‘Shark Tank’ preview: Basic Outfitters, Victory Coffees, Naturally Perfect Dolls, PDX Pet Design
Tonight, “Shark Tank” is finally back! The first new episode of 2017 is airing on ABC tonight, and over the course of that hour we are going to have some wonderful opportunities to see a wide range of products and some potentially contentious debates. We’ve also got a panel tonight that includes Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Daymond John, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec — cheers for having Daymond on board this week! He’s always one of our favorites to watch, even though we also love Barbara Corcoran. (Anytime we go down this road of debating shark vs. shark, we always end up wishing that all six were on every episode.)
One thing that we’ll say with this preview — which focuses on all of the products tonight — is that we had a chance to watch this episode over the holidays. There are no major spoilers ahead, but we do have a little more insight in crafting this preview because of that.
Basic Outfitters – Are you a man looking to get high-quality underwear, socks, and other essential clothing items for a very small amount of money? We do genuinely think that this is the company for you! The amount of product that you get for the price is outstanding.
In the Tank, you’re going to see the company impress the Sharks right away; however, an unexpected snag could threaten their ability to strike a deal.
Victory Coffees – When you look at the company’s patriotic look and feel online, it feels fairly obvious just who the target audience is here: Super-patriotic Americans who want their coffee to scream “Merica!” at them. There’s certainly nothing wrong with celebrating your country, and it’s great that the business is run by veterans and works to support them. The issue we see here is that beyond the branding (which is fairly brilliant), what else is there? How do you make this stand out from a billion other coffee brands or against the mega-coffee giant Starbucks? Also, it’s hard to convince people to order coffee online unless they are really looking for a flavor profile they cannot get in stores.
Naturally Perfect Dolls – Another really wonderful idea. Dolls are a way to provide positive affirmations sometimes and to show young women they don’t need to conform to a ridiculous public standard of beauty. We love that this product exists, but the obvious issue here comes via the price. Paying over $80 for a doll, when there are so many cheaper options is going to be a hard sell for consumers. There are also other products out there that are working to adopt a similar mission statement.
PDX Pet Design – This is, by far, one of the weirdest presentations we’ve ever seen. They’ve got two different products that they are showing off tonight. One of them is SHRU, an intelligent pet companion that helps to entertain your cat while you’re away. The other, meanwhile, is LICKI Brush, a thing you literally put in your mouth so you can simulate licking your cat as a form of social bonding. We don’t doubt the science; the problem with something like this is the struggle to get people who aren’t familiar with the idea to take it seriously.
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We’ll be back tonight with a further review of everything that happens on “Shark Tank” tonight over at the link here! Tell us which product you are the most excited about in the comments section below, and be sure to come back for more news. (Photo: ABC.)