THE FOLLOWING IS A ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO ABOVE
The first entrepreneur into the Shark Tank this week was presenting his business Apollo Peak and was seeking $100k in exchange for 10% of the business. He has developed an all natural wine for your pets. It uses no alcohol, but by creating concoctions out of things like catnip and beets, it gives your pets as rewarding an experience as a glass of your favorite wine.
As for his numbers, he started selling only 3 months before filming his segment and saw $192k in sales. Each 8oz bottle sells for $11.95 and costs $1.25 to make. He projects to see between $1.2 and $1.5 Million in sales in 2017.
Now, let’s be honest here. This product is absolutely hilarious! It’s the ultimate crazy cat lady product, but I do have to say, as a cat owner, I am intrigued by it. His sales are solid, his margins are excellent, and if he keeps selling like he did in the first three months, his projections are not off base at all. You also shouldn’t underestimate the insanity of pet owners! This product is obviously not a necessity for your pets. He didn’t boast any special health benefits to the beverage. It’s not a substitute for your pet’s normal diet. It’s a treat! It’s an expensive treat, but a treat nonetheless.
As for the Sharks, they were all taken aback by the apparent absurdity of this product, but I mainly want to focus on two excellent points that were made by Kevin.
The first comment he made was somewhat negative. Being priced at $11.95, this tiny bottle of pet wine is more expensive than many full sized bottles of actual wine you would see on the shelves of your local grocery store! Kevin’s obvious worry here is that the average pet owner would see this price and find it outrageous.
Later on, Kevin made another excellent point that was a bit more positive. Cats are finicky. They like some things, they hate others, and it’s different from cat to cat. Many cat owners try several different foods and diets to find what their cat loves and the stick with that brand forever. Kevin believes that if they can get enough owners to try this out and their cat get’s hooked on the taste, those owners will start buying it by the case!
When it came to the offers, there were only two. After some countering, both Kevin and Daymond came in at $100k in exchange for 20% of the business. After considering the advantages of each partner, the entrepreneur went with Kevin.
I am so interested to see how this product does. I’m definitely in the boat of being put off by the price. I could see that price point making more sense if they promised some kind of health benefit for my cats, but I am absolutely not one to spoil my furry friends to that degree. If they end up bringing down the price, or are willing to send me a bottle to use for a review, then I would definitely be willing to give it a try and see if my cats take to it!