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Next up is Joshua Parker of Parker’s Real Maple, seeking $200,000 for 20 percent equity.
Parker’s Real Maple adds a little sweetness to your life. Products include Maple Butter, Maple Cotton Candy and Maple Syrup. According to their website, Parker produced his first bottle of Real Maple Syrup in 2009 when he was just 11 years old shortly after going on a field trip where he learned how to make maple syrup. He “saw a day when it would cover the earth—okay, just most pancakes & waffles in America. Parker’s real maple butter and real maple cotton candy soon followed, and I knew they must be shared.”
All of the sharks agree that everything is delicious and Kevin O’Leary tells Parker his story about how he used to be referred to as “Maple Man.” He says the company is interesting and wants to know more. They’ve done over $300,000 in sales and a projection of $1.5 by the end of the year.
Barbara Corcoran says it doesn’t taste much different than most maple syrup, but he assures her it’s really more about the brand. He also has interest from Costco. A previous purchase order never came through and that’s when Parker decided to rebrand.
Corcoran says he may be overly-optimistic and goes out. Mark Cuban simply offers a piece of advice: market the low calories more and lower the price. He worries about scaling it and goes out.
Robert Herjavec commends him for the work he has done and says he reminds him of “a young Kevin O’Leary.” He too views him as overly-optimistic and goes out. Lori Greiner likes the product as well but says the margins are too low to invest.
With Maple Man being the only investor left, he too goes out.
Each week on “Shark Tank,” budding entrepreneurs have the opportunity to pitch their emerging business to six multi-millionaire and billionaire investors, known as sharks: Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks; Daymond John, fashion mogul and founder of FUBU; Kevin O’Leary, self-proclaimed Mr. Wonderful and founder of O’Leary Financial Group; Barbara Corcoran, real estate maven; Lori Greiner, queen of QVC; and Robert Herjavec, technology guru and founder/CEO of the Herjavec Group. Venture capitalist Chris Sacca is also slated to appear as a guest shark this season.
“Shark Tank,” which is based on “Dragons’ Den,” is produced by Mark Burnett and first debuted in 2009. To date, the sharks have invested more than $87 million in various companies after engaging in numerous bidding wars and shark fights. A new episode airs each Friday at 9 p.m. on ABC.
Do you like maple syrup? Would you try Parker’s Real Maple? Sound off in the comments section below!