Sure I have the left-overs for my pantry, but if I'm only baking 1x to 2x a year, it's not worth it to me.

 

I don't think there's a huge market for this, but there is one.  Infrequent baker, who wants to bake from scratch, wholesome ingredients, not a large quantity.  Whole Foods is the place to sell it.

[LeGrandElephant]

I bake rarely enough that I have had a thing of flour sitting on my shelf for like five years and it's probably gone bad or stale or something (see, I'm such a non baker that I'm not even sure if flour goes bad). But when I do want to bake cookies, I just buy the pre-made dough and bake those. It's a really fine line to find someone who hates baking enough not to have usable flour etc but who ALSO won't use a mix or frozen dough. A thing of toll house chocolate chip cookie dough costs maybe $2 and makes like two trays of cookies and theres no law that you have to bake them all at once.

Edited January 19, 2015 by LeGrandElephant

[Lola16]

There's more than 1 situation, and therefore, more than 1 product.  I do feel the Scratch product is for a niche market.  I don't know the size of the market but that's easily figured out with access to industry info.  Is it invest-able?  Probably not from a shark.  But that doesn't mean it can't be a good business for a small company.

 

Personally, I don't use box mixes.  When I bake, it's from scratch.  Otherwise, I go to my favorite bakery. 

[Guest]

Me.   I have white sugar.  I like to use white and brown when baking.  I bake so infrequently the past 3-4 years that the brown sugar goes bad.  As does the flour.  The smallest amount of the store brand of each of these ingredients would run $8.26 at Waldbaum's (a cheap grocery store) in my neighborhood. Then I'd still need to buy chips, oats, raisins, nuts, vanilla --- something else so it's a cookie with flavor.  And these would be low quality ingredients.  The stuff in the box on Shark Tank were higher quality/organic.  This is what comes in the chocolate cookie box:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Grain-Baking-Co-Natural/dp/B00CUO5OGY/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1421286699&sr=1-1

 

The smallest quantity of all those ingredients would cost me $25.71 at Waldbaum's.  $5.49 are walnuts so without that, $20.22.   Sure I have the left-overs for my pantry, but if I'm only baking 1x to 2x a year, it's not worth it to me.

 

I don't think there's a huge market for this, but there is one.  Infrequent baker, who wants to bake from scratch, wholesome ingredients, not a large quantity.  Whole Foods is the place to sell it.

But even if ingredients cost you $20-$25, you'd spend almost $40 on a box mix for the added convenience or to avoid leftover ingredients?  I think the market for that is tiny.  

[Kel Varnsen]

Finally watched the tie pitch this weekend. Probably good of them to sell (even if in the end they didn't) but I am surprised that they didn't counter to keep say like 5% of their company (even as silent partners). I mean if you sell your company to Mark Cuban there is a pretty good chance he is going to make it profitable. Keeping a small percentage, even if you have no control, could be a nice little bonus year after year.

[designing1]

^^^ That's exactly what I found odd. Why not counter with retaining a small percentage or with one of Kevin's patented royalty deals?