Cousins Maine Lobster Update | Season 4
Cousins Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis sell fresh Maine lobster rolls from a food truck in Los Angeles. They’re hoping to expand their business all across the country. Will they earn a deal on
Shark Tank Cousins Maine Lobster Update
- Entrepreneurs: Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis
- Business: Food truck business selling lobster
- Ask: $55,000 for 5% equity
- Result: $55,000 for 15% equity
- Shark: Barbara Corcoran
Cousins Maine Lobster, despite the name, is not located in Maine, but is in fact a food truck business located in California, where Sabin and Jim live. Or at least it was California-based until Barbara Corcoran got her hands on it during this historical pitch.
As with most food-based pitches, the Sabin and Jim kicked things off by providing fresh samples of their famous lobster rolls to the shark’s delight.
Everyone was pleased with the food, but Kevin O’Leary and Daymond John were quick to focus on the $1.1 million valuation.
The cousins shared that their sales in the past two months had reached $150,000, positioning them for good growth, but that the true value of this figure came from their relationships with the Maine fisherman that shipped fresh lobster daily to them in Los Angeles.
Mark Cuban asked the cousins to share the economics of each truck, but the cousins were sidetracked by the other sharks who did not believe that their relationships with the Maine fishermen earned them such an inflated valuation.
Mark eventually went out, while Mr. Wonderful refocused the conversation back to the deal at hand, calling Cousins Maine Lobster “outrageous” and eventually going out.
Daymond John, on the other hand, divulged that he was a commercial fisherman for a year and worked many years at Red Lobster. As such, he was interested in coming in, but not at the absurd valuation.
Daymond challenged the cousins to give him their best offer, to which Sabin replied that he would consider parting with 7-8%. This elicited laughter from all, and Daymond went out.
Robert Herjavec applauded the cousins, stating he loved working with hard workers and hustlers like them. As such, he offered the $55,000 but for 25% equity. The cousins were not eager to accept this offer since it, in their eyes, undervalued the company.
Barbara, to undercut Robert, offered $55,000 for 17% equity, and in response, Robert increased his offer to $100,000 for 25%.
When the cousins asked Barbara and Robert about their vision for the company if a deal were to be made, Robert said he didn’t have to prove anything and he pulled his offer.
With no other offers left, Sabin and Jim asked Barbara if she would consider 12%. Barbara refused but decided to meet them in the middle at 15%.
With that, they made a deal. If you’re an avid
Our Cousins Maine Lobster update is an amazing one! By 2016, the cousins began franchising, raking in even more money by collecting an 8% royalty on all sales by the franchisees.
At this juncture, sales reached $15 million per year while continuing to steadily climb. By March 2022, the company grew even more with 42 total trucks and 7 restaurants.
Years later, Cousins Maine Lobster has an annual revenue of $39 million, making this one of the most successful
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Jennifer is an avid Shark Tank fan that has been watching the show for years. She serves as Senior Editor at Shark Tank Recap and ensures that all our information is accurate and that our posts are up to date. Her favorite Shark Tank products are Le-Glue and Ring!