Ready, Set, Food Update | Shark Tank Season 11
Childhood allergies are on the rise, and foods like milk, peanut butter, and eggs create trouble for children and parents. The three entrepreneurs who created Ready, Set, Food! are working with new clinical trials to combat that. What do the sharks think of this program and Season 11 pitch? Find out in our
Shark Tank Ready, Set, Food! Update
- Entrepreneur: Daniel Zakowski, Dr. Katie Marks-Cogan, and Dr. Andy Leitner
- Business: Additives to prevent food allergies in infants
- Ask: $350,000 for 7% equity
- Result: $350,000 for 10% equity
- Shark: Mark Cuban
Daniel Zakowski, Dr. Katie Marks-Cogan, and Dr. Andy Leitner created Ready, Set, Food! based on clinical trials about allergies in children. Dr. Marks-Cogan explains the science behind the product: if you give infants common allergens like peanuts, eggs, and milk in their formula, they are much less likely to develop an allergy to them later in life.
This is essential because these allergies can be deadly. They also make it incredibly hard for kids, because they’ll have special dietary needs at school and beyond. This product hopes to combat 80% of childhood allergies with their 6-month program for babies. The powder is added to their milk or formula, and they don’t even taste it.
Ready, Set, Food! has raised nearly $2.5 million in investments and has done $250,000 in just a few months. Their plans are six months long and can be purchased in one order or purchased as a subscription for slightly more.
The sharks are interested in the product, and the fact that their claims are backed by doctors certainly helps. However, Barbara Corcoran doesn’t think the product does a great job of explaining itself, and most parents will need the education to buy into the idea. Therefore, she’s out first.
Kevin O’Leary gives them two different options for a deal: $350,000 for 11% equity or $350,000 as a 36-month loan with 8% interest and 4% stake.
Before they can make a decision, Lori Greiner also makes an offer. She will give $350,000 as a loan at 2% interest, plus 7% equity and a $1 per unit royalty until she earns $500,000. The entrepreneurs have a lot to think about.
Guest shark Rohan Oza is a little more reserved. He doesn’t think the awareness is there for this product to succeed, and marketing it would be a financial nightmare because of that. He drops out of the deal.
Mark Cuban, on the other hand, thinks that parents might do their own research and be looking for a solution. On the back of that, he offers $350,000 for 10% equity and 2% in advisory shares. He has a condition, though: For each subscription they sell, they’ll give one away to a low-income family at no cost.
The entrepreneurs counter the offer at a straight 9.5% equity, with no advisory share. Mark goes up to 10% and they all agree on the deal. Is Ready, Set, Food! doing the good work they set out to do? We’ll find out in our
Ready, Set, Food! is still going strong! In addition to their early-stage peanut butter, milk, and peanut allergen packets, they’ve added a 9-food option for children eating pureed food. Allergens covered in this option include peanut, egg, milk, cashew, almond, walnut, sesame, soy, and wheat.
You can get both on a guided system that helps you learn how to introduce the supplement. They also have an option for children that are intolerant to milk and eggs, which only helps to protect against peanut allergies. All of these different options are available on its website.
During our Ready, Set, Food! Update, we discovered that the company is doing about $3 million annually, and has had multiple investments from other companies.
You can find the other company updates from Season 11 Episode 12 here:
Don’t forget to take a look at our Season 11 products page! We’ve got more company updates from
