J’aaron Merchant, Jasmine Hudson and Madia Willis pitch Black Paper Party, their holiday wrapping paper, gift bags, ornaments, greeting cards, and decor featuring people of color, in Shark Tank episode 1510, the season 15 “Holiday Special.” To put it bluntly, they didn’t like mainstream holiday decor that didn’t represent their backgrounds. They wanted imagery of Black families and their experiences that, until now, were underrepresented during the holiday season. Since they all have backgrounds in illustration and design, they got to work and created their product.
They have been successful in getting their products on the shelves at major retailers like Wal Mart, Target, CVS and Family Dollar. Their designs look like any other holiday decor, except they feature black and brown people, holiday elves, Santas, even gnomes.
The products aren’t limited to Christmas season either. They have plans for black and brown themed products for other holidays like Valentine’s Day and Easter. Their prices lean towars the premium side at around $10 per roll of wrapping paper, but it appears they are selling as they’re out of stock on a number of items just three days before their initial air date. The ladies are probably in the Tank to raise awarenes as much as they are there for an investment.
Company Information
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Posts about Black Paper Party on Shark Tank Blog
The Black Paper Party Revolutionizes Holiday Decor
Black Paper Party Shark Tank Recap
J’aaron, Jasmine and Madia enter the Shark Tank seeking $250,000 for 5% equity in their company. They say the true meaning of the holidays is spending time with the ones you love, but if you ask any kid what the holidays are really all about, you know what they’d say: PRESENTS! Who doesn’t love opening a meticulously wraped gift from under the Christmas tree? For many black children, the holiday images of families and Santa don’t reflect their experience or family. Black people are underepresented in seasonal products. Black Americans spend 50% more on average during the holiday season.
That’s why they created Black Paper Party, culturally relevent, seasonal products that celebrate black families and spread joy during the holidays. They make wrapping paper, ornaments, gift bags and decor. They have Papa and Nana Claus, angels and gnomeys. In conclusion, thay say, “Sharks, join the Black Paper Party and let’s wrap up this deal.”
Samples and Questions
The Sharks have stockings, wrapping paper, a signature mug and an ornament on their tables. They have over 200 SKU’s including their direct to consumer and licensed products. They design everything themselves. They’ll be in 6 retailers for Christmas season Target, WalMart and more for a total of over 6000 stores. In 2020 they had $44,000 in sales and that was before going into retail. They had $274,000 in 2021, $844,000 in 2022 and they’re projecting $1.1 million.
The women have varied backgrounds in retail design, studio design and home decor. Kevin wants to know if they made money in 2022. They made $158,000 net profit after they paid themselves a salary. This year, 57% of sales will be from wholesale, 16% direct to consumer and 27% licensed products. A roll of wrapping paper costs $2.33 to make and sells for $10. They plan on doing a Black History Month program, a Valentine’s Day program, papers for showers, graduations and birthday parties.
Who’s In?
Lori wants to know what they need from a Shark. They want help scaling their eCommerce business and marketing strategy and to drive store sales. Their retail business is limited by how many accounts they can manage. They are literally turning away retail accounts. Kevin says the big players in this space use distributors who put it everywhere. He thinks they should be doing more than $1 million. Kevin is out. Daymond finds the $5 million valuation “a tough number.”
Barbara thinks they’re amazing. She offers $250,000 for 15% of the business. Lori says she admires what they’ve done but she doesn’t like seasonal businesses; she’s out. While Lori was talking, Mark and Barbara were conferring. Barbara recruited Mark as her partner and they offer $250,000 for 20%. The ladies counter Mark and Barbara with $450,000 for 18% and Barbara says no. They counter Barbara’s original offer with 10% and Barbara agrees.
Black Paper Party Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. In December, 2023 – about 6 months after they taped their segment – they were still in due diligence with Barbara. The company did hit its sales projections of $1.1 million to close out 2023. As of June, 2024, there is no evidence the deal closed with Barbara. The company rolled out birthday party paper in over 5000 Dollar General Stores. They also did a Black History Month program with Dollar General and Kohl’s.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Black Paper Party & J’aaron Merchant, Jasmine Hudson and Madia Willis as more details become available.
