The Cookie Dough Café Update | Shark Tank Season 5

Joan Pacetti and Julie Schmid know that deep down, people want to eat cookie dough without fear of salmonella or judgment. They based their business on this guilty pleasure, but will the sharks chip in on Shark Tank Season 5? Find out in The Cookie Dough Café update!

Shark Tank The Cookie Dough Café Update

The Cookie Dough Café Update

  • Entrepreneurs: Joan Pacetti, Julie Schmid
  • Business: Edible cookie dough
  • Ask: $50,000 in exchange for 20% equity
  • Results: $100,000 in exchange for 30% equity
  • Sharks: Lori Greiner and Steve Tisch

Sisters Joan and Julie understood that one of the best things about making cookies is sneaking a taste of the raw dough. They developed a gourmet cookie dough that is safe to eat, and started The Cookie Dough Café.

The two wanted to be in mass production so that they could become a national brand, but to do that they needed more production space. They invested a total of $35,000 to start their business, and had been up and running for about a year.

Each pint of cookie dough cost $2.20 to make, and retailed for $6.99. The sales to-date were just $24,000, but the women were hopeful that an upcoming purchase order from a 50-store chain would raise their sales substantially. Kevin O’Leary pressed them a bit on their current sales, and he wasn’t impressed to hear that their best-selling store had only $11,000 in sales in one year.

Julie explained that they needed the $50,000 investment to purchase equipment that would help automate their process, as packaging the dough was the most time-consuming aspect of the business. They also needed help understanding how to work with manufacturers.

Daymond John loved the dough, but he said at this early phase, he’d rather be a customer than an investor. Mark Cuban agreed that it was too early in the game, and said the company would require a lot of work. Kevin thought the current sales indicated the product would never be profitable enough for his resources. Daymond, Mark and Kevin were out.

The sisters had only Lori Greiner and guest shark Steve Tisch to sell on their idea. Joan told Lori that they did have big names, such as Walgreens, approach them about carrying their product– they just didn’t have the capacity to fulfill the orders.

Lori understood their predicament, and said she wanted to work with them. Steve agreed, saying he had plenty of connections that could help boost the product. Lori and Steve offered $100,000 in exchange for a 40% stake in the company. Julie pushed back, saying she would rather do $50,000 in exchange for 20%. Lori and Steve revised their offer, and proposed $100,000 in exchange for 30%, and the women accepted.

Now that Joan and Julie have partnered with Lori and Steve, what happened next for their company? Keep reading The Cookie Dough Café update to find out!

We have great news to share in The Cookie Dough Café update! The company is still in business in 2023, with an estimated annual revenue of around $5 million. The brand is sold across the country, carried by many different grocery chains and convenience stores. It can also be ordered directly from The Cookie Dough Café website, and on Amazon.

Would you like to learn about the other companies featured on Season 5 Episode 16? Follow the links below for our other company updates from the episode.

For even more on companies and products, be sure to stop by our Season 5 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!