‘Shark Tank’ preview: MTailor, Bee Free Honee, SmartPlate, Float Baby, and Ilumi
Friday night’s new episode of “Shark Tank” is going to be fascinating for a variety of different reasons. For one, it marks the third appearance of Chris Sacca in the Tank this season, which suggests that he is going to have much more of a presence than we thought he would at the start of the season. (We’re certainly all for more of him, since we find him entertaining.) Also, this is the first episode in two years to feature both Daymond John and Barbara Corcoran, as Lori Greiner misses her first episode in a rather long stretch of time, as well. (Mark Cuban, Sacca, John, Corcoran, and Kevin O’Leary are the Sharks in this episode.)
As usual, we’re going to start this article off with the synopsis:
“An entrepreneur from Philadelphia hopes the Sharks don’t take a bite out of him while pitching a smart plate containing food-recognition technology that could solve all your dieting problems; two energetic women from Minneapolis, MN have created a sweetener that tastes just like honey, but not made by bees. The Sharks crack up at the sight of a Houston, TX-based entrepreneur’s unique spa business for babies; and a perhaps too-confident Stanford grad from San Francisco, CA believes he’s at the forefront of where high tech meets fashion for men’s custom shirts. In a follow-up on Ilumi, the company in which Mark Cuban invested in during Season 5, we see how their wirelessly controlled LED lights have illuminated the business world.”
Bee Free Honee – We worry typically about any product that claims to be a substitute for some real thing that we like, but the idea of an apple-based honey as a substitute for actual honey could seriously work! We can picture the flavor profile in our head as an interesting idea, and we do like the message that they are trying to spread and promote about preserving the natural lives of honeybees. Obviously taste is a huge component here we cannot say whether or not this would for sure be a product worthy of a deal, but the needle is pointing up at the moment.
Float Baby – This is an interesting concept, and one that we’re admittedly not familiar with: A place where infants can “float” in tubs of water, be massaged, and helped to relax. It’s almost like a spa with a place for parents to socialize and discuss shared interests. This idea is going to be more of a struggle to pass along to investors, largely because you’re having to show with a limited sample size that this is something that works and can be scaled.
MTailor – Basically a way to be measured and buy custom shirts in a very short amount of time. It’s a very neat innovation as far as an app goes, and it’s admittedly something that we could even use as someone who’s in the market for some new dress shirts. One thing we do like is that we just searched “tailored shirt app” while writing this and they were the first business to come up. That does inspire a little bit of hope.
SmartPlate – Just in the case you’ve ever had a curiosity to analyze your food right before you eat it, this is the product for you! The technology behind this is amazing, and for those out there who are seriously monitoring calories and portion control, it could be a great educational tool. From an investor standpoint, though, this is a risk. They’re only taking pre-orders now, so how can you prove for certain that this is an idea consumers will bite on?
If you want to see some other highlights from “Shark Tank” this season, be sure to head over to the link here! Also, sign up over here to score some other TV news on everything we cover, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)