54 Thrones Beauty Butter Update | Shark Tank Season 13
Shea butter beauty products are extremely popular right now and for good reason. Entrepreneur Christina Tegbe wants to use her family’s African beauty secrets and help the world with skincare. With a great mission and a ton of passion, what’s not to like? Will the sharks feel the same way? Find out on our
Shark Tank 54 Thrones Update
- Entrepreneur: Christina Tegbe
- Business: African shea butter skincare line
- Ask: $250,000 for 10% equity
- Result: $250,000 for 17.5% equity
- Shark: Kevin O’Leary and Nirav Tolia
Christina Tegbe has two master’s degrees and a lot of passion for African skincare. After quitting her job, she traveled around Africa and was able to connect with the women who make shea butter, argan oil, and other beauty ingredients.
Amazon productSo five years ago, she started 54 Thrones with the mission of ‘Trade not Aid,’ focusing on working with people in these countries instead of treating them as a humanitarian effort. 54 Thrones, named to recognize the 54 countries in Africa, was featured in Oprah’s Favorite Things. Christina also notes that she’s gotten a significant boost from the drive to find black-owned companies over the past year.
Last year, 54 Thrones did $500,000 in sales. Only $8,000 was spent on marketing and the company is on track to make a million dollars this year. So far, it’s done most of its revenue through direct-to-consumer sales. This year, 54 Thrones is launching online in Sephora and expanding to Nordstrom, which may create more retail sales than DTC sales.
One of the body butter tin collections sells for $80 retail, but it only costs Christina $12 to make, meaning the company has fantastic profit margins. The sharks are impressed by the numbers, but they are even more impressed with Christina herself. She knows her stuff and she has the passion to make the company work.
Robert Herjavec just isn’t passionate about skincare, so he’s out first thing. Mark Cuban is out too, but only because he doesn’t understand lotions, body butter, or other skincare products. He has no way to help. He calls her a rockstar, but it’s not for him to invest.
Kevin O’Leary thinks that it’s interesting and that she has a great business model. However, he doesn’t think he’s the right brand advocate.
Lori Greiner really enjoys the product, and it’s something she would usually invest in. However, she has previously invested in a similar product and feels it would be a conflict of interest. She drops out.
Guest shark Nirav Tolia has a personal interest in the product, as his wife works with Neutrogena. He says she’d want him to invest. He’s willing to give her half of the money if another shark will go in with him. Kevin takes that offer, and joins in at $250,000 for 20% equity, split between the two
Christina counteroffers for 15% equity, and they work to find a way to make it work, even considering an uneven split. Nirav isn’t picky about his equity, but Kevin wants at least 10%.
They counter her for 17.5% equity for the $250,000 investment. She decides to take the deal. She gets two sharks for the price of one! Is this a good move for her? Keep reading our 54 Thrones update to find out.
During research for our 54 Thrones update, we found that the company’s product line has now launched in Sephora, creating a huge boost to sales. Following the appearance on the show, Christina is offering coupons and sales to get her beauty products out there.
This company is already blowing up, and it’s only a matter of time before they are in retail stores everywhere. We can’t wait for our next 54 Thrones 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!