Where Is Brazi Bites From Shark Tank Today?
When the sharks get a craving for a tasty food deal, it can be a feeding frenzy in the "Shark Tank." Brazi Bites brought its Brazilian cheese bread (Pão de queijo) to "Shark Tank" Season 7. Although the food brand hoped to earn a Shark partner, Brazi Bites created a buzz that helped it keep growing beyond its featured episode.
Arriving in the Tank, Brazi Bites founders, Cameron MacMullin and Junea Rocha pitched the group a $200,000 investment in exchange for 10% equity. As the Sharks nibbled on the four cheese bread flavors, everyone was impressed with the gluten-free snack. Made with tapioca flour, the bake from frozen food uses a family secret recipe. The food brand touted the easy preparation, gluten-free categorization, and crowd-pleasing flavor. It provided findings that the Brazilian cheese bread found a loyal audience and continued to gain market share.
While offers appeared fast and furious, the wrinkle arose during negotiations. The brand's founders had only 50% total equity in their company and that caused Kevin O'Leary and Daymond John to rescind their offers. Lori Greiner was the last shark standing. Brazi Bites accepted her offer of $200,000 for 16.5% equity.
Today, Brazi Bites can be found in over 17,000 stores including warehouse stores, national retailers, and online. In addition to its Brazilian cheese bread, the food brand offers pizza bites, empanadas, and breakfast sandwiches.
Was the Brazi Bites Shark Tank deal finalized?
While seemed that Brazi Bites hit the "Shark Tank" jackpot with Lori Greiner's deal, the post-Tank reality might not have signaled calm waters ahead. Brazi Bites founder, Junea Rocha spoke to Startup to Storefront about the company, the "Shark Tank" experience, and how to build a successful food brand. During the interview, Rocha revealed that both parties decided to mutually part ways on the Shark Tank deal. From Lori's team wanting a longer lead time and higher targets to Brazi Bites not wanting a delayed deal as they leveraged their market traction, the amicable decision to split ways was made. Even though a Shark might not have a monetary stake in Brazi Bites, the exposure gave the food brand a platform to become a successful business.
Rocha explained that the "Shark Tank" exposure caused the food brand to sell out after the episode aired. Sales soared to $10 million a year. Later in the brand's evolution, it sought private equity to help solidify its market position and continue its growth, and today, that firm is the majority stakeholder, but Rocha and MacMullin retain leadership positions in the company.
Rocha mentioned that Brazi Bites is focused on leveraging content creation to increase consumer interest. With a new, yet-to-be-revealed item launching in August 2023, she appreciates that keeping market share requires innovation and that the product line needs to expand in ways that keep people excited to make another purchase.
How many products does Brazi Bites offer?
Finding a snack that checks all the boxes yet is flavorful, enjoyed by a wide audience, and easy to make can be a tall task, but Brazi Bites focuses on products that are simple, recognizable, and have a proven track record of being popular among consumers. Currently, Brazi Bites sells five flavors under its Brazilian Cheese Bread line, including the newest flavor launched in 2023, Everything. These current offerings are different from the four flavors showcased on Shark Tank. Still, they present flavors that capture food trends, popular flavors, and traditional offerings. In addition, the brand's Instagram page often gives suggestions on how to transform those snacks into more sophisticated recipes.
Since Brazi Bites is a frozen snack food company, its expansion into pizza bites made sense. Using the same tapioca flour base, the frozen-bake-enjoy snack offers three varieties. It also offers two types of empanadas and four options for breakfast sandwiches.
As Brazi Bites continues to be included in best-of lists and must-buy recommendations, the company appreciates that it must continue to connect with its customers. As founder Junea Rocha said in a podcast interview, balancing content creation with the support of its business partners will continue to successfully position the brand.