With millions of people adopting a vegan lifestyle every year, plant-based meat products are in high demand. Atlas Monroe created a vegan fried chicken, and founders Deborah and Jonathan Torres pitched the company on Shark Tank. Rohan Oza and Mark Cuban offered to buy the company, but their offer was rejected. As of 2024, Atlas Monroe is worth $7 million.
Founder
Deborah and Jonathan Torres are from San Diego. Although the couple co-founded the company, it was Deborah who invented the product. She grew up in Silicon Valley and her parents immigrated to the United States. Her father is from Guyana and her mother lives in the UK.
As a result, she grew up eating a variety of international cuisines. Her two grandmothers were also restaurateurs, and fried chicken was a big part of their family tradition.
Founding of Atlas Monroe
Deborah’s father had to change his diet after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. As a concerned daughter, Deborah decided to take matters into her own hands. Deborah watched Pure Vegan, a documentary about diabetics who tried a pure vegan diet for a month and saw healthy results. Deborah then learned how to cook vegan food.
As her father’s health improved, she began experimenting with making plant-based meats, which led to the creation of Atlas Monroe vegan fried chicken, which she entered into a VegFest competition and won the award for best dish.
Shark Tank Appearance
In 2019, Deborah and her husband took her invention to the Shark Tank show. They offered 10% of the business for $500,000. The two distributed samples to all the Shark Tank contestants who liked the product.
The conversation quickly became tense as valuations and numbers were discussed. Barbara Corcoran thought the company wasn’t worth investing in yet and that it was too early. Vegan Mark Cuban, however, was intrigued.
Cuban initially offered $500,000 for a 30% stake, but then convinced guest shark Rohan Oza to bid for the entire company. They offered $1 million plus a 10% commission on sales to the founders, but Torres turned down the deal and walked away empty-handed.
After Shark Tank
It must have been hard to turn down a million-dollar offer, but the founders made the right decision! The surge in sales after Shark Tank prompted Atlas Monroe to open a manufacturing facility in San Diego. They are now the “largest manufacturer of plant-based fried chicken” in the world.
To raise funds, they took a large number of pre-orders and fulfilled the orders after a few months. Thankfully, customers were patient and willing to support them.
By the end of 2021, the company produced 1 million pounds of chicken. Under Deborah’s leadership, the company has generated over $2 million in sales since appearing on Shark Tank and is on track to achieve $5 million in sales in 2021. Since then, the company has not released any recent sales figures, but it is estimated that Atlas Monroe generates over $5 million in revenue per year.In addition to chicken, they now produce other plant-based meats. Instead of just going direct to consumer, they supply to over 50 restaurants across the country. Deborah revealed in an interview that she was not happy with her portrayal on the show. The editing of the show was misleading and made it seem like she didn’t understand the numbers.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: dut.edu.vn
