Maurizio and Saphira Rasti want a Shark to bite on Nowhere Bakery, their “clean eating” baked goods business, in Shark Tank episode 1518. The couple founded the business in 2020. Saphira, a nutrition counselor, has gut issues but still has a sweeet tooth. She set out to create good tasting cookies, brownies and blondies that would satisfy her sweet cravings yet go gentle on her gut. She also wanted her husband Maurizio to be able to enjoy them. After experimenting for months in their apartment, she came up with a yummy chocolate chip cookie that Maurizio and all their friends loved.
All the Nowhere bakery products are dairy and egg free, gluten free, grain free and soy free. Instead of the usual ingredients in a chocolate chip cookie, they use almond butter, organic cassava flour and organic dark chocolate chips sweetened with low-glycemic coconut sugar. Their products have been enjoyed by many celebrities, including sometimes guest Shark Gwyneth Paltrow.
They’re currently in 75 stores – mostly on the west coast. Their cookie, brownie and blondie mixes are available online at Amazon for $15.99. On their website, you can order the mixes and pre made cookies for $36 for a six pack. The couple made no secret of wantin g to expand beyond the west coast at the 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. They likely want a Shark’s help expanding.
Company Information
Video
Posts about Nowhere Bakery on Shark Tank Blog
No Where Bakery: Crafting Desserts Without Boundaries
Nowhere Bakery Shark Tank Recap
Maurizio and Saphira enter the Shark Tank wearing full body suits and pink ski caps. Mark says he hates them already. They introduce themselves and say not only do they have incredible names, they have incredible products. They’re seeking $200,000 for 5% of their company. They have a lot in common with the Sharks, including a sweet tooth. Luckily, he has a bullet proof stomach – he could eat a razor blade and not have a problem. Saphira, on the other hand, has a digestive system that’s less than optimal. She’s allergic to air, wind, dust and even loud words. So she’s stuck eating desserts that taste like sandals. She started whipping up desserts with whole ingredients that her sensitive stomach could handle and his taste buds could enjoy. That’s when they realized a healthy dessert with healthy ingredients that tasted good was nowhere to be found.
They want the Sharks to come with them where they’ve never been before: NOWHERE! Nowhere Bakery is an allergen friendly dessert company specializing in cookies and brownies made with gluten free ingredients that are free of dairy, eggs, soy, sugar and they’re paleo friendly. They ask the Sharks “who’s ready to fill our cookie jar and take Nowhere everywhere?”
Samples and Questions
The Sharks have the line of desserts including their popular chocolate chip cookie – or as Mark would say, “the workhorse.” There’s also The Candy Bar Cookie, The Almond Butter Brownie, The Blondie and the Tag. The Sharks like the looks of them and the taste even more. It’s a shortbread base they fill with almond butter, caramel and then they cover it with cocnut sugar. As Saphira is explaining the ingredients, the Sharks are moaning with delight as they eat their treats. Mr. Wonderful says they’ve seen so many plant based cookie deals and they all taste like (expletive deleted). Kevin says the product is good. let’s hear abouut the business.
They started the business in March, 2020 2 weeks prior to the pandemic. They started doing direct to consumer not knowing the world was going to change. Saphira is a food blogger and recipe developerso she utilized her network of other food bloggers. She sent the cookies to them to enjoy and they shared organically on social media. That’s how they initially got the word out. Saphira was making the cookies by herself in a small corner of a friend’s kitchen. She’d get up at 2 in the morning, start baking and be done by 7, then wrap everything up and deliver it by hand.
Numbers and Offers
In 2020, they started getting sales in April and ended the year at $92,000. 2021 saw an increase to $524,000 in sales. In 2022 they finished the year at $770,000. They expect to finish 2023 at $1 million. In 2022, they made $32,000. They started the company with $400 Each pack of cookies costs $1.92 to make and sells for $5.50- $6 per unit. They sell in 6 packs, 12 packs and 14 packs. The average sale amount is close to $80. They’ve thought of using a co-packer, but right now they want to control everything themselves to maintain quality. Barbara agrees with their philosophy, Kevin does not.
Kevin has an offer with contingencies, he wants to put it in major grocery stores and build a healthy brand. He offers $200,000 for 20%. Kevin is going to bring a co-packer in he thinks they’ll like and give the co-packer half his equity. Kevin will have 10%, the co-packer will have 10% and they’re going to blow this up. Lori asks “what happens if the co-packer screws up and ends up owning 10% of the company?” Mark says the products are amazing until he saw the calorie count, for someone who counts calories every day it’s a problem; he’s out.
To Co-Pack or Not to Co-Pack
Barbara feels like she knows everything about this space from Daisy Cakes and Pipcorn and some failures. Barbara says she learned more from the failures. She offers $100,000 cash and a $100,000 credit line for 15%. Lori says what they’ve done is really smart but she’s with Mark on concerns about the high calorie count; she’s out. Jason offers to split the deal with Kevin and Kevin says he would.
Barbara talks about a baking business that failed when they went to a co-packer. She thinks the most important part of having a baking business is being the baker. The Sharks squabble about co-packing versus baking on your own. They counter Barbara with $400,000 for 15% and Barbara says no; she doesn’t think they need that much money. They counter again with $200,00- for 12.5% and Barbara agrees. Maurizio says “Barbara, we’d love for you to be our sugar mama.”
Nowhere Bakery Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. As of the first re-run of this episode in June, 2024 about 3 months after the original air date – there is no hard evidence the deal with Barbara closed, but on show night, she tweeted this:
@BarbaraCorcoran. Welcome to the family, #NowhereBakery! Nothing better than ending the night on a sweet deal. #SharkTank.
Since airing, they added a few more stores that stock their products brining the total to 81.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Nowhere Bakery & Maurizio and Saphira Rasti as more details become available.
