Chet Beiler didn’t invent Over EZ Chicken Coops, he just bought the company in 2020. He’s an Amish gentleman from Lancaster County Pennsylvania. He bought the business from some former fellow Lancaster County men who were running the business in Colorado. Beiler is no stranger to selling wooden products. He operates the one of largest gazebo manufacturers in the country, Amish Country Gazebos.
In 2020 he saw a huge increase in people interested in raising chickens in their back yards. The Covid-19 pandemic made many people aware of how vulnerable the food supply chain is which led to an uptick in people wanting to be more self reliant. Live chicken sales went up 50% in 2020, but people need a place to keep them. The choices usually are make your own from scratch, flimsy coop kits made in China or expensive, custom built coops. OverEZ Chicken Coops fall in between those options.
Beiler and his team bring quality Amish craftsmanship to the table, too. Over EZ Chicken Coops come ready to assemble and can be put together in about a half an hour. At around $2000, the coops are an investment in home food production. Beiler, who twice unsuccessfully ran for Congress, is now 100% devoted to growing this business. He publicly stated that he wants a Shark investor to help him expand into Europe. Will a Shark want a piece of this chicken coop business?
My Take On Over EZ Chicken Coops
In the spring of one of my daughters’ junior year, we had two chickens: Ken and Nugget. My daughter bought them at the farm down the street from us. Unbeknownst to me, she bought them the day before Good Friday. On Good Friday, I went into her room and she was sitting on the floor with a chicken on her shoulder and another was strutting around the room. I flipped out.
Once I calmed down, I told her she could keep them, but they needed to be outside. We repurposed our dog crate and some old wire fencing and made a makeshift chicken coop. They were locked in the crate at night and they strutted around our yard during the day. Surprisingly, our dog never chased them. We had them until the following summer before she left for college. A friend of hers whose parents raise chickens adopted them. Now, I have an interest in raising chickens as a source of eggs and meat, but my wife doesn’t want them. If I ever get around to convincing her, I’ll take a look at Over EZ.
Do Sharks Like Chicken?
I don’t know what Chet is doing in the Tank at all. He has plenty of money and know how to grow this business himself. The only thing I can see is he may be naïve about what it takes to crack the European market. Any one of the Sharks could help with that. While any one of them could bid, my guess is Daymond will make an offer.
Daymond owns a farm with a stocked pond, bee hives and chickens, specifically Guinea Hens. He knows chickens and probably knows of this business. While Daymond has large, barn-like coops, he probaby started with something small. He also knows how international sales work. He would be the perfect Shark for this company.
Entrepreneur, auteur, raconteur. Rob Merlino is a blogger and writer who enjoys the Shark Tank TV show and Hot Dogs. A father of five who freelances in a variety of publications, Rob has a stable of websites including Shark Tank Blog, Hot Dog Stories, Rob Merlino.com and more.
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