Every time a single woman comes onto the floor of a shark tank, I feel elated. Simply because our society needs such courageous women, who are leading their lives with a vision. One such woman was Joye B. Moore from Richmond Virginia, the founder and CEO of Joyebells.
Key Highlights:
- Asked for $600K for 10% equity in her company.
- Joye is the 6th generation of her family to learn the traditional recipes.
- Joyebells failed to secure any deal.
What is Joyebells All About?
From the sound of it, Joyebells felt like a music, sound, or especially Christmas-related startup. It was almost sure that this lady was here to sell Christmas trees. But, as it happened, she was actually selling the secret recipes of her third great-grandmother.
Before Joye, 5 generations of her family actually learned the same recipes as she did. However, she was the first brave person in her family to actually make money out of it.
Moreover, Joyebells has also received the award for “The Best Pie in the Nation” by the American Pie Council. So, that is quite an achievement for a single lady who is single-handedly running the show.
As I’m talking about Joye, she confessed during the pitch that she had to live in abandoned houses and eat out of dumpsters due to poverty and homelessness. And, she was just 14 years old when this happened to her, and continued till she was 17.
Nevertheless, Joye is a proud woman now, and one thing she takes immense pride in is the 3.79 CGPA that she graduated her school with.
Do Sharks Like the Product?
As soon as Joye finished her pitch, sharks were ready to pounce on her delicious and finger-licking pies. For a starter, Lori and Robert both said “It’s amazing”.
However, Kevin was much more vocal in his opinion about the pie as he said “I’m gonna give you 10/10 and I have never given it for a pie”.
Mark on the other hand, simply said “Pumpkin is insane”.
Lastly, it was Barbara who diverted the conversation again to the business side, without actually commenting about the delicious pies.
What was Joyebells Valuation?
Now, as Barbara had started to make the serious talks, sharks inquired about the insane valuation of the product. To back her stance, Joye told them the Joyebells’ all-time sales, which hovered around $16.1 million.
Well, it was truly shocking for a food business to have a few items in the repository. Anyway, sharks further inquired about the financials of previous years which were:
- In 2023, Joyebells’ revenue was $7.7 million. The gross margin profit was 8.85%, and the net margin profit was only 1.38%.
- But this year, Joye forecasted that her profit would be around $4.3 million, and would be reduced almost by half.
Joyebells Financial Overview
| Year | Revenue | Gross Margin Profit | Net Margin Profit | Forecasted Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $7.7M | 8.85% | 1.38% | – |
| 2024 | – | – | – | $4.3M (forecasted) |
It was as shocking to me as it was for the sharks and Robert finally asked about it.
Joye said that she was reassessing the cost of goods and discontinued the ambient; shelf stable loaded with preservatives. Now, as you may have seen her net margin profit wasn’t so satisfactory and to increase it, Joye was focused on decreasing her costs.
Upon inquiry about her product cost, Joye said that the sweet potato costs $5.23 to make, and the selling price is $7.84 to the retailers. Then, the retailer sells this product for $10.99 with a 35% markup.
Deep Dive into FlaminGO Shark Tank Update S16Ep11
The Sharks’ Remarks:
Starting off with Robert, he really liked the product and if you remember, he was the first to appreciate Joye. And I was dead sure that Robert would offer her a deal, but he did not.
Why?
Because Robert thought that Joye had a long way to go as she needed to lower her production cost or increase her product’s price to sustain her business. And, Robert also felt that since she was already working on lowering the production cost, he would not be useful anywhere and hence, backed out.
Kevin was as straightforward as anyone could be. He said that he liked the story, and the product is even better, but the business model is broken. As Robert said, increase the product’s price or decrease your costs. Kevin also said that the cost of goods is a dollar too high. Until Joye does not address it, she cannot have a deal with Kevin.
Like Robert and Kevin, Barbara also opted out of the deal and simply advised Joye to increase her product’s prices.
Lastly, Lori and Mark simply had a problem with the $6 million net-worth valuation of the company. Both of them believed that the business model did not justify the asked amount. Also, Mark did mention that if the valuation net worth was around $1 million, then, he would gladly offer a deal.
Alas, Joye from Joyebells had to leave the stage empty-handed.
| Sharks | Deal Offered | Remarks |
| Mark Cuban | No | Unrealistic valuation |
| Robert | No | Cannot be useful for her startup |
| Lori | No | Unrealistic valuation |
| Barbara | No | Simply advised her to increase her product’s price. |
| Kevin | No | Cost of goods are high |
My Brief Take on Joyebells:
To be honest, Joye had valued Joyebells insanely high, as it would be impossible for sharks to make a deal with her. Yes, the sharks loved the product, and Joye’s story also complimented them a lot, but does this affect the valuation? No!
Anyway, as Robert said that Joye was already on her way to making her business model a little bit better by decreasing her costs and increasing her prices, I have a feeling that she might come again in the next season, with exceptional numbers.
