This couple’s 'Shark Tank' pitch was so good that Mark Cuban gave them $750,000 in just five minutes

Entrepreneurs bring innovative products to "Shark Tank" and put their best foot forward with creative pitches. But even after all that, they face some intense grilling and tricky negotiations before sharks decide to make an offer. But things went down unexpectedly well for a couple who founded a vegan cheese brand called Rebel Cheese. The Texas natives requested an investment of $750,000 in exchange for 5% of the valuation in their plant-based vegan brand. During the pitch, they introduced their venture as "The artisan vegan cheese company that is inviting vegans back to the picnic again, we create real cheese but made only from plants," and Mark Cuban was so impressed that he sealed a deal with them in five minutes.

"There are no shortcuts; we spent years mastering the artisan cheese-making techniques, such as culturing and cave aging to create the most perfect textures and flavors that will fool even the most committed cheese lover," the founders mentioned about their journey. While explaining their sales figures, the couple revealed that their venture had successfully hit $2.5 million in 2022 and was projected to achieve $3.5 million in profitable returns in the near future. "I've tried them all, and I'm a huge cheese guy, I'm a huge wine guy, so I'm very sensitive. The one you nailed it on is the brie. There is no way to tell the difference," Kevin O'Leary said, expressing astonishment over their vegan creation.  

The couple explained that their business profited out of "three different channels", 16% from e-commerce subscriptions, 17% from wholesale programs, and 65% from a single-location restaurant. Additionally, they disclosed that their inventory had 20 varieties of cheese, including Brie, Honey Pistachio Chèvre, Sharp Cheddar, and Sun-Dried Tomato Fermage. They even had a fully operational production unit that could produce 8 million wheels of cheese annually, which impressed the sharks. Mark Cuban, who normally remains grounded during the negotiations, suddenly put forth an interesting offer.

He proposed “$750,000 for 10%,” however, Lori Greiner jumped at the opportunity too. She proposed exclusive access to her Boarderie clientele and said, “We are surpassing, by Christmas, $30 million in retail sales within one year.” She further added, “We make the most fabulous cheese and charcuterie board that you can imagine, and we have no vegan cheese.” Greiner then offered, ”$750,000, 10%, you get two of us.” Zwar and Maitland felt apprehensive about the deal before O'Leary stepped in to give a piece of sound advice, according to a CNBC report. 

“There are only a few moments in your life that you get like this. You have an offer from two Sharks that are passionate about your business and will give you enhanced distribution, and you’re worried about two or three percent?” Mr. Wonderful said, before adding, “This is your moment! What the f--- are you doing?” The couple took up the offer, and a year later, the gourmet venture has been attracting business from all over the United States, as per Inc. Their specially curated Shark Tank Box, Mark's Box, and Lori's Box on the website have become a major hit among vegan consumers. After appearing on 'Shark Tank,' their online sales have also doubled, with the company making decent profits.