Y’all Sweet Tea Bags A Deal After A Dramatic Bidding Fight
Highlights
- Y’all Sweet Tea appeared in the fifth episode of the latest Shark Tank season.
- Daniel Craig and Brandon Echols sought $500K for 5% equity in the company.
- Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, and Rashaun Williams participated in an intense bidding war during the deal.
Shark Tank and bidding wars share an inseparable bond. If the investors like a product, they instantly propose an offer so that they bag the deal before their fellow Sharks. This often results in heated drama. A recent dramatic pitch on Shark Tank was Y’all Sweet Tea, which appeared in the fifth episode of its sixteenth season.
Y’all Sweet Tea was brought to the panelists by childhood best friends Darien Craig and Brandon Echols. The entrepreneurs laid focus on both their sweet and unsweet tea flavors. The judges were so impressed by its quality and the pitch presentation that they got into in a bidding battle to take a bite of the deal.
Here is a complete recap of the Y’all Sweet Tea pitch, followed by the arguments amongst Sharks during negotiations and, ultimately, the final deal.
Y’all Sweet Tea: Shark Tank Pitch
Darien Craig and Brandon Echols, an entrepreneur duo from Hayden, Alabama, came seeking $500K for 5% equity in Y’all Sweet Tea on Shark Tank. The entrepreneurs claimed that they offer the ‘best sweet tea,’ which is made with the combined recipes of both of their mothers.
Going further in the pitch, Darien and Brandon revealed that they started the venture in 2021. During their search for a factor that differentiated Y’all Sweet Tea from others, they found that their competitors were not making the best use of social media and influencers. Targeting this aspect, the entrepreneurs doubled down on social media.
Additionally, they also set up a team of influencers who knew everything about sweet tea. This team includes all ‘Southern grandmoms.’ Bringing one such influencer before the Shark investors, Darien and Brandon introduced ‘Mama Sue.’ The founders claimed that she has a social media following of more than 1 million.
How Did Y’all Sweet Tea On Shark Tank Impress The Investors?
Y’all Sweet Tea left an impression on the Shark investors in three ways – intriguing pitch presentation style, delectable taste of different flavored teas, and amazing sales figures. As the product quality and business related numbers seemed promising, the Sharks became competitive to bag the deal.
Bringing in Mama Sue was a good move by the entrepreneurs as the Shark investors instantly recognized her. She claimed that Y’all Sweet Tea is the best tea she had tasted in 71 years. Her short appearance during the pitch captivated the judges and brought a smile to their faces.
Apart from this, the Sharks loved the taste of different tea flavors, such as strawberry, mango, watermelon, raspberry, and the ‘Georgia peach flavored tea. Plus, Y’all Sweet Tea has made $10.3 million in sales since 2021 and had no debts, which further grabbed their interest.
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Drama During The Negotiations Of Y’all Sweet Tea On Shark Tank
While Darien and Brandon were successful in getting a sweet deal for Y’all Sweet Tea, the negotiations were loaded with drama. Rashaun Williams made the first offer, but two other Shark investors expressed their desire to join him in the deal. This led to a bidding war that no one expected. Here is how it happened:
After the pitch presentation for Y’all Sweet Tea on Shark Tank was done, Rashaun Williams offered the first deal at $500K for 10% equity. To justify his higher equity ask, Rashaun said that he could offer them exactly what they needed – money, access, and influencers.
Barbara Corcoran thought that it was a ‘good offer,’ so she backed out of the deal. After this, Lori Greiner asked Darien and Brandon about their vision. They replied that they wanted to earn around $20 million and then make their exit.
Mark Cuban felt that their vision aligned with Rashaun’s approach as an investor, so she stepped out of the Y’all Sweet Tea deal as well.
Hearing Barbara and Mark probably convinced Kevin O’Leary and Lori Greiner that Rashaun’s offer was indeed a good one. So, joining him would be a better choice than making an individual offer.
As a result, Kevin asked Rashaun if he could join him in the deal as he could help him look after the retail aspects of Y’all Sweet Tea. Rashaun replied that he did not have an issue with it. Kevin then revised the earlier deal to $500K for 20% equity, with 10% for both of them.
But the real drama started when, while Kevin was still discussing the offer with the entrepreneurs, Lori and Rashuan were seen whispering. It seemed as if they were cooking a new deal, which turned out to be true. This is because Rashaun and Lori made the second joint deal for $500K at 15% equity.
To convince the entrepreneurs, Lori cited her years of experience in grocery products. The sudden change irritated Kevin, who interrupted her and said that he had already made an offer with Rashaun. But he was not sure if Rashaun was ‘throwing him under the bus.’
Seeing it get a bit heated, Rashaun stated that he was open to doing any of the two deals. Knowing that Lori’s deal had a lower equity share, Kevin, too, changed his earlier deal to $500K at 15% equity. This way, both the joint deals offered the same valuation.
Darien and Brandon countered both the deals with $750K for 15% equity. However, Kevin said he would not change his offer any further. Rashaun was also not ready to change the deal.
Left with no other option, the entrepreneurs took up Rashaun and Lori’s offer of $500K for 15% equity.
Conclusion
The journey of Y’all Sweet Tea on Shark Tank ended with a sweet deal after a dramatic bidding war amongst the panelists. The product’s quality, entrepreneurs’ presentation style, and business sales figures amazed the judges to the extent that three of them engaged in intense negotiations.
Y’all Sweet Tea reiterated that if entrepreneurs are successful in reflecting their business’ potential, offers are bound to come by.
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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