Kirk Hyust and Brian Halasinski hope to cook up a deal for Turbo Trusser, their kitchen gadget that makes trussing a chicken a cinch, in Shark Tank episode 1402. The gadget makes cooking twine obsolete. It’s a stamped metal plate with openings for the legs that attaches onto two metal hooks that secure the wings. The video below shows how it works.
The Turbo Trusser is safe in the oven, on the grill, on a rotisserie and even the fryer. The guys have sold over 10,000 units to customers all over the world. They make and package their product in the greater Cleveland area. Each Turbo Trusser costs $14.99 and they make a model that handles turkeys too.
Apparently, the guys applied to Shark Tank twice and got invited to tape on the second try. Both Brian and Kirk still work their regular jobs. Brian is an HIV therapeutic specialist and Kirk works for a product development company. They started selling product in March, 2021 and they’ve grown slowly so far, but they did manage to get into 74 locations – mostly hardware stores. The products are also available on Amazon. The guys want to take their business to the next level and a Shark could definitely help with that.
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Posts about Turbo Trusser on Shark Tank Blog
The Turbo Trusser Kitchen Gadget
Turbo Trusser Shark Tank Recap
Kirk and Brian enter the Shark Tank wearing chicken suits. They’re seeking $100,000 for 10% of their company. Brian asks if they’ve ever cooked a dry chicken or turkey. They introduce the Turbo Trusser as Kirk demonstrates how it works. He explains that trussing is usually done with butcher’s twine which is “for the birds.” Next he shows how easy it is to truss the bird with Turbo Trusser.
They say it works in ovens, grills, smokers, fryers and air fryers. They have a freshly cooked bird to show how well it works. The guys say it’s stainless steel and dishwasher safe. The best pert is it’s made in the USA. They ask which Shark wants to take a bite out of the poultry industry and make a “cluckload of money.”
The Sharks examine their samples and taste some chicken the guys cooked earlier. Kevin comes onstage and trusses a bird. They tell him they’ve sold over 11,000 units and only had one return. Barbara ask if the chicken is juicy because of the Turbo Trusser; it is. Mark wants to know how they got here. Brian says he’s been in the pharmaceutical industry and he met Kirk 5 or 6 years ago when he was renovating Brian’s house – he was a contractor for 20 years. He used to be a chef and he invented a wrench that he licensed.
Show Me the Money
The guys have invented other products together: 4 in the barbecue industry and 2 in the pet industry. They haven’t made any money off their inventions. Each Turbo Trusser costs $3.10 landed and it retails for $14.99. They’ve been in business eight and a half months and sold $90,000 worth of product. 60% of sales are direct off their website and 27% is sold through 3 distributors. They’re in 75 stores. All 3 distributors re-ordered. They also have someone selling for them on Amazon and that person has re-ordered 3 times.
Robert says he loves the guys but the business isn’t big enough. Brian says “don’t chicken out” and Robert laughs, but he’s out. Barbara says it doesn’t look like the business is big enough for another partner. Brian says Americans consume 87 million turkeys between Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Brian says they need help with online marketing.
Mark doesn’t see how it can scale – he’s out. Lori says it’s not big enough for her and she doesn’t like touching chicken – she’s out. Barbara is out too. Kevin sees the potential but thinks it’s a lot of work. He says he’s an expensive chef. He offers $100,000 for 33% and a $1 royalty in perpetuity. The guys counter with 20%, then 25%. Kevin says he wants to be the third chicken. They ask if he’ll do 33% without the royalty and Kevin says no. They eventually take Kevin’s deal.
Turbo Trusser 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 typical Shark Tank fashion, the company sold a ton of products on show night and in the next several days after. All in all, they did $290,000 in sales to close out 2022; lifetime sales were only $90,000 to that point. Those sales came at a cost: knockoffs flooded Amazon and before they could shut them down, Kirk estimated it cost them $300,000 in sales.
Brian told a local Canton, OH newspaper they finalized the deal with Kevin the day their segment aired. Kevin has been a good partner and brand ambassador, too. He coined the slogan “don’t fuss it, truss it.” He’s also appeared on several TV shows in his “Chef Wonderful” persona demonstrating the product.
As of October, 2023, they’re still in 75 stores and selling strong. The company has plans to get on to some grocery store shelves for Q4 2023 – just in time for all those holiday turkey sales. They’re also developing a trusser for cornish hens and a portable grill and they recently introduced their own poultry rub.
Here’s a video of “Chef Wonderful” and the Turbo Trusser:
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Turbo Trusser & Kirk Hyust and Brian Halasinski as more details become available.
