Ali Kaminetsky hopes to hook a Shark with Modern Picnic, her stylish lunchboxes designed to look like a purse, in Shark Tank episode 1513. After Ali graduated from Lehigh University (where she was a division 1 tennis player), she got a job as a buyer at Macy’s in New York City. New York is an expensive place to live, so she frequently brought her own lunch and snacks to work. Ali wanted a lunchbox that was a little more stylish and functional than what was out there, so she designed her own.
In 2018, she launched Modern Picnic and she hasn’t looked back. The best selling Large Luncher features enough space for 2 meals and drinks and has a wipeable interior in case of accidental spills. Her Tote model features separate compartments for a laptop and lunch. Women love the lunchboxes.
In addition to her website, Ali has her products in The Container Store and on Amazon. The lunchboxes range in price from $59 for the Small Luncher to $250 for the Tote. Ali also sells airtight, reusable containers designed to fit in the bags. She’s likely looking for a Shark to help her manage growth.
Company Information
Video
Posts about Modern Picnic on Shark Tank Blog
Modern Picnic Shark Tank Recap
Ali enters the Shark Tank seeking $400,000 in exchange for 6.5% of her company. She begins by saying as a young professional in New York City, she’d go into work trying to look, feel and be her best. When it came to packing lunch, her options were unprofessional and definitely not stylish. She could use a brown paper bag, but her mom doesn’t pack her lunch anymore. Plastic bags aren’t sustainable or functional. Or she could carry a kid’s lunchbox, but she wouldn’t be caught dead carying it into the office. The outdated lunchbox needed a makeover, so she gave it one.
Meet Modern Picnic, fashionable, insulated, vegan leather lunchboxes so you can bring your food wherever you go and no on would ever know that it’s a lunchbox. Her first product, The Luncher, is sleek, functional and clean with an easy wipe interioto clean up those everyday spills. Since launching, she’s introduced other shapes and sizes to accomodate different storage needs. She has totes and backpacks for when bigger is better or The Snacker for smaller items. She asks the Sharks, “who’s ready to ditch those childish lunchboxes and wasteful paper and plastic bags with Modern Picnic?”
Samples and Questions
The Sharks have lunchboxes on their tables with some lunch inside. The Sharks check out the lunchboxes and food. Robert says it’s “clever” and “super cool.” Kevin asks what she’s going to do to the purse snatching industry. They’ll steal it expecting jewelry and find a ham and rye instead. Ali was 22 years old when she came up with the idea and she was able to successfully launch the company within 2 years with no prior experience, connections or funding. She’s 29 now.
Her Average Order Value is $155. Her margins are in the 80% range and gross margins are 60%. Robert wants to know the dollar amount. The Luncher costs $30-$35 and sells for $159. Her eCommerce accounts for 70% of the business. Wholesale accounts for around 20%. She’s in Saks, The Container Store and she just got her vendor number for Bloomingdale’s.
Numbers and Potential Shark Investors
Kevin questions the $6.15 million valuation. She launched in 2018 and has over $6 million in lifetime sales. For 2023, she’s projecting just over $2 million in sales and she’ll lose just under $100,000. Mark says there’s about $1.2 million in margins available on the $2 million; he wants to know where it’s going. A lot of it goes to marketing: affiliate marketing, TikTok, and more. She says she puts 25% of revenue to marketing and Emma wants to know the actual cost. Ali says it’s more like 50% and the Sharks think that’s too much. Emma says she’s overpaying to acquire customers. She bootstrapped at the beginning and was shipping out of her parent’s garage. In 2020 she raised $900,000 by cold contacting over 1300 venture capitalists. Recently, she raised another $900,000.
Kevin says she’s spending too much money trying to build a brand and that’s not something he wants to pursue, he’s out. Mark thinks she needs to be disciplined to spend less; it’s not for him, he’s out. Robert thinks she’s a dynamo. He thinks her presentation was great but the numbers don’t work right now; he’s out. Lori says she doesn’t like it when a young company does “so many races so fast for so much money.” She believes in making money and rolling it back into the company; she’s out. Emma isn’t a fan of plowing a ton of money into digital and brand marketing. She tells Ali that if she starts winding down the digital marketing, she won’t see a difference in her sales. Emma loves the product and she’ll be a customer, but she’s out.
Modern Picnic 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 the days following the initial air date, sales increased over 300%. On show night, she introduced her new wicker collection on a pre-order basis. Ali claims she drastically reduced her marketing spend as well. As of June, 2024, lifetime sales for the company has topped $10 million.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Modern Picnic & Ali Kaminetsky as more details become available.
