‘Shark Tank’ preview: Barbell Apparel, PupBox, Line Cutterz, EnergyBits, and Bantam Bagels
Tonight, “Shark Tank” is airing an episode that, at least for entertainment, could have a lot of potential. We’ve got four very different products, ones that we can see the Sharks having a wide range of positive and negative opinions about depending on the person. We’ve also got Daymond John on the show, which we always love even if we do get bummed out when Barbara Corcoran’s not around (the picture above’s from an episode earlier this season).
We’re also getting an update on Bantam Bagels, otherwise known as one of the few products that legitimately makes us hungry every time they’re featured. They’ve clearly done well since the show, and have a new website to boot. Clearly, keeping that name, despite advice not to, has managed to work out for them.
Check out our quick-take on all of these products below! Remember, for more info all you gotta do is click on the individual links. Update: Be sure to also check out our review!
EnergyBits – The product is derived from spirulina algae, one that the company boasts has a number of various health benefits. There are tiny bites that are extremely high in protein, have many different nutritional properties, and are meant to help boost your energy without caffeine or some dangerous chemicals. In theory, that all sounds great. The problem that we’ve got with this as a business is that it’s not a guarantee as far as effectiveness goes — for some people, it may work better than others. Paying $120 to try something that may not work for a given person sounds, at least to us, like too much of a gamble for the ordinary consumer to take. Also, we don’t see the idea of eating algae to be altogether appealing to many people unless they try it first. This is the sort of product that really needs a deal so it can have demonstrations at retailers and actually have its customers try before they buy.
PupBox – Love this. It’s basically Loot Crate for your dog, except filled a little bit more with essentials. You give the company information about your puppy, and they cater products to it and send you new boxes every month. Given how much people are willing to spend on their animals, we have a hard time envisioning anyone being altogether upset about pouring out the money for something like this. It’s something fun, and establishes a better connection between a pet owner and their furry friend. We’re also a dog lover, so we may be slightly more partial to this as a business because of that.
Barbell Apparel – As someone who visits the gym probably once a year, it’s not the product for us. Yet, we can take ourselves and our own ego out of the equation when determining whether or not something is a good brand, and this probably is. While fashion lines struggle with finding a level of uniqueness, catering to high-performance athletes and weightlifters in particular is a niche that isn’t quite explored beyond workout gear. We like the name, and there’s a clear understanding of the target audience and their interests. Prices are at least comparable with what you’d probably spend for equivalent clothing items at a relatively-upscale shopping mall.
Line Cutterz – First, let’s dock the business a point for violating our #1 rule for any “Shark Tank” business: Putting a Z at the end of your name rather than an S and acting like your somewhat cool or edgy. It’s irritating. The product itself sounds fascinating as a ring that cuts fishing line. You’ve got a guy in Daymond John on the show who is a frequent fisherman, so he’ll be a much better judge of this business’ effectiveness than anyone else. If he’s not interested, we could see this business having a tough time because we feel like the other Sharks in this instance are going to trust his judgement.
We’ll be back later at this link for some more news, whether it be video previews of the individual products to a review coming up later tonight. Stay tuned! (Photo: ABC.)