Entrepreneur Tania Patruno of Pro-NRG brings Super Bowl Champion Brandon Jacobs(Played for New York Giants/San Francisco 49ers) into the Shark Tank. She asks for $250,000 in exchange for 15% equity in Season 4 Episode 406.
Tania claims she was overweight and after trying all the fads, she was tired of not getting results. She set out to solve her problem, and that's how she came up with Pro-NRG.
Pro-NRG Product
The Energy Drink market is enormous and highly competitive. Tania brings excellent news to the Shark Tank; she already placed the protein-infused flavored water drink available in over 3,000 retail locations. She claims the beverage is all natural and tastes great. Robert tried it, and he disagrees.
Quick Facts:
- 4 oz. Bottle contains 15 Grams of Protein
- Zero Fat
- No Caffeine
- Absolutely No Sugar
She walked into the pitch with purchase orders, but needed cash and help to get her product nationwide.
Pro-NRG Marketing Strategy
Brandon Jacobs makes a personal claim, “I didn't get to where I am by playing a half a game. I play the whole game at a very, very high energy level, and Pro-NRG has done that for me.”
That's a big statement for Tania's company.
The Pro-NRG Tag line is “Unlocking the energy of protein™“, “rehydrate. replenish. refresh.”
Pro-NRG The Numbers
In just three months before entering Shark Tank, she managed to generate $126,000 in sales. That's pretty impressive, but what's more impressive is getting in 3,000 locations in a short period.
- Launched in 2011
- Tania invested $75,000
- Cost is $1.10 per bottle
- Wholesale is $1.80
- Retail is $3.99
The margins are not right, she is valuing the company at $1.7 million, and the numbers don't add up.
The Sharks on Pro-NRG
Mark Cuban – Out
- Likes name
- Thinks the drink is fine
- Pro-NRG easily copied
Believes Pro-NRG will be copied by all the others
Mark says the beverage is fine, but he believes that Pro-NRG will be knocked off by everyone. He wants to go where people aren't, and that's taking him out of the deal.
Daymond John – Deal $250,000 for 30% equity w/contingency
Daymond is working with Pro-NRG. However, it is unclear if a deal happened with BadAss Supplements.
Daymond doesn't like the valuation, and it is a tight market, but he's invested in supplement companies creating an opportunity to merge Pro-NRG.
His deal is contingent on taking the deal to “BadAss” and closing a deal with them. Brandon has to go with Daymond to make the pitch.
Kevin O'Leary – Out
Kevin delivers a round of questions as he tries to identify what Tania's primary pitch is. Unfortunately, the response doesn't answer his concern. Tania pitches the drink as being whatever you want it to be.
“What am I buying here? Do I get a boost? Am I trying to get jacked up, Or, am I simply trying to lose weight?”
Barbara Corcoran – Out
Barbara believes the branding and story are off base. Tania needs to use Brandon's pitch and the locker room story. Focus on a primary problem and solution.
Robert Herjavec – Out
Robert thinks she's doing a fantastic job selling her product, but it's not a market he wants in.
“Why does it taste so bad?”, after being offered a sample.
Robert asks a killer question that entrepreneurs get when they namedrop a player who supports you as an endorser, but not an investor. This is hard to overcome for most entrepreneurs, but not impossible.
But what happened to Pro-NRG?
It looks like Pro-NRG didn't make the cut after all. The energy drink is no longer available on Amazon, Walmart or any place else that we can see. The website is stagnant since 2013, the Facebook fan page hasn't had a post since 2014.
There is even a lawsuit from someone who claims to be one of the founders.
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