"All pierogies lead to Mr. Wonderful" - Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary makes a final offer to Jaju Pierogies

Preksha
Casey and Vanessa on Shark Tank (Image via Instagram/ @sharktankabc)
Casey and Vanessa on Shark Tank (Image via Instagram/ @sharktankabc)

Casey and Vanessa, entrepreneurs who own Jaju Pierogi, appeared on Shark Tank Season 16 episode 6 with their business model and product. The sisters, who hail from Boston, Massachusetts, are of Eastern European descent and have spent their childhood eating pierogies as snacks.

This prompted them to open a pierogi business with their grandfather's recipe. They revealed,

"Growing up in Western Massachusetts, we always had pierogi from our grandfather's deli in our freezer. There was no mac and cheese. If we were hungry, grab pierogi, fry them up in some butter."

Soon, the negotiations started, and Kevin was quick to ask about the value of the company and their profit margins. The numbers did not look great to the sharks, who started opting out one by one. Kevin had put down an offer on the table; however, the sisters were hesitant and wanted to hear out every shark first.

Robert said that he would invest if Daniel Lubetzky, who is also in the food space, would invest with him. But the latter denied, thus leading them back to Kevin's offer. The Shark Tank investor, gloating, quipped,

"All right! All pierogies lead to Mr. Wonderful... Here's my offer, listen carefully to it 'cause it's the only way I would do it. I work with the largest co-packers and distributors. Number two, Gluten Libre makes the most inexpensive pot stickers, dumplings, and pierogies. That's how you would get your costs down. I own that business."

He added,

"I bought it just to give me vertical strength in Brooklyn Dumplings. I don't know how tied you are to Jaju, but I'll offer $300,000 for 20%. I have the distribution. I have the co-packer. I have the protein maker. And I didn't bring up the fact that I do a lot of sales on QVC as Chef Wonderful in this category. In fact, I own this category on QVC."

Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary makes an offer to Jaju Pierogi

After making an offer to Jaju Pierogi, Lori tried to chime in and offer a joint deal on Shark Tank. However, Kevin was quick to shut her down and said that he does not need her on this. For a second, the sisters got excited that Lori might be in on the deal; however, they were back to being disappointed.

Kevin tried to tell them that his workplace will have them amazed, and it will significantly bring the costs of making pierogies down for them, which will, in turn, increase their profit margins.

However, the sisters denied the offer. During their post-pitch interview, they said,

"We came in to make a deal, but we know that the value of the work we put into this business and the value of the emotional connection we have with our customers, and the quality of our product. And we are confident we can move from here."

Shark Tank Season 16 episodes release weekly on ABC at 8 PM Eastern Time on Fridays. They are later available to watch on Hulu.

Edited by Preksha