Veggie Mama Popsicles | Shark Tank Season 5
Getting kids to eat healthy food can be a challenge! That’s why parents Teresa and Robert Fraijo came up with a clever solution to this problem! Their frozen pops blend fruit and vegetables, tricking kids into eating their veggies. Will they earn a deal on
Shark Tank Veggie Mama Update
- Entrepreneurs: Teresa and Robert Fraijo
- Business: Popsicles with fruits and veggies
- Ask: $75,000 in exchange for 15% equity
- Result: $75,000 in exchange for 25%
- Sharks: Barbara Corcoran and Mark Cuban
Teresa and Robert brought their Veggie Mama frozen fruit and veggie pops to the tank. Teresa shared that getting her boys to eat their vegetables was always a struggle, so she often hid spinach and carrots in their smoothies. She came up with the idea for popsicles when other moms told her they were too busy to whip up smoothies for their kids. When Teresa presented the sharks with samples, they were wowed by how tasty they were.
The products were selling at Whole Foods, and more recently, Sprouts Farmers Markets. At the time of filming, the company’s total sales were at $30,000. The sharks were surprised to hear that the couple had their own manufacturing facility, prompting Mark Cuban to ask how much they had personally invested. Teresa raised eyebrows when she answered $140,000– more than four times the dollar amount of their sales.
With that, Barbara Corcoran and Mark both thought Veggie Mama was a hot potato and they didn’t want to get burned. Mark was first to go out, saying he hated the frozen foods business. Immediately after, Barbara voiced concerns about their upside down numbers, causing her to go out next.
Kevin O’Leary was interested and offered $75,000 in exchange for $0.50 from every unit sold. Once the $75,000 had been repaid, he would then take $0.25 from every unit sold for perpetuity. Robert Herjavec was also interested, offering $75,000 in exchange for 25% equity, plus an additional $75,000 within the next year to bring Robert Fraijo, on board full time. It was a remarkably generous offer, but the Fraijos thanked him and looked to the next sharks for offers.
Lori Greiner offered $75,000 in exchange for 20% equity. Kevin jumped in again and doubled his original offer, apparently inspired by Robert. He would write a check for $150,000 in exchange for $0.50 per unit sold until he was repaid. After that, he would get $0.25 per unit sold for perpetuity.
Unfortunately for the Fraijos, while Kevin was proposing his new offer, Lori and Robert decided to scrap their old offers, team up, and present a new offer, together. Robert offered $75,000 for 20% and another $75,000 for Robert Fraijo to come work for Veggie Mama full time. However, now, he and Lori wanted $0.20 for every unit sold, in addition to the equity.
The Fraijos said they would accept the new offer if Robert and Lori would drop the royalties, but Robert said the royalties were justified given that the Fraijos would be getting two sharks instead of one. With the new development, Mark and Barbara decided to pair up and get back in. They offered $75,000 in exchange for a 20% stake, and no royalties. The Fraijos gladly accepted their offer!
Now that Teresa and Robert have walked away with a double shark deal, what do you think happened next for their company? Keep reading our Veggie Mama update to find out!
We have some interesting news to share in our Veggie Mama update! It looks as though the company may have run out of steam about five years after their 2013
Would you like to learn about the other companies featured on Season 5 Episode 5? Follow the links below for our other company updates from the episode.
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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!