Henry’s Humdingers Honey Update | Shark Tank Season 5
16-year-old farm boy Henry Miller, has a line of home-harvested honey with a spicy kick. Will the sharks sweeten the pot with a deal on
Shark Tank Henry’s Humdingers Update
- Entrepreneurs: Henry Miller
- Business: Spicy honey
- Ask: $150,000 in exchange for 25% equity
- Result: $150,000 in exchange for 75% equity
- Sharks: Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec
Henry got a honey-beekeeping box for his twelfth birthday. He wanted to help protect bee species from the alarming effects of Colony Collapse Disorder; a serious threat that causes the sudden death of entire bee colonies. He started his company, Henry’s Humdingers, and with his profits, made donations to honey bee preservation groups.
In the years since, Henry figured out that he needed to do something a little different to make his honey stand out from the rest. He spiced it up with ginger, cayenne, and other fiery tastes that contrasted well with the natural sweetness. He developed several variations that he shared with the sharks.
Henry told the sharks that his product line was sold in 300 stores in over 30 states, and he was affiliated with some big-name distributors. In the three years prior, he had $67,000 in sales, with $50,000 of that coming in the 12 months prior to filming.
While Henry attended school during the day, his parents worked on his business. His mom put in full-time hours, and Henry said he paid her with love. His parents had used much of their retirement funds to finance $150,000 in their son’s business. Henry was afraid that without an investment from the sharks, the family could eventually lose their farm.
Kevin O’Leary was the first shark out, saying that Henry’s sales were low because people didn’t want infused honey. Lori Greiner thought most people just liked plain honey, so she didn’t want to invest. Barbara Corcoran loved Henry, but told him the
Robert Herjavec was about to bow out of the deal as well, when Mark Cuban told him to listen to his proposal. Mark said that he and Robert could offer Henry $300,000 in exchange for 60% of his company. He said he didn’t like to take the majority share, but because of the amount of work that would be involved in getting Henry’s Humdingers to take flight, the high equity would be necessary.
Robert had a friend in the Canadian honey industry who could help advise the three which direction to take. The $300,000 investment would allow Henry to repay his parents so they could put the $150,000 back into their retirement. Robert proposed 75% equity, instead of the 60% that Mark suggested.
Henry asked if they would take less than a majority share, and Mark explained that they just wanted to take the company and run with it, so they would need that much. Henry hesitated, but in the end, he agreed to the deal. What happened next? Keep reading our Henry’s Humdingers update to find out!
We have tragic news to report. The deal with Robert and Mark never did finalize, and in January 2019, Henry shut down his business due to low sales, following the loss of his family’s farm. Then in April 2019, the family’s home burned to the ground, causing Henry’s mom to be injured and the loss of several pets. Henry said the experience taught him that family was truly the only thing that mattered. This will be our final Henry’s Humdingers update.
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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!