Jones Scones Update | Season 4
J. Jones makes and sells scones. He’s hoping to popularize this authentic British treat in America. Will any of the sharks invest on
Shark Tank Jones Scones Update
- Entrepreneur: J. Jones
- Business: Authentic British treat
- Ask: $100,000 for 25% equity
- Result: No deal
- Shark: None
J. came up with Jones Scones after spending time in the UK. Upon returning to the States, he couldn’t find anything reminiscent of the authentic British scones he had grown accustomed to. With his vision of creating a delicious and authentic scone in mind, he founded his company and began making scones.
Robert Herjavec was not a fan, asking if they were supposed to be dry. J. answered that his scones were typically moist, so a dry scone was “unusual” in his opinion. Lori Greiner told Robert that scones were supposed to be drier than muffins, with more of a biscuit-like texture.
Robert asked about sales, and J. said he had sold $5,000 worth of scones each month. Lori asked what made Jones Scones better than the competition, and J. referred to his unique style of cream and his use of all natural ingredients. In fact, it was this that helped him land in six Whole Foods locations.
Kevin O’Leary asked why Jones Scones weren’t picked up in all Whole Foods locations. J. revealed that his product once was in all Whole Foods locations, and he was selling $113,000 of scones each week. Kevin asked what happened, and J. recounted a story of his and his company’s failure.
J. said the business was doing well, and so he expanded from Denver to California using a new manufacturer. Unfortunately, J. failed to supervise his copacker the way he personally felt he should’ve, and so quality suffered and it was costly to fix the mistakes made during this time.
Robert confessed he wasn’t really into scones, but asked if there were competitors doing anything similar. J. said there were options on the market, but he was working to become the leading brand in a fragmented market.
Daymond John was concerned. He said that, since Jones Scones already had been in operation for many years, why did J. want $100,000 now? What was his plan for the money?
J. said he intended to spend the money on “food brokers,” a sales force of people aimed at getting people to try his scones. Daymond told J. he was a very likable guy, but he himself didn’t like the scone and, because he wasn’t excited about the product, he was out.
J. tried to save the deal, telling the sharks that each Whole Foods location was selling approximately $368 of scones per week. If each store in the Whole Foods portfolio sold the same, they should expect $250,000 in sales that year.
Robert cautioned against this line of thinking, stating that they are potential sales but it’s not reality. In reality, Jones Scones had been in decline already over mismanagement and failed quality control. Robert wanted to know what J. had learned that would prevent him from suffering the same setbacks this time.
In a word– “team.” J. said he felt building a capable team was the logical next step to improve his business’ operation. Mark Cuban immediately dismissed this response as “bullcrap,” as he felt it was J. admitting he was not in control of his own destiny. J. argued that each shark had their own valued team, but Mark seemed disengaged.
Robert said he hated to agree with Mark, but he felt Mark was correct. He felt J. was looking for a consultant or anyone outside of himself and his business to come in and fix the problems. J. disagreed, but Robert too seemed disengaged.
Lori said that, after ten years in the scones business, the fact that he now needed an investment signaled to her that something was wrong. She felt the scone was okay, but she wasn’t in love. For those reasons, Lori was out. Robert agreed with Lori, and said he didn’t feel he had the time to solve Jones Scones’ problems. He was out.
Kevin began his spiel stating that he made it a practice never to get emotional about his investments. The scones were good, in his opinion, but there was nothing proprietary about it. This left Mr. Wonderful with a question of whether or not Jones Scones demonstrated “executional excellence,” but Jones Scones failed here as well. Overall, Kevin felt he could not make money off of doing a deal with Jones Scones and, for that reason, he was out.
J. thanked the sharks for their time and excused himself from the tank. On his way out, Mark quietly tossed out, “And I’m out.” The sharks laughed because Mark actually never said he was officially out, but it was just as well because he wouldn’t have invested anyway.
What did J. do after the tank? Did he manage to get the product back into every Whole Foods location as planned? Keep reading our Jones Scones update to find out!
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for J. or Jones Scones. In 2018, he shut the doors for good and returned to practicing law. Jones Scones is out of business. Sometimes that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. This will be our final Jones Scones update.
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