Bantam Bagels: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank

One thing that unites all New Yorkers (and probably the rest of the country, too) is the unabashed love of a good bagel. Whether it's loaded with lox, white fish salad, egg and cheese, or a healthy layer of schmear, a fresh bagel accompanied by a hot coffee poured into a Mediterranean blue Anthora paper cup is something even the grumpiest New Yorker can smile about.

The average bagel is pretty substantial, but what if it was adorable and bite sized? What if you didn't have to deal with cream cheese oozing out all over the place? In 2013, wife and husband entrepreneurs Elyse and Nick Oleksak set out to do just that with Bantam Bagels. Heading over to "Shark Tank," Nick told the titular investors that the idea for these New York bagel-inspired bites stuffed with cream cheese was actually something that he literally dreamed up. Now, he and his wife just needed the sharks to make all their business dreams come true.

The pair were on an episode of "Shark Tank" that aired in January 2015, and asked for $275,000 for 11% equity in Bantam Bagels. They started by selling the bagel bites retail and said that revenues were stellar. After a visit to their West Village shop, Oprah Winfrey herself included Bantam Bagels, especially the pretzel bagel with Dijon cheddar cream cheese, on her 2014 list of "Oprah's Favorite Things." However, the profit margin was not so great. They needed to expand and sell their product in a more cost-effective way — wholesale. When Bantam Bagels appeared on "Shark Tank," the company's largest client was QVC.

Here's where things seemed to get a little touchy. Robert Herjavec questioned how much they really needed the investment since they both had Wall Street backgrounds. In fact, at the time, Nick was still working in investment banking. Herjavec said, "They're trying too many things." To this Elyse responded that they were "coachable" and would happily take guidance from the sharks. Mark Cuban, an investor in other food products pitched on "Shark Tank" like The Painted Pretzel, took issue with the amount of direction they would need to be successful and felt he was not a good fit.

With Herjavec and Cuban out of the picture, Barbara Corcoran came in with an offer for $275,000, but in exchange for a whopping 51% stake, insisting that they would fail without her help. Next, Kevin O'Leary made an offer of $275,000 for an only marginally better 50% stake with three requirements — Nick resign from his day job, they lease appropriate commercial kitchen space, and finally, they open a sales channel to sell directly to customers.

Elyse and Nick were visibly disappointed and apparently so was Lori Greiner, who exclaimed, "That makes no sense!" and proceeded to make an offer of $275,000 for 30% equity. Elyse countered with a 25% stake to which Greiner said, speaking over Corocran who quickly tried to dial it back and match the 30% equity offer, "I would if you decide right now with me." Greiner pulled a similar move in an episode of "Shark Tank" featuring FunBites. It looks like Corcoran had more confidence in Bantam Bagels than she originally let on, but Greiner deftly sealed the deal.

In the first four months after the episode aired, Bantam Bagels saw $200,000 in sales, and its revenue over four years grew to an impressive $45 million. Lori Greiner called Bantam Bagels "the most explosive food brand that ever came through the 'Shark Tank!'" When the company appeared on the show, it had flavors like everything bagel filled with veggie cream cheese, sesame filled with plain cream cheese, and a French toast flavor – a cinnamon and nutmeg spiced egg bagel filled with maple syrup and butter flavored cream cheese. After the show, the brand expanded its breakfast offerings to include stuffed pancake bites and bagel bites filled with eggs. They even expanded into the snack world with Bantam Pizzas in flavors like Margherita, pepperoni, five cheese, and supreme.

In 2018, Elyse and Nick Oleksak sold Bantam Bagels to the T. Marzetti Company for $34 million, and the two entrepreneurs were able to stay on in management and creative capacities. The acquisition brought a huge chunk of change for both the former business owners and Greiner, with her investment resulting in around an $8.5 million payout.

With all that success, you would think that Bantam Bagels would still be cranking out its bite-sized creations, but that's unfortunately not the case. In May 2022, Lancaster Colony, the parent company of T. Marzetti, made the decision to say goodbye to the Bantam Bagels brand for good. The main driver of the choice was poor financial performance due to pandemic-related factors like the cost of "raw materials, packaging, freight and labor, coupled with restructuring and impairment charges," notes Baking Business.

Starbucks, which had sold Bantam Bagels nationwide since 2016, decided to discontinue the product precisely because of that same pandemic pressure and decreased store traffic. It was a hit Bantam Bagels simply couldn't withstand, and Lancaster Colony basically decided to cut its losses.

Bantam Bagels' website is offline, but its Instagram is still up. The most recent post is from April 2022 featuring an array of bagel bites and is promoting a Mother's Day sale that probably never fully came to fruition. There are several shocked and sad comments with pleas from Bantam Bagels fans to bring back the product.

Since entrepreneurs Elyse and Nick Oleksak hit the small business jackpot and received a significant pay-out when they sold Bantam Bagels, you would think that the pair would have nothing but good things to say. However, it isn't quite that simple. While they are grateful for the experience and success, in an interview with Entrepreneur, Elyse also shared how she struggled to adapt following the intense ups and downs of running a business. "Every single sense of self and success [had been] wrapped in this swirl of panic at all times, so when we were left feeling safe and at peace, I almost didn't know what to do with that safety and peace," she said.

After plenty of self-reflection and the help of therapy, Elyse turned toward her new project — a book. In March 2024, she self-published the memoir "A Shark Ate My Bagel," which details both her personal and professional journeys. Aside from promoting the book, Elyse intends to work alongside small businesses in an advisory role, though she has not yet shared exactly what that venture could look like.

As for the other Bantam Bagels co-founder, Nick started a construction and real estate company in Westport, Connecticut, where the couple moved after their business no longer required them to be based in New York City. There, the couple (and their three children) are happy to focus on eating bagels rather than selling them.

"Shark Tank" is available to purchase on Prime Video.