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Two Kosher Businesses Compete for Investments on ‘Shark Tank,’ One Leaves With a Deal
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Chef Guy Vaknin on “Shark Tank.” Photo: Screenshot.
Two kosher businesses were vying for investments Sunday night on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” and one of them left with a deal from two of the show’s tycoons.
Israeli-born chef Guy Vaknin, who owns the kosher-vegan food chain Beyond Sushi, entered the Shark Tank seeking a $1.5 million investment in exchange for 25 percent of his West Coast business and five percent of his East Coast business. His restaurants, which have a large vegan menu including salads, wraps, dumplings, and sushi rolls, mostly offer grab-and-go meal options and the company is projected to reach $5.6 million in sales for 2018. Beyond Sushi employs more than a hundred people, has six New York locations, and another location is set to open in Manhattan this year, according to The Forward.
Guest Shark Matt Higgins partnered up with Lori Greiner and together they offered Vaknin $1.5 million for a 30 percent partnership in West Coast operations and a 15 percent partnership in East Coast operations, an offer that the chef accepted. The deal was Higgins’ first on “Shark Tank.”
Mother and daughter Sara and Marilyn Polon were also seeking an investment on “Shark Tank” Sunday night for their company Soupergirl, which creates kosher handmade, plant-based nutritious soups. Soupergirl began as a small, local business in Washington DC, but can now can be found in 50 natural food stores, 20 box food stores, and two retail stores. Although the company is currently valued around $5 million, none of the Sharks made Soupergirl an offer because the product margins were too low.
