Holly Cooper is a foodie and she brings her skills to the Shark Tank to pitch her “secret sauce” she serves on her food trailer called Fried Green Tomatoes. Her previous food businesses included running a place called the Blue Goose Café and managing and operating The Hermitage House Smorgasbord. In 2012, she joined the food truck craze and opened Fried Green Tomatoes.
Her truck serves simple fare: burgers, po boys, fish sandwiches and the fried green tomatoes the truck is named for. While anyone can make these kinds of foods, Holly gets customers lining up because of two things: her fry batter and her secret sauce. Customers love them so much, they asked for the recipe. Not wanting to give away trade secrets, she started selling both the batter and the mix for her secret sauce.
Both sell well and Holly has managed to get her products into small, mom and pop shops across the USA, Canada and Mexico. $3.99 buys you the sauce mix and $9.99 gets you a bag of batter. The next step is to get into national chains with her product, which is no easy task. Shelf space in supermarkets is at a premium, but Sharks have a way of getting products out there quickly.
My Take on Secret Sauce
I’ve only tried fried green tomatoes two or three times in my life and always in a restaurant. They’re tasty. I do recall having a mayonnaise based dipping sauce with it. Holly’s sauce uses mayo too, but I’ve never tried it.
I’m a bit of an ameteur saucier and like experimenting with different recipes. I’d be the guy to try and duplicate what Holly does in my own kitchen. That doesn’t mean I’d never try it though. I am more likely to buy fry batter. When we do a fish fry at home, I use pre mixed batters a lot. I like trying different things. I’m not sure I’ll rush out to get some of Holly’s secret sauce, but I wish her well.
Will Sharks Like the Sauce?
I’m sure they’ll all like it, but is it a good investment? Judging from Holly’s pre-show hype, there isn’t a whole heck of a lot of excitement on her web page and social media. Grocery products are a tough sell in the Tank and entrepreneurs really need to hit a home run to get a deal.
Mark and Kevin frequently shy away from grocery products because of the complexities of distribution. Daymond occasionally bids, but often reluctantly and only if the entrepreneur wows him. Lori will likely be the first Shark out. That leaves Barbara. She bids on grocery products, but they’re often very Sharky bids. If Holly wants a deal, she better hope Barbara likes her product.
