Food is the talk of the town currently. You can get all kinds of foods in the market now. Veganism is also on the rise. Many brands now come out with meat-free options to popularize themselves. Beth Zotter and Amanda Stiles developed a new product called Umaro Foods. It is a vegan-based brand that makes bacon that can be used by all who want to restrict themselves to a plant-based diet.
People are constantly looking for meat alternatives, and bacon is one of the foods vegans say they miss the most when they go meatless. Thus, it only makes sense for a brand like Umaro to replicate it. Umaro Foods is the brand that the duo created to sell products developed from their seaweed farming business. Seaweed has a lot of protein, making it all the more sense that the company would make meat-free protein products.
The thing that sets the brand apart is that it’s completely organic. They source their seaweed, and they grow it themselves. The company had the supply chain that set it apart. The company is also aware that real meat is very resource intensive. This factor means that farming seaweed can be environmentally friendly, which is severely required today.
The company also seemed to know a shortage of rightly-sourced vegan bacon. They are still an active company since veganism is constantly on the rise. Now that we know what the product and the company are about, let’s look at how the Shark Tank pitch went.
The pitch started with the entrepreneurs talking about the vegan protein food scene. They spoke of how the market exploded, but everyone used the same materials. They then introduced Umaro, a red seaweed sample, in a little canister. They showed how the seaweed transformed from plant to protein, and the judges seemed very interested.
The duo Shark Tank is asking for $500,000 for 2% equity. The two then talked about how seaweed was one of the fastest growing plants on earth and all its other benefits. One of the main benefits was that it didn’t require many resources to produce. Seaweed needed no land, no fresh water, and no fertilizer. They then talked a little more about their company; they spoke of all their expertise. They continue to further talk about how they were pioneers in ocean farming and were trying to unlock all the mysteries that came along with that.
Every word out of their mouths hooked the judges and reeled them in. They then talked about how they were using the seaweed to create vegan bacon. There were cheers around the judges’ table as they revealed the bacon. Everyone was excited. They then dropped numbers, and the sharks remained excited.
The pitch seemed like it was off to a great start. They presented some samples, and the Sharks dug in. The reviews were mixed. Many judges felt like the taste just wasn’t there. However, Mark followed through on the crispy bacon and said as much. He seemed to be really on par with the entrepreneurs. The judges also said that they liked the sandwich.
The entrepreneurs then got into their backgrounds. Zotter had a background in renewable energy and stated that she had gotten a $5 million grant to look into offshore energy fuel, which led to her discovery of seaweed alternatives. She also said that she wanted to protect the plant. Amanda Stiles is a protein expert who wishes to reduce factory farming. Stiles has a Ph.D. in sand biochemistry.
They also talked about how they were the first company to commercialize seaweed and had intellectual property. They were also patented. Robert thought that they were keeping their market too less for the aims that they had for the company. He believed that the valuation was off, and he was out. Emma Grede also thought the valuation was off, and she’s out too. Kevin is out too. Mark then went In for $1 million for an 8% stake. Lori then offered $500K for a 4% stake. Lori and Mark are battling it out. The deal ends with Mark Cuban, and the offer is $1 million for a 7% stake.
Our Review of Umaro Foods
There are pros and cons to every product we hear about on Shark Tank. We have listed some of the pros and cons below:
Pros of Umaro Foods
- It is environmentally friendly. The product is environmentally friendly, so you don’t have to worry about the carbon footprint you’ll be leaving behind.
- It is innovative. Zotter and Stiles both talked about how they were on the brink of cutting-edge technology, which shows in how they presented the product.
- It has great expertise. Both the women seem to know what they’re doing, so there are no holdups regarding the company’s progress.
Cons of Umaro Foods
- It doesn’t exactly taste like bacon, so they may have to invest further funding into marketing and sampling.
Who Is Umaro Foods For?
Umaro Foods is for everyone who wants a different outlook on food and eating. It’s for everyone who wants to eat good and healthy food. It is also for those who want to reduce their carbon footprint and make the world a better place. Umaro foods are generally for people conscious of their impact on this world.
Are There Any Alternatives?
There aren’t any natural alternatives to Umaro foods since they use seaweed as their source of protein and have a different procurement method. However, there are companies like Unreal Deli, Beyond Burgers, and Legendary Burger, which are pretty close to the premise of what Umaro Foods represents.
Our Final Thoughts
We thought that this pitch and this product were one for the ages. Zotter and Stiles managed to cover all their bases in the product, and it seems they would only continue to grow. It is an environmentally friendly venture, and since more people are growing aware of what this means, the growth of the product is inevitable. The product is also well researched and appropriately priced.
