Nana Shake

Founders: The company, Nana Shake, was co-founded by the husband-and-wife team Kamayra and Yazid.
Origin Story: The couple immigrated to Canada in 2014. The inspiration for the business came from their children's desire for ice cream; their son, who suffered from asthma, could not have dairy options.
Motivation: Upon researching existing non-dairy alternatives, the founders discovered many were not significantly healthier. This led them to develop their own product using whole food sources.
Development Process: The current iteration of the product is Nana Pops 4.0. The founders iterated the recipe four times based on store demos and direct customer feedback to improve moving the product off the shelves.

Core Concept: Nana Pops are a healthy and nutritious ice cream alternative that is primarily and naturally sweetened with a whole food source: bananas.
Flavor Varieties: The product is available in five flavors, including: * Chocolate Peanut Butter. * Banana Bread. * Strawberry Fun Shine.
Nutritional Profile: * Calories: Approximately $120$ calories per bar. * Protein: Contains $7\,g$ of protein (specifically noted for the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor). * Sugar: Contains $8\,g$ of sugar derived from natural sources, compared to leading ice cream brands that can contain more than $20\,g$ of sugar. * Ingredient Deck: Described as a "clean" ingredient deck, making it suitable for dairy-free diets and even breakfast consumption.
Retail Pricing: A box of four Nana Pops retails for $\$7.99$ .

Retail Presence: Nana Pops are available in more than $1,000$ stores nationally across Canada.
Distribution Strategy: * The company was at $300$ doors (retail locations) in the previous year and recently added $700$ more doors. * Loblaws: The founders had an opportunity to list at Loblaws but declined due to high listing fees and a desire to increase "off-shelf velocity" before committing to those costs.
Merchandising Innovation: Nana Shake is the first ice cream brand to be merchandised in the produce section rather than the frozen treat aisle. They use branded Nana Pops freezers to position themselves in the healthiest section of the store, effectively avoiding direct competition for frozen aisle shelf space.
Retailer Success: Sobeys has placed four of these freezers in their produce sections. Although some stores initially delisted the product when it didn't perform well, several have since become best-selling locations for the brand.

Equity Ask: $\$500,000$ in return for $8\%$ equity.
Sales History: * 2023: $\$125,000$ in sales. * 2024: $\$330,000$ in sales (more than double the previous year). * 2025 (Current Year): On track to surpass $\$1,000,000$ in sales.
Profitability: For the year they reach $\$1,000,000$ in revenue, they project a profit of $\$90,000$ , which includes paying the founders' salaries.
Previous Funding: The company raised $\$600,000$ in a previous round of external funding at a $\$3,000,000$ valuation.

The "Banana Problem": When asked why a giant like Nestlé couldn't simply replicate the product, the founders explained that bananas are extremely difficult and challenging to process.
Viscosity: The mixture has a very thick viscosity. It took over a year of working side-by-side with a co-packer to perfect the manufacturing process.

Investment Use: The $\$500,000$ investment is intended to establish additional revenue lines beyond current wholesale channels.
Target Channels: * Convenience stores (C-stores). * Private label production. * Food service.
International Interest: The founders have already been approached by potential partners in the United States, China, and the Middle East, suggesting a global gap in the market for such a product.

Dragon 1 (Manjeet): Relatability to the founders as a daughter of immigrant parents and an appreciation for the innovative distribution strategy in the produce section.
Dragon 2 (Michele): Expressed interest in helping the company expand into convenience stores, food service, and private labels.
Discussion on Flavor: One Dragon questioned if the strawberry flavor was the only good one, which the founders countered by stating the chocolate and banana bread flavors are highly popular and taste "richer" than their low-calorie count suggests.
Velocity Concerns: A Dragon questioned if the current sales indicated low velocity relative to the number of stores. The founders clarified they had just significantly scaled their door count from $300$ to $1,000$ .
Negotiation: * Arlene and Michele both offered $\$500,000$ for $15\%$ equity, matching the valuation of the previous funding round. * The founders countered by asking if the Dragons would take down the equity to $12.5\%$ . * Manjeet noted that she had written down $12.5\%$ in her notebook as a fair deal. * The Deal: The founders accepted an offer of $\$500,000$ for $12.5\%$ equity.