Key Takeaways: Zach and Zoe Sweet Bee Farm on Shark Tank

  • Personal Origin: Founded to alleviate son Zach’s allergies using raw honey, leading to a profitable family business.
  • Impressive Growth: Sales reached $401,000 in the first year, doubling in 2021 with expectations to exceed $1 million.
  • Shark Interest: Both Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary extended offers due to the product’s taste and profitability.
  • Retail Expansion: Seeking to break into retail, already in partnership with Target.
  • Scaling Challenges: Sharks concerned about scaling complexities but impressed by current margins and growth.
  • Deal Secured: Chose Barbara Corcoran’s $200,000 offer for 15% equity over Kevin O’Leary’s royalty deal to aid brand building.

The Story Behind Zach and Zoe Sweet Bee Farm

Five years ago the Johnson family was on a mission to help alleviate their young son’s severe allergies which frequently left him hospitalized, unable to breathe.

By introducing raw honey into his diet, the family noticed that the consumption of residual pollen helped to ease Zach’s allergies year after year.

The Johnson family began farming their own bees to be able to provide Zach with a continual supply of raw, unprocessed, pesticide and additive-free honey.

They learned that the honey that is frequently sold in stores has been processed, removing most of the good-for-you benefits. This inspired them to sell their own honey and their company, Zach and Zoe Sweet Bee Farm, was born.

The Financial Details of the Bee Farm

After launching in 2020 Zach and Zoe Sweet Bee Farm sold $401,000 worth of their specialty honey.

In 2021 they have already doubled that number and hope to cross the $1,000,000 of sales. Currently, The Johnson family manually blends their honey with superfoods and packages the product themselves.

They sell their product at a 25% upcharge because of the featured superfood blend.

They are hoping to partner with a Shark that can help them establish a relationship with a copacker so that they can scale their business to accommodate their recent growth.

Zach and Zoe Sweet Bee Farm came to the Shark Tank hoping to acquire an investment of $150,000 in exchange for 10% equity in their company.

How the Sharks Reacted to their Pitch

The Sharks love the taste of the product and are very impressed that they are already a profitable company with 23% margins.

They also are selling direct-to-consumer and are trying to break into the retail space with their recent partnership with Target. They are worried, however, that there will be complexities and difficulties with scaling and growing the business.

Both Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary decide to extend offers to Zach and Zoe Sweet Bee Farm.

Kevin offers them a royalty offer, requiring no equity exchange. Barbara offers to invest $200,000 in exchange for 20% equity.

Because they think that Barbara is the best partner for them and that she can help them build their brand and get into retail stores, they counter-offer and agree to the investment for 15% equity in Zach and Zoe Sweet Bee Farm.

Wrapping Up

Do you think that the Johnson family made a wise decision in partnering with Barbara for an equity share versus Kevin’s royalty offer?

If were a Shark would you have invested in Zach and Zoe Sweet Bee Farm? Start the conversation in the comments below!

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