Pizza Pack: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank
It's not very often that viewers of "Shark Tank" get to see a returning entrepreneur in the Tank, let alone one whose first business got a thumbs down but who came back a few seasons later only to start a bidding war between the Sharks. Season 14's Tate Koenig was just that: Koenig had previously appeared on season 12 of the show with Cheese Chopper, a gadget that could slice and grate cheese as well as double up as a storage container. But with no sales or feedback from customers and only pre-orders to go by, the Sharks thought it too early for Cheese Chopper to be looking for an investor.
While Koenig steamrolled ahead with Cheese Chopper nonetheless, he did come back on the Tank two years later with another invention: Pizza Pack. His most recent creation presented a hassle-free solution for storing and heating leftover slices of cheesy hot pie. The Tupperware-style Pizza Pack containers could hold up to five slices at a time or collapse when you needed to store just one. Each container came with five microwavable divider trays to keep the slices separate and a lid designed to keep them from getting soggy. In case you didn't like your leftover pizza cold, you could even pop the entire container in a microwave for easy, crispy reheating. And unlike his run with Cheese Chopper, Koenig also had the numbers to back his nifty invention this time around.
What happened to Pizza Pack on Shark Tank
Koenig's Pizza Pack pitch certainly fared better than Cheese Chopper and left more than one Shark intrigued enough to consider making an offer. This time around, he sought $100,000 in exchange for the 10% of equity. For one, Pizza Pack had already made $250,000 worth of sales in the months since its launch earlier that year. To top it off, each Pizza Pack only cost four dollars to make and another $2.83 for customer acquisition — but sold for $24.99, leaving roughly $18 in profit. Understandably, the Sharks were impressed.
While Barbara Corcoran and Robert Herjavec quickly backed out, a nail-biting round of negotiations began between Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, and Mark Cuban. Mr. Wonderful offered one of his infamous royalty deals to Koenig while Greiner and John proposed to make the investment for 20% and 25% of equity respectively. Cuban, on the other hand, suggested an entirely different offer not commonly seen on "Shark Tank." Wanting to invest in Pizza Pack but hesitant to work with an entrepreneur who doubled up as an inventor, Cuban offered to buy the entire company outright if Koenig could come back with a reasonable valuation. Koenig's $5 million ask quickly put Cuban off, but the other three Sharks lowered their equity ask. After a series of back and forth, Koenig ultimately shook hands with Greiner who agreed to invest the $100,000 in exchange for a 13% stake in Pizza Pack.
Pizza Pack after Shark Tank
Although Koenig closed a deal with Greiner on "Shark Tank," it's unclear whether or not that deal actually went through after the show, especially as Pizza Pack does not appear on the investor's portfolio of "Shark Tank" investments. Regardless, there was a lot that was different about Koenig's appearance on the show that subsequently affected what came in the days that followed.
Pizza Pack was one of three businesses that pitched on "Shark Tank's" first and only live-audience episode and was to air pretty quickly after it was filmed. While this may certainly have upped the stakes on the pitch, Koenig told Joe Pardo in a YouTube interview that it also affected the orders that came after. It's common for businesses to get a wave of new customers and have a surge in sales when their episodes air, but Koenig wasn't informed in advance that his episode was to be filmed live and would air soon after. As a result, he wasn't quite prepared to stock up on inventory. While the entrepreneur planned to order extra containers in anticipation of Christmas, there weren't enough to fulfill all the orders that came after the show, and Pizza Pack quickly sold out on its website. Koenig went on to add that Pizza Pack had as many as 22,000 orders that needed to be delivered through Amazon at one point, which took him three trips to the post office every day.
Is Pizza Pack still in business?
Mr. Wonderful told Koenig on the show that Cheese Chopper was always a "loser" but with Pizza Pack, he had a "winner" on his hands (via YouTube). That last bit may have been true because Pizza Pack is still very much in business. At the time of its appearance on "Shark Tank," Pizza Pack was available in six different colors. The selection has since expanded to eight including a pink one whose proceeds are donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation in part.
Koenig's crafty invention also seems to have become a TikTok favorite and has over 12 million views on the platform, with several going so far as to call it an Amazon must-have. The containers continue to sell for $24.99 on Pizza Pack's website and for varying prices at Walmart and on Amazon where the packs have a 4.4 rating based on more than 3,000 reviews. Designer Dan Formosa even reviewed the Pizza Pack among five other "Shark Tank" inventions and found that though the containers had some design flaws that needed to be worked on, he would give it a three out of five in terms of usability, effectiveness, and its overall usefulness (via Epicurious).
What's next for Pizza Pack?
Pizza Pack's containers have remained much the same since they were pitched on "Shark Tank," but Koenig did tell Pardo that he was eyeing pizza chains to work with in the future. "Screw two hours or two days on Amazon; it'll be 30 minutes with your delivery driver," the entrepreneur proclaimed, adding that the likes of Papa John's and Papa Murphy's could potentially deliver his Pizza Packs with their hot pies (via YouTube). That may very well be something for fans to look forward to in the future — a Pizza Pack with each pizza delivery to store whatever's left for the next day.
Although Koenig still works as a lumber broker, he hasn't stopped tinkering with new inventions. Along with the Cheese Chopper and Pizza Packs, the website also lists a brand-new pizza cutter designed to avoid mistakes when slicing pizza. Considering his knack for kitchen gadgets, it's likely that fans will see more of Koenig's nifty inventions in the future. Besides, after his appearance on "Shark Tank" for Cheese Chopper, Koenig told the Oregon State University that he had three more products up his sleeve that were in development. One was Pizza Pack, which came to fruition, but the others were a stick called Grip Stake to hold plants down and a software called Life By Layers that converted photos into paintable images. Who's to say — perhaps a third appearance on "Shark Tank" is on the cards for the serial entrepreneur.