Baby’s Badass Burgers Update | Season 4
Erica Cohen and Lori Barbera run a food truck that sells burgers. Will the cuisine win over the sharks on
Shark Tank Baby’s Badass Burgers Update
- Entrepreneurs: Erica Cohen and Lori Barbera
- Business: Food truck selling burgers
- Ask: $250,000 for 30% equity
- Result: No deal
- Shark: None
Erica and Lori brought two good-looking women to pitch their business, Baby’s Badass Burgers. As they put it, “Come for the burgers. Stay for the buns!” The sharks enjoyed the risque humor, but not as much as they enjoyed the juicy burgers.
Barbara Corcoran asked what they needed the $250,000 for, and Erica said they were looking to open their first storefront location. The sharks were immediately puzzled, since the pitch had primarily focused on their successful food truck venture.
Robert Herjavec asked why they thought they would succeed in opening a brick-and-mortar location. Erica answered that their product was high quality and that would guarantee their success. Robert disagreed, as a storefront was a different business by his measure. Mark Cuban, on the other hand, was more focused on the fact that $250,000 would barely scratch the surface of the overall cost.
Daymond John asked why they wouldn’t just buy more trucks since they already had proof of concept with the trucks. Erica said their vision was always to one day open an actual restaurant, but this answer did not satisfy the sharks.
Kevin O’Leary asked if Baby’s Badass Burgers was profitable, and Lori said they had sold $815,000 in three years of operation. Robert asked the profit margin, and Erica said it was 16%.
Erica reiterated that it was their dream to open a restaurant, but Mark wasn’t having it. He told them they were showing the sharks that they didn’t understand “the fundamental tenets of business.” “Rule number one– follow the money,” he advised. In his opinion, the money was right in front of them– the food trucks! “Follow the green; not the dream,” he continued.
Kevin even forbade them from opening a restaurant, but Erica and Lori still were undeterred despite all the negative feedback. Barbara asked once more why they were so dead set on the brick-and-mortar location and, finally, Erica said the truck was too hands-on and they were working too hard everyday.
The sharks rejoiced. “Ding, ding, ding, ding!” Mark shouted. Daymond was still confused, reminding them that the eighty hour work weeks didn’t end by opening a restaurant. If anything, the work would be the same, or more.
Erica continued to vent about how they had worked hard, and lived the food truck life for a long time. Kevin still insisted the food truck route was the way to go, telling Erica and Lori they could make ten times the money by investing in food trucks instead.
Robert was very disappointed. He said all of the data they provided was regarding food trucks, and none of it was applicable to this hypothetical restaurant. Robert said they had a good pitch on food trucks, but a bad pitch on brick-and-mortar. For that reason, he was out.
Barbara commiserated, saying that she could understand their desire to “settle in” by setting up a brick-and-mortar and getting out of the food truck. What disturbed her, however, was their need to escape the business they were building. Barbara said she wanted to invest in entrepreneurs who were passionate about their business, not looking for a way out. For that reason, she was out.
Mark said he could see both the value and constraints of the brick-and-mortar plan. Regardless of how anyone felt about it, he knew it would take much more than $250,000 or even $350,000, as he possibly quoted mistakenly during his spiel, so, for that reason, he was out.
Kevin awarded Erica and Lori a 9/10 on the burger, and this was an honor since he was a self-proclaimed “burger connoisseur.” However, he rated them a 1/10 on the business plan and accused them of “charbroiling a great idea.” He was out.
This left only Daymond. He said he had been listening carefully, waiting to hear Erica and Lori acknowledge the feedback, and possibly rethink their idea. Because they were so stuck on their plan, Daymond was not willing to invest. He was out, and the pitch was through. What became of the ladies’ business? Keep reading our Baby’s Badass Burgers update!
We have great news to share in our Baby’s Badass Burgers update. Success would come eventually, as they, over time, accumulated six trucks spanning across Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, San Diego, Orange County, and Houston. It is unclear their annual revenue, but it is estimated in the millions and Baby’s Badass Burgers remain doing business as of 2023.
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Andrew Smith is the founder and owner of Shark Tank Recap. He is a longtime Shark Tank fan that has been watching it for years and has seen every episode multiple times. His friends know him as the Shark Tank expert, because he can answer any question about the show! His favorite Shark Tank products are Bertello's pizza oven and Bug Bite Thing!