Guy Vaknin, executive chef and owner of NYC’s Beyond Sushi, enters The Shark Tank seeking $1.5 million for a 25% share of their west coast business and 5% of the business on the east coast. Beyond Sushi is a vegan grab-and-go casual style restaurant that serves high-quality plant-based sushi. Beyond Sushi’s extensive menu includes salads, wraps, dumplings, and plant-based sushi rolls. This year, Beyond Sushi is projected to make $5.6 million and enjoys high profit margins on their traditional rolls.
The company was created in 2012, currently has six locations around New York City and is looking to expand to the west coast where the vegan push for clean living is arguably more substantial than in Manhattan. Although Beyond Sushi is well-established on the east coast and having a higher share in those profits would be attractive to The Sharks, Guy is offering a higher share in the west coast operations which are still unproven and unknown. This can be very scary to an investor and creates a lot of concern for Matt Higgins who currently has businesses in this industry.
I’m a sushi fan but don’t eat raw fish & always wished there were more vegetable sushi options. This is great!! #SharkTank @ABCSharkTank @BeyondSushi
— Lori Greiner (@LoriGreiner) October 22, 2018
Presentation✔️
Taste ✔️
Healthy ✔️
Unique ✔️#SharkTank @ABCSharkTank @BeyondSushi— Lori Greiner (@LoriGreiner) October 22, 2018
This guy is worth the investment. Looks like he’s committed with the winning formula for a quick flip w/high ROI! That’s a solid deal @mhiggins @LoriGreiner @ABCSharkTank. #sharktank #beyondsushi pic.twitter.com/faOdhHPjTR
— Allison Todd (@ALLISONSMILES) October 22, 2018
#SharkTank as soon as Damon said, "that mushroom one is the truth," I wanted one! #BeyondSushi pic.twitter.com/81NLCBeBrV
— ⓔⓛⓛⓔ (@corridor34e) October 22, 2018
As The Shark’s discuss Beyond Sushi’s business model and financial request, Matt Higgins appears very interested but is concerned by the misalignment of the amount of ownership in what’s already successful in the east coast business and what has yet to be proven in the west coast business. To strike a deal, Matt is looking for a higher percentage of the east coast company. Matt and Lori Greiner both think that Beyond Sushi would be even more popular on the west coast than it is the east coast, due to the culture and popularity of clean living and the vegan movement, but they want to be sure that their investment is more inclusive of the already profitable side of the business. They make an offer to Beyond Sushi and settle for a combined investment of $1.5 million for a 30% share of west coast business and a 15% share of east coast operations.
We have a deal (my first deal on #SharkTank)! So excited to work with @BeyondSushi and @LoriGreiner. @ABCSharkTank pic.twitter.com/fc2G7ka67j
— Matt Higgins (@mhiggins) October 22, 2018
Well deserved deal.…now give me more of that sushi. #BeyondSushi #SharkTank
— Daymond John (@TheSharkDaymond) October 22, 2018
OMG this was SO delicious – Gourmet sushi! I just wanted to be IN as it’s healthy, low calorie & perfect for West Coast! Plant based Sushi on steroids! #GottaTryIt #GonnaLuvIt #SharkTank @ABCSharkTank
— Lori Greiner (@LoriGreiner) October 22, 2018
Beyond Sushi gets a deal from @LoriGreiner AND @mhiggins! #SharkTank pic.twitter.com/chTASQqDA1
— Shark Tank (@ABCSharkTank) October 22, 2018
Shark approved & devoured! @kevinolearytv doesn’t even eat sushi & he loved it. Not an empty plate left in the tank. #SharkTank @ABCSharkTank @BeyondSushi pic.twitter.com/EShAQG7ERw
— Lori Greiner (@LoriGreiner) October 22, 2018
.@BeyondSushi is a great investment; phenomenal food, phenomenal founder #veganfood https://t.co/AlZGvp4UWu
— Matt Higgins (@mhiggins) October 24, 2018
What are your thoughts on Beyond Sushi’s deal with Sharks Lori Greiner and guest Shark Matt Higgins?
For a full summary of this episode, check out this article. Shark Tank airs on Sundays at 9:00 PM EST on ABC.