Mama’s Milk Box Update | Shark Tank Season 8

Elena Petzold was hoping to get a $200,000 investment for 20% equity for her apparel company for breastfeeding moms, Mama’s Milk Box. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to secure a deal with a shark during Season 8 of Shark Tank, which might have you looking for a Mama’s Milk Box update. 

Shark Tank Mama’s Milk Box Update

• Entrepreneur: Elena Petzold
• Business: Fashionable apparel for breastfeeding moms
• Ask: $200,000 for 20% equity
• Result: No Deal
• Shark: None

Elena was a mother of two who breastfed both of her children. She explained that she could relate to how difficult it was to feel good with what you were wearing. Nursing-friendly apparel, she said, just wasn’t stylish enough. This is why she created  Mama Milk Box, a subscription-based apparel company specifically for nursing moms. She was able to make $83,000 in sales for this side business at the time of her pitch.

After proving that she had a successful concept on hand, Elena was ready to take the plunge and go full-time. She was hoping that at least one shark would go on the journey with her. 

As soon as she was done with her presentation, the sharks got to work dissecting her company. Kevin O’Leary went first, telling her that her model created two issues: customer acquisition costs and inventory. Elena struggled to persuade Kevin. After several moments, Barbara Corcoran suggested that Elena relax and let the sharks do the talking for now. 

Eventually, the sharks found out that Elena already had $160,000 in inventory. She also had a line of credit and multiple credit cards. Her failure to answer their questions displayed to them that she didn’t really know what was going on with her business.  In particular, she was not able to provide Robert Herjavec an exact figure on how much she had spent on the business so far.

Due to her confusing answers, Mark Cuban, Barbara, and Kevin all went out. Robert followed suit after watching her deflect the questions without really providing any answers. Lori Greiner was the last to bow out because she felt that the subscription model would not work. 

As for our Mama’s Milk Box update, we have some bad news. The subscription service ended in November 2017. After Shark Tank, Mama’s Milk Box couldn’t sustain itself. Although Elena assured everyone that she would continue selling her designs directly to consumers,  it appears that she has stopped selling entirely since. 

Interested in more company updates from Shark Tank Season 8 Episode 13? Get them here:

• Grease Bags Update
• Pinblock Update
• Nice Pipes Apparel Update

For more Shark Tank Season 8 company updates, check out our Season 8 product page.