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North Carolina natives Justin Miller and Tom Simon came to the Shark Tank seeking a strategic partner that can unlock opportunities with big box stores and expansion on social channels for their product, Zookies Cookies. Their signature product is a bake-at-home dog treat that comes as a jar of premixed dry ingredients. The user simply adds water and bakes the product for 30 minutes. Zookies Cookies are 100% plant-based and gluten-free with no added preservatives or sugar making them an ideal whole food for your pet.
Will these critter cookies get two paws up? #SharkTank #TreatRight
— Shark Tank (@ABCSharkTank) March 4, 2019
Tom and Justin are seeking $50,000 in exchange for 20% equity of their company. Zookies Cookies have brought in $40,000 in just over 9 months through online sales. They have been primarily marketing via direct targeting on Facebook, Instagram, and Google. Because the product has such great margins, they are hoping to finish their first year with six-figure sales. Over half of their sales are gifts which spark the interest of a few of the Sharks because they feel that since the pet market is booming, a novelty product like this would be an easy sell. Some of the other Sharks are not so sure.
Many of the Sharks question if the market for a bake-at-home dog treat is big enough to sustain the company. They also are concerned that the on product marketing and packaging does not explain what the product is or how to make it. They fear that they would lose customers to the packaging alone. Alli Webb is interested in the product because she feels that people will do anything for their pets and there is a strong enough market for this product. Kevin O’Leary is also interested in Zookies Cookies because he has several gifting businesses and could see this as an addition to those companies.
Alli asks them if they would be willing to make changes to their packaging and product. They let her know that they are open to change and would look forward to working with her. She offers Zookies Cookies $50,000 for a 30% share of their company. Kevin also makes an offer for $50,000 for a 33.3% share which would make him an equal partner with Justin and Tom. They decide to accept Alli Webb’s offer.
First night in the tank and a deal on the first pitch!! @AlliWebb isn’t here to play!! #SharkTank @ZookiesCookies pic.twitter.com/PYObXP3B0q
— Kevin O’Leary (@kevinolearytv) March 4, 2019
congrats zookies cookies & @alliwebb ! #sharktank
— Robert Herjavec (@robertherjavec) March 4, 2019
What do you think of this product? Would you make a bake-at-home treat for your pet? Do you think this was a sound investment for Alli’s first Shark Tank partnership? Start the dialog below!
For a full summary of this episode, check out this article. Shark Tank airs on Sundays at 9:00 PM EST.