'Shark Tank' contestant says no to $1.5 million from Mark Cuban — and still walked away a winner

Oregon resident Tate Koenig returned on "Shark Tank" Season 14 with a new innovative product after failing to secure an investment for his cheese chopper in season 12. Although Koenig's last invention didn't clock any sales, he was confident that his Pizza Pack would blow the sharks away. The young entrepreneur sought $100,000 for 10% equity in his business. With the concept of "saving slices one pizza pack at a time," Keonig's new "expandable and collapsible storage container" was designed to preserve leftover pie or a single slice of a pizza fresh in the refrigerator.

The divider trays, he demonstrated, made it simple to reheat slices. Koenig further guaranteed that his product was eco-friendly since it was manufactured using food-grade, BPA-free silicone. Moreover, it was dishwasher safe and reusable. The Sharks were so impressed by his inventive offering that they couldn't stop gasping. "Not only keep your slices separate during storage, but double as perfect pizza plates when you want to microwave and reheat, and each pizza pack comes with a pop-top air vent to keep you safe from the dreaded soggy slice syndrome, even when reheating the entire pack at once," he explained. 

Coming to the sales part, Keonig was ready this time with the accurate numbers. He shared that his product retailed for $24.99 while the manufacturing cost was a mere $4. Considering the popularity, the product has already made business of $250,000 in sales since April 2022, the same year it appeared on "Shark Tank." Keonig explained that he networked with customers directly on Amazon and Walmart websites. Additionally, he confessed to building a strong connection with potential customers via the official social media pages. With a design patent in place, he only had to pay $2.83 to acquire customers, and expected to make $60,000 from current sales. 

The entrepreneur revealed that he owned 35% of the business along with two partners who held the remaining shares after investing $25,000 each. Although Pizza Pack wasn't in any debt, it required guidance and investment from the sharks to expand its business. Barbara Corcoran was the first one to drop out of the deal, "I don't get this product, I really don't, and I had an Italian boyfriend in high school, and I ate pizza every night with his family, they never saved a piece, they ate it all up," she said. Next, Robert Herjavec didn't want to put his millions in a single-product company. "I'm going to make you an offer. I'm going to give you $100,000 for 10% because I'm not greedy and I'm Mr. Wonderful," Kevin O'Leary proposed. He also threw in an additional $2 per unit royalty. 

Meanwhile, Mark Cuban plotted to take over the entire business, but Koenig countered with $5 million figure. Cuban then came down to $1.5 million, but the entrepreneur wasn't interested. Daymond John then offered $100,000 for 20% equity, and later adjusted it to 25%. But Lori Greiner countered him with $100,000 for 15% equity, which she adjusted to 13%. Koenig countered with 12.5% equity, but Greiner shot it down. He later inked the deal with her for 13%. As per Shark Tank Recap, Pizza Pack profitably sold 22,000 units right after featuring on 'Shark Tank'. Keonig later expanded his business by partnering with Amazon and Walmart. 

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