Sugardoh Founder Pitches on Shark Tank Season 16.
Highlights
- Aliyah Marandiz pitches Sugardoh, an alternative to waxing on Shark Tank Season 16.
- The company made $2.6 million in sales within a year of its launch in 2020.
- The investors are impressed with the sales numbers but are skeptical about the huge debts.
Overview
| Category | Details |
| Name | Sugardoh |
| Founder | Aliyah Marandiz |
| Industry | Cosmetology |
| Product | Hair Removal Sweetener |
| Funding | Self funded |
| Investment Ask | $500K |
| Equity Offered | 5% |
| Valuation | $10 million |
Aliyah Marandiz, a budding entrepreneur from Austin, appeared in Shark Tank Season 16 Episode 3, pitching for Sugardoh. Discussing the hassles of hair removal, she stated that her company offered a unique hair removal sweetener. To explain better, she presented a video demonstration.
The demo showed how the all-natural sugar-based dough, made from sugar, water, and citrus, gently pulls hair from the root while exfoliating the skin. Additionally, Aliyah claimed that Sugardoh offered a gentle, compostable alternative to waxing.
Sugardoh: What Happened On Shark Tank Season 16
Appearing in front of the Shark Tank cast, Aliyah seeks $500K for 5% equity for the Sugardoh Shark Tank pitch. Aliyah then calls guest Shark Kendra Scott to try the sample on her friend Richard. Taking the product in her hand, she says that Sugardoh is like a taffy-like goop, similar to caramel, made with the same ingredients.
Kendra then tries it over Richard and loves the results. Touting the innovation as ancient, Kevin O’Leary says it was found in the Phoenician times. Women of the Mediterranean have been using it for ages, which implies there are zero proprietary elements to it. So, Kevin wanted to know the reason behind the huge valuation.
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Aliyah replies that the company has worked for two years to create a proprietary manufacturing process and also their formulation. This is how they have their IP.
The Shark investors then inquire about the sales. The entrepreneur launched Sugardoh in 2020 and made $50K in revenue by the end of the year. Next year, becoming a viral sensation on TikTok, it made $2.6 million in sales. All of the investors are spellbound by the huge spike in numbers.
Following this, in 2022, the company made $5.6 million. The company initially started in D2C and then grew to Amazon. By the end of 2022, it had successfully expanded to 300 Ulta Beauty stores. In 2023, they reached across the US with a presence in 1300 stores.
But the Sharks are shocked to learn that Aliyah did not make any money from the $5.6 million in sales. She said the reason behind this was their low margin of 60%. To tackle this, they updated their suppliers and implemented their manufacturing process this year. This has made their margins reach around 80%.
Sugardoh ended last year with a negative margin of 77%. To cope with the loss, Aliyah and her husband invested $400K of their personal money. Total debt is $1.5 million. The company also has $1 million in inventory.
Aliyah has come on Season 16 of Shark Tank to get cash and help with retail. Mark Cuban feels it is not a good choice to acquire retailers at this stage of the business. The entrepreneur says they have debt financing, which has a high interest rate of 22%.
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Did Shark Tank Invest In Sugardoh?
Mark is the first investor to step out of the deal as he feels he cannot help the entrepreneur in any way. Kevin says, ‘This is nuts,’ as the valuation is high for him. He, too, walks out of the deal.
Daymond John is the next one to exit the deal as he feels the hyper-growth, followed by debts, is risky for him. Kevin adds to his comments, saying Daymond will be ‘older than the Phoenicians that invented this’ by the time he gets his invested money back.
Kendra Scott is reminded of her entrepreneurial days when she made mistakes similar to Aliyah’s. However, due to high valuation and debt involved, Kendra did not make an offer. Lori Greiner is the final Shark who refuses to make a deal citing the competitive market.
So, the Sugardoh Shark Tank pitch ends with a deal.
More products from this episode! Check out other businesses that participated alongside Sugardoh.
