Raven Thomas and the Painted Pretzel began in her kitchen when she made her first pretzels for Christmas Gifts. Her friends loved the pretzels so much that they talked her into selling them. Orders picked up, and she soon needed a commercial kitchen to make her pretzels.
the Painted Pretzel has unique toppings
Each pretzel comes with unique toppings that she selects and then distributes to places like Neiman Marcus. She loves the company and wants to continue to grow the business. Her Painted Pretzel’s sell in tins to Neiman Marcus at the cost of $14.50 with the total cost at $7 to produce. Neiman Marcus sells the Painted Pretzel online and in their stores.
Season: 3 Episode306
First Run: 2012/2/24
Shark: Lori Greiner, Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec
Company: The Painted Pretzel
Entrepreneur: Raven Thomas
Ask: $100,000 for 25% equity
Update: from Season 3
Deal: Mark Cuban
The Painted Pretzel landed in Neiman Marcus stores, often selling out the same day they stocked the treat. In her last 12 months, she produced $75,000 in sales. Raven received an order for $64,000 the week before her Shark Tank presentation. She currently is unable to fill $144,000 in product orders and turned down a 2 million dollar deal from Sam’s Club because she cannot handle the pretzel order.
The Shark Tank deal is a cash infusion so she can step up production of the Painted Pretzel and fill orders she currently cannot handle.
The Shark on the Painted Pretzel
The Sharks chime in on the deal, and Kevin O’Leary wants to know what is unique about this business over other Pretzel companies. He goes out almost immediately as Raven tells him because of her passion and love for her business.
Ironically, Kevin ripped the pretzel deal apart but now finds himself investing in many food products that could are duplicable.
Mark sees an opportunity to sell the pretzels at the Dallas Maverick’s games as well as in the Landmark Theater Chain. He gives her $100,000 for 25% equity.
You would think the story ends happily, but the Painted Pretzel is receiving several negative reviews online, with numerous customers not receiving orders and are unable to contact Raven and the Painted Pretzel team. She reportedly has complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau as well.
The website is a little outdated, and some of the products are no longer available. Customers are ordering through the site and claiming that their orders are taking weeks, while some don’t arrive at all.
I’m not sure if someone is embarking on a negative campaign against her. I don’t think this is the case due to the number and types of complaints.
Similar Gourmet Pretzels offered on Amazon seem comparable, so if you are looking for a treat, you might check out what they have available.