Pulp Pantry, Pricklee score deals on ‘Shark Tank’
LOS ANGELES — The founders of Pulp Pantry and Pricklee approved financial investment bargains during appearances on the tv exhibit “Shark Tank.” Each makes were featured on the episode that aired May perhaps 6.
Pulp Pantry, Los Angeles, features tortilla-design chips formulated with the waste collected from vegetable juice processors. Pulp Chips consist of the celery and kale scraps from organic and natural juice creation, in addition other plant-primarily based elements this sort of as chia seeds, cassava and lucuma fruit. The snacks also incorporate okara, a byproduct of producing soy milk and tofu. Flavors consist of jalapeño lime, salt and vinegar, barbecue and sea salt.
“In the United States we waste 54 million tons of meals each and every one calendar year,” founder and chief govt officer Kaitlin Mogentale, a self-explained “food waste warrior,” explained to the panel of multimillionaire and billionaire buyers. “We get the 1000’s of kilos of organic and natural generate that would if not go unloved each single week and upcycle them into a line of actual veggie chips that are manufactured from, you guessed it, actual, fresh new veggies. Not corn, not potato starch, and absolutely not grains, for that issue.”
Ms. Mogentale requested $500,000 in trade for 10% equity in the small business. She approved a deal with Mark Cuban, who available $500,000 for a 17% stake. Mr. Cuban’s investments in the food items field have incorporated Pan’s Mushroom Jerky, Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli, Snacklins, Mush and more.
“Mark Cuban has invested in this room,” Ms. Mogentale said after agreeing to the supply. “He understands how to enable models that are our phase and dimensions. He is going to be this kind of an asset to have on our workforce.”
Pricklee, a Boston- and New York-dependent startup released by 5 pharmacists, highlights the health and fitness and hydration positive aspects of the cactus fruit in a assortment of ready-to-consume offerings that contain half the sugar and calories of coconut water. The drinks are made with filtered water, prickly pear puree, agave nectar and lemon juice. Varieties contain first prickly pear, mango ginger and strawberry hibiscus.
Through the pitch, founders Kun Yang and Mohammed Hassoun talked about the brand’s origins.
“Growing up in Lebanon, my grandma used to make it from the prickly pear,” Mr. Hassoun mentioned of the beverage. “The precise pulp that is in there, she applied to juice that, eliminate the seeds, take out the spines from the exterior, and we utilised to consume that as children rising up.”
Decades afterwards, he turned influenced to recreate his most loved childhood refreshment.
An considerable and sustainable crop, the prickly pear cactus might be found in additional than 30 countries and has many uses in Mexican delicacies and tradition. Mr. Yang reported cactus h2o has a pleasant, approachable style combining hints of watermelon and bubblegum.
“Coconut water’s time has come and absent,” he explained, describing cactus drinking water as “Mother Nature’s final thirst quencher.”
The buyers expressed reluctance in backing a beverage small business, noting the certain difficulties and hazards included. At some point, the Pricklee pair agreed to Barbara Corcoran’s provide of $200,000 as a line of credit history for a 5% stake.