Parker’s Real Maple Syrup Update | Shark Tank Season 8

In Shark Tank Season 8, Joshua Parker, an 18-year-old entrepreneur bravely faced the sharks to pitch Parker’s Real Maple Syrup. The New York-based company was founded by Joshua in 2013 when he was still 15 years old, after years of research on how to make a business out of making maple syrup. Understandably, the sharks were impressed with Parker’s ability to present himself so well and his business acumen. However, despite his best efforts, Parker still left without a deal. If you’re wondering what happened after Shark Tank, we’ve got a Parker’s Real Maple Syrup update!

Shark Tank Parker’s Real Maple Syrup Update

Parker’s Real Maple Syrup Update

  • Entrepreneur: Joshua Parker
  • Business: Maple syrup company
  • Ask: $200,000 for 20% equity
  • Result: No deal
  • Shark: None

The sharks are always happy to see young entrepreneurs on the show, and Joshua Parker was no exception. After introducing himself and giving the sharks samples of his syrup, Joshua shared that he was after a $200,000 investment for 20% equity in his company. He then followed it up with the story of how Parker’s Real Maple Syrup started after a school field trip to a maple farm when he was 11 and since then, he’s worked hard to study how to make maple syrup, as well as maple syrup products.

At the time of the pitch on Shark Tank, Parker’s Real Maple Syrup had already been in operation for a little over three years and had sold $360,000 worth of product. In terms of sales, Parker’s Real Maple Syrup was projected to sell around $1.5 million in 2016 with a $100,000 order for one of its products, maple syrup butter, already secured from Costco.

Unfortunately, while all the sharks agreed that the maple syrup products tasted good and the sales figures seemed to line up, the sharks were less enthusiastic once they found out about the thin profit margins and the $300,000 worth of outstanding loans.

Barbara Corcoran was the first shark to drop out, saying that Joshua was overly optimistic with his projected sales numbers for 2016. Mark Cuban was next. However, he did give Joshua advice. In particular, he told him to focus on marketing the healthy aspects of the company’s products and to double the price. Both Robert Herjavec and Lori Greiner dropped out soon after, but not before complimenting Joshua’s drive. This left Kevin O’Leary as the last shark.

Early on in the show, Kevin delighted audiences with a story of how he worked for a maple syrup maker back in his collegiate years. He explained that he was so enthusiastic about his job that his friends referred to him as “Maple Man.” Alas, his days as the “Maple Man” were long ago and now that he is a shark, Kevin thought that the company just wasn’t profitable enough to make a deal.

In terms of a Parker’s Real Maple Syrup update, it’s been a few years since Joshua appeared on Shark Tank and a lot has happened. For one, Joshua’s since gotten married to his longtime girlfriend, Alessandra. More importantly, the business took off after his appearance on Shark Tank. Joshua described the years after Shark Tank in a blog as “four years of explosive growth.”

In fact, by 2020, Parker’s Real Maple Syrup was estimated to be worth $10 million. Then, by June 2020, was acquired by The Forest Farmers, a company based in Upstate New York that was founded in 2016 by his mentor, Michael Farrell.

Joshua explained that the acquisition would allow Parker’s Real Maple Syrup to innovate more, improve order fulfillment and customer service, and make its limited-quantity items more widely available.

As you read our Parker’s Real Maple Syrup update, the company has grown to become one of the top maple syrup brands in the United States. To date, Parker’s Real Maple Syrup continues to sell a wide variety of maple syrup products and Joshua promises to continue innovating and adding more products in the future.

With that said, there’s little doubt that the future has even more in store for Joshua, which makes us even more excited to do a future Parker’s Real Maple Syrup update.

In the meantime, be sure to check out some of our other Season 8 Episode 5 company updates:

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

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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!