‘Shark Tank’ review: Grease Bags, Mama’s Milkbox, NicePipes warmers, and Pinblock
Tonight, “Shark Tank” returned for its second new episode of the year, and there a wide array of different products. There were some new innovations, improvements on some existing items, and a guy who’s really looking to create the next great building block.
As always with our episode reviews, we’re doing this live! Be sure to check back throughout the episode for some more updates on some of the products, and you can click on the link below to navigate over to the official product page.
Grease Bags – We love the idea behind the product, given that it is an environmentally-safe bag that you can use in order to safely dispose of grease. Yet, we do think that there was a good point made in the Tank: This is the sort of thing that environmentally-conscious people would jump at … if they ate a lot of food with grease. In between that and the price, we’re admittedly not all that sure on it.
Kudos to the hustle we saw during the presentation, though, since that was enough for Barbara Corcoran to take a risk here and make a deal.
Pinblock – One thing that we really love about this story is that this guy had an emotional background, but didn’t get emotional about it. He was frank, and even hopeful despite everything that he’s been through. The product even seems useful so far as toys go. It’s innovative, interesting, and artistic. The biggest problem that he ran into in the tank is that other than Kevin O’Leary, nobody had much of an interest in getting into the toy industry … and Kevin’s idea was far different than the original brand vision.
Yet, thanks in part to the advice of the other Sharks, he ended up taking Kevin’s offer — even if he ended up paying far more for it than he first planned because the other Sharks all went out. This was an interesting deal for him to make in the end; while he would lose 50% to Kevin if he ends up finding a day with a major toy company, at the same time he gets a chance to be comfortable with said deal first.
Mama’s Milkbox – This was frustrating. We don’t doubt her ability as a salesperson or someone passionate about breastfeeding fashion, we do think that she had a major problem in the Tank: She wouldn’t let some of the Sharks get in a few words edgewise. When they did, it didn’t feel like was listening. She had major accounting issues, she didn’t know all her financials, and by the end of it, we started to feel like she was just trying to play to the cameras more than give an accurate representation of who she was. The company could do well! This just wasn’t a good representation of it at all, and there was no deal.
NicePipes – While we were totally on Kevin’s side when it comes to the last presentation, he was unusually harsh on this business. Do we think it was a mistake to turn down 40% of her company to Barbara Corcoran, someone who could’ve turned this into a huge brand? Probably, but that’s just our feeling on it because while we think the idea of leg warmers and arm warmers with the same fabric as yoga pants is smart, there’s nothing original about it. She walked away in the end.
For some more news when it comes to “Shark Tank,” including some other highlights from this season, be sure to head over to the link here. (Photo: ABC.)