Bertello: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank
With an average episode viewership of 4.2 million people by 2022, it's safe to say the "Shark Tank" show is monumental for budding entrepreneurs. Journeys to that notorious stage are long and competitive, culminating in a face-off with Shark investors such as Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Kevin O'Leary, and Barbara Corcoran.
That's exactly the scenario playing out when two brothers from Minnesota arrived to Season 11, Episode 15 dressed as pizza chefs in pillowy white hats. The product, however, wasn't pizza. It was a sleek, compact, outdoor Bertello oven that facilitates tabletop cooking of worldwide-beloved pizza pies.
Theatrics temporarily took the spotlight, including a pie-in-the-face stunt leaving brother Eric with a saucy grin that remained as pitching progressed. A Bertello pizza oven came along for the presentation, prompting an invitation for O'Leary to try it out. Self-proclaiming as "Chef Wonderful," a variation of his well-known Mr. Wonderful moniker, O'Leary still managed to burn part of the pizza during the demonstration.
Even with showmanship involved, and perhaps because of it, the pizza-loving brothers seemed primed for some serious investments dollars.
What happened to Bertello on Shark Tank?
Show-biz aside, the Bert brothers entered the set with some impressive product details. They explained what makes their oven stand out amongst other brands: Rather than sticking to a single method of generating heat, the Bertello Wood Fire & Gas Outdoor Pizza Oven lets users tap into one of three outdoor-cooking methods: propane gas, charcoal, or wood fire –– or even a combination of gas and wood that greatly reduces cooking time. The oven cooks pizza at over 900 degrees Fahrenheit, producing a piping-hot pizza in as little as two minutes.
Pitching the Sharks, they requested $120,000 and 10% of the business. The pizza emerging from the oven was unanimously deemed deliciousness, but Cuban went out (declined to invest) fairly early, explaining how he wasn't a grilling, outdoor pizza kind of guy, so it wasn't a good fit.
In the end, it came down to Corcoran and O'Leary, each taking a Shark bite. But Corcoran questioned the energy level of Eric Bert, justifying the doubt by saying she'd previously done very well on investments in which she wasn't as enthused about the product as she was the entrepreneur. Nevertheless, she offered the asking $120,000 but with a higher 25% ownership.
O'Leary, jumping on the opportunity more provide more product enthusiasm, matched the $120,000 offer but with a 30% stake. When the Bertello duo countered O'Leary at 25%, effectively matching Corcoran's offer, they immediately sealed the deal with Mr. Wonderful, noting later how O'Leary believed in them from the start while Corcoran didn't.
Bertello After Shark Tank
The show aired on March 13, 2020, prompting resulting sales of $75,000 within 24 hours. However, just three days later, America went into lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic. So, rather than panicking, the brothers re-prioritized their sales strategy to focus on online sales, saying later that it saved their business.
With the world now cooking in their own homes, including on outdoor decks and patios, the affordable Bertello pizza oven slid right into the unexpected and ever-broadening culinary niche. Sales poured in from far-flung locales including Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Israel, and Iceland. The stated $640,000 sales figure prior to the filming of their "Shark Tank" episode morphed to $6.3 million within 16 months after the on-air pitch.
O'Leary noted how the successful oven sales came down to the pies themselves — but also to the devotion and passion of the chefs. It didn't hurt that QVC came on board, with O'Leary claiming thousands of oven sales.
O'Leary, aka Chef Wonderful, also touted the product to his stated millions of social media followers, calling pizza pies from the hot ovens "crazy good" and "beyond fantastic," even shuffle-dancing in the kitchen while comparing them to a romantic night in Paris.
Is Bertello still in business?
By all accounts, Bertello continues to thrive in the niche market of outdoor pizza ovens, particularly as they offer dual cooking methods. The company website still claims Bertello pizza ovens are the only ones capable of cooking simultaneously with gas and wood. Customers note the convenience of a tabletop design and the high-end taste compared to indoor-oven pizza pies.
Co-founder Eric Bert, a former structural engineer who designed the original Bertello pizza oven, stated in early 2023 that Bertello is now raking in $10 million-plus in sales revenue. He credits much of that success to the influence of Shark investor O'Leary, who publicizes the product and sets up appearances on popular shows such as "Good Morning America."
The company maintains a consistent product value but does offer occasional discounts, largely in line with retail norms such as a 20% discount code on Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Online package deals can also provide value based on the number of included accessories.
What's next for Bertello?
The future of Bertello pizza ovens looks solid, with an expanded product base hugging closely to the family tree. New accessories and food offerings are designed to complement the core business of selling outdoor tabletop pizza ovens.
In early 2022, the company announced its grande 16-inch outdoor pizza oven, a larger version of the original 12.5-inch width. Both feature prominently online, with additional offerings for accompanying accessories such as weatherproof oven covers, pizza stones, and wooden or perforated-steel pizza peels. To get that coveted wood-fired flavor in their favorite homemade Neapolitan, Sicilian, or Margherita pizzas, devotees can also snag a hefty supply of natural untreated oak-wood kindling.
The only edible product thus far is pizza dough balls ready for baking, with each 16-ounce ball facilitating the creation of two 12-inch pizzas. The dough ships frozen and packed with dry ice.
As for the "Shark Tank" experience and resulting investment-based growth, Eric puts it simply in a statement reported by Forbes: "It's better to have a percentage of a watermelon than 100% of a grape and it's so true because Kevin (O'Leary) brings a lot to the table."
Advice from the brothers for budding entrepreneurs boils down to loving your product and being diligent when the bumpy times occur, which they inevitably will. Stay positive, work hard, and give your kids an example of successfully creating something out of nothing, they say.