Gatsby Chocolate Update | Shark Tank Season 15

Most chocolate bars typically contain over 150 calories, making them a challenge for anyone trying to maintain a healthy diet. To change that, Ryan and Doug Bouton created Gatsby Chocolate, a plant-based chocolate bar with just 65 calories per serving. It offers the same sweet taste with half the guilt. Will the sharks take a bite or pass on the sweet deal? Let’s dive into our Gatsby Chocolate update and pitch recap and see how it all unfolded.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to Gatsby Chocolate after Shark Tank.

Brothers and cofounders Ryan and Doug pitched their chocolate company during the season premiere of Shark Tank Season 15. They sought $500,000 for 5% equity. After their pitch, they made a deal with Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban for $250,000 for 20% equity, plus $250,000 as a loan at 6% interest.

In terms of a Gatsby Chocolate update, the deal with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner was never finalized. By 2025, Gatsby looks as if it may be out of business.

Shark:	Result:
Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner	Accepted deal of $250,000 for 20% stake, plus $250,000 loan for 6% interest. The stake will increase to 30% when sales hit $10 million and will increase again to 40% when sales hit $50 million
Kevin O’Leary	$500,000 as venture debt for 12% equity
Candace Nelson	No offer
Daymond John	No offer

Shark Tank Gatsby Chocolate Pitch

• Entrepreneurs: Ryan and Doug Bouton
• Business: Chocolate brand with less sugar and calories
• Ask: $500,000 for 5% equity
• Result: $250,000 for 20% equity, plus $250,000 as a loan for 6% interest. Stake increases to 30% at $10 million in sales, and again to 40% at $50 million in sales
• Sharks: Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner

Doug, who co-founded Halo Top ice cream, introduced Gatsby as the “Halo Top of chocolate.”

Next, he and Ryan explained that most chocolate bars are high in sugar, fat, and calories, so they created a better option.

Gatsby bars have half the calories and 75% less sugar than regular chocolate, using allulose as a substitute. They claimed it delivers on taste without the guilt.

While sharing samples, Doug pointed out that the Peanut Butter Madness bar was their top seller. The sharks liked the flavor, but the branding drew mixed reactions.

Doug explained that Gatsby products are sold nationally in Walmart, Albertsons, Safeway, and Sprouts.

At the time of filming, they were in over 6,000 retail locations. Each bar retails for $3.99, wholesales for $2.70, and costs $1.90 to make.

As a result, their current margins sit around 35–40%, but they are working toward 50%.

Sales for the previous year hit $2.5 million, with most coming in the fourth quarter.

Despite the revenue, the company lost $3.5 million and had no free cash flow. They projected $2 million in sales for the following year.

Guest shark, and Sprinkles Cupcakes founder, Candace Nelson, asked why they needed a shark.

Doug said they had national distribution but lacked national brand awareness. Kevin O’Leary challenged their $10 million valuation.

According to Daymond John, the valuation seemed fine, but he didn’t think he could offer anything.

He thinks he’d be calling Doug for advice, instead of the other way around, so he is out.

Lori Greiner made the first offer of $250,000 for 20% equity and a $250,000 loan at 6% interest. She also promised to help them redesign the packaging.

Kevin followed with a $500,000 venture debt offer in exchange for 12% equity.

Candace said she liked the taste but felt the focus on calorie count might encourage toxic diet culture, so she went out too.

Before leaving, she suggested the brothers consider partnering with Lori.

Eventually, Mark Cuban and Lori teamed up to offer $500,000, with half as a loan and half as equity for 20%.

Additionally, when they hit the first $10 million in sales, the equity jumps up to 30%, and 40% at $20 million in sales.

Doug countered, suggesting the 40% equity trigger should be pushed to $50 million. Mark and Lori agreed.

With that, Doug and Ryan accepted the deal and walked away with two sharks and a path to grow the brand.

Keep reading our Gatsby Chocolate update to find out what happens following the show.

Shark Tank Gatsby Chocolate Update

In terms of a Gatsby Chocolate update, we got the chance to interview Ryan to see how things have gone since Shark Tank.

We asked Ryan what the best part of Shark Tank was, and he shared that learning how “genuine and unscripted” the show is was one of his favorite parts about it.

“It is totally unscripted, and the sharks lend their full and undivided attention to you,” Ryan told us.

In terms of sales, Ryan shared that they had a bit of a different experience compared to some other Shark Tank companies because the chocolate bars are not for sale online.

“We are available nationwide at Walmart, but not online,” Ryan told us. “So we don’t have direct sales numbers yet, but we did get a large surge in web and social media traffic that lasted for about 3 days.”

As for the deal with Mark and Lori, Ryan told us that it hasn’t been finalized yet, but things are looking good.

“We’ve had weekly conversations with Mark and Lori, and the deal is almost done now,” said Ryan.

“Mark has mentioned us on TV and his social channels a few times already, and both have offered more ideas on branding and messaging.”

In June 2024, Yahoo named Gatsby the most searched Shark Tank product of the season.

However, our Gatsby Chocholate update found that in 2025, the deal with sharks has still not been finalized.

Further, the Gatsby Chocolate is offline, and the bars are only available in very limited inventory at Walmart and Amazon.

While we can’t say for sure that Gatsby Chocolate is out of business, it seems things aren’t looking too good.

If we get any more information, we will let you know in our next Gatsby update.

In the meantime, check our other Season 15 Episode 1 updates here:

• PIE Wine Update
• See Worthy Update
• Gently Soap Update

Before you go, be sure to check out our list of all the Shark Tank Season 15 products.