'Shark Tank' offers whopping $2 million to entrepreneurs who pitched a simple milk business

Milk is one of the most widely consumed products on a daily basis across the globe. But in an age of changing dietary choiced, plant based milk is rapidly gaining popularity. To milk this opportunity, entrepreneurs arrived on "Shark Tank” seeking a million dollars for 5% of their business. Through NuMilk, Entrepreneurs Joe Savino and Ari Tolwin founded sell vending machines that produce plant-based milk with the least processing.

Plant-based milk includes almond milk and oat milk to name a few, which have become quite popular these days. The sharks understand this and were impressed that the firm had raised $12 million. However, at the time of filming, the company had also suffered losses to the tune of $5 million and projected $2 million more for that year. This was a deal breaker for most sharks as Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, and Lori Greiner backed out. Mark Cuban, however, had a taste if its potential as he used the machine to pour himself a hearty bottle of almond milk.

Kevin O’Leary still was interested in the product and offered $1 million as a loan at 9.5% interest for 5% of the company. Cuban, on the other hand, had a much more lucrative offer. What impressed him apart from the vending machine was a prototype countertop device for homes and cafes. He was willing to offer $2 million, half of which would be for 7% equity, while the other million made the deal interesting.

"The other million is going to be a loan at three percent interest but I get an additional three percent of stock as advisory shares or straight-up equity. But, if you don't use the loan, you don't have to give me the three percent equity for that loan,” he said. That means if the entrepreneurs used the loan, Cuban would receive 10% of the company. The entrepreneurs tried to negotiate the terms a bit but agreed to take what was offered to them.

This episode of “Shark Tank” was filmed in 2020. That year was an uncertain one for NuMilk due to the Pandemic. Even though they lost deal with big retailers then, things got better for the brand.

"Numilk faced considerable setbacks in 2020 when the company's "Shark Tank" episode was filmed, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. As they told the sharks, that resulted in delayed launches with Kroger, Gelson's Markets, and other retailers. Even so, the brand has kept defying all odds,” reads a section of the company website according to a report in Soap Central.

As of 2024, the business is flourishing. It has launched various flavours for its plant-based milk using ingredients that many consider to be healthy and medicinal. One such example of this is its Goldenmilk which contains turmeric and ginger among other things. As of 2024, the company had expanded into more than 100 locations across the country, proving that Cuban's risk paid off in the longer run.