‘Shark Tank’ review: Safe Grabs, SandiLake Clothing, SiliDog, Parker’s Real Maple
Tonight’s new “Shark Tank” episode is just about here! We’re going to have more variety over the course of this episode, and to go along with that, products that run the gamut from food to clothing to dog tags. We don’t know how many of them end up with deals, but there are at least a few with potential. We like these episodes where there aren’t any going in that we feel like are, to quote Kevin O’Leary, ones worth being taken out to the back and shot.
We’ll have more updates in this live review throughout the episode airing, so be sure to check back for our take on all of the products and the deals!
SandiLake Clothing – Think of this as fun, edgy clothing for adults and their kids. Unfortunately, this pitch became more about the drama than the product, which we hate since it reminds us of one of our least-favorite trends with the show right now: Sharks going in with an offer and demanding to get an answer right away. We hate it when any Shark does it, in this case Barbara Corcoran took hers off the table when the woman behind the brand wanted to hear from Lori Greiner. We do think that Barbara’s offer was a tremendous one that would have made a ton of money, but we don’t think there is anything wrong with hearing what the other Sharks have to say. Our response to someone demanding an answer would simply be “I spent a lot of time and effort getting here, and it would be a disservice to my company to make an impulsive decision without all of the information. If you are investing in me, you should want someone who doesn’t make rash decisions.”
Parker’s Real Maple – Who doesn’t love maple syrup? This was a fun segment just from the vantage point of learning about Kevin O’Leary’s odd history with maple syrup, but the big problem here seemed to be twofold. First, food products are an extremely hard sell in the Tank since it’s such a competitive business. Also, the margins for some of the products were far too low and kept it from being profitable. He’s in a rough spot where he probably needs more cash to scale upward, but at the same time the margins make it hard for him to get such a deal.
Safe Grabs – Is this the sort of kitchen innovation you need? These silicon discs have multiple functions, whether it be a temporary lid or something to put under your food in the microwave. This was a Lori Greiner deal if there ever was one, so this was in many ways a super-predictable segment. It didn’t make sense for anyone else to try with this product, since to us it doesn’t really pop and it needs that sort of TV presence. In that environment, though, it can sell incredibly fast.
SiliDog – This is a silicon-made, noiseless dog tag that could change the game in this category forever. We like the product, we like the enthusiasm, and we loved that at least two or three deals in here seemed to be mostly a mechanism in order to further troll Barbara Corcoran. By and large, we’d say that this was a hoot to watch. The good news is that Lori got another deal out of it, and while we think Robert was the right choice here (he was the only one who really seemed to believe in the idea from the start), we don’t fault him for the choice.
Want to get some other news right now when it comes to “Shark Tank”? Then be sure to head over to the link here! (Photo: ABC.)