Cousins Maine Lobster
Cousins Maine Lobster is a food truck operating in Los Angeles, CA, started and rub by two titular cousins from Maine who want to expand their business by adding more trucks. They claim that they back the best Maine lobster sandwich because they can bring lobsters direct from Maine "from shore to door" in less than twenty-four hours.
The entrepreneurs claim that they can get better prices than their competitors on lobsters because they still have roots in Maine and family can help them build and keep relationships with fishermen that other food trucks cannot compete with.
The cousins currently operate a single truck but would like to expand by one or two more.
In terms of sales, in the first month, the truck sold $65,000 worth of product and in the second, $85,000. In terms of costs, their truck cost $65,000 to purchase and customize and they have $20,000 a month in ongoing costs to pay employees.
The entrepreneurs claim that there is so much demand for their lobster that they cannot keep up, even turning down business opportunities such as catering events.
This deal originally aired on Episode 4.06
Making a Deal
Barbara Corcoran made, as we now know, a sweetheart deal with Cousins Maine Lobster. In exchange for $55,000, she received 15% of the business. This represented a bite of two-thirds from the original value of the business but, as the updates will show, it was worth it for the entrepreneurs.
Updates
Later in the same season, viewers were given a short update on Cousins Maine Lobster. The entrepreneurs stated that they opened up a 7,000 square foot distribution facility in Maine that allows them to ship lobster anywhere in the US overnight. Additionally, they were given an aware by the First Lady of Maine for their contribution to the state's economy.
Towards the end of Season Five, Shark Tank aired another update on Cousins Maine Lobster. It was stated that since their appearance on the show they had grossed $3,500,000 in sales and that they had begun to franchise the business. In fact, the first truck for a franchise was going to be delivered to Phoenix, AZ.
In the middle of Season Seven, Cousins Maine Lobster updated viewers again on their progress. The entrepreneurs claimed that in the three years since appearing on the show, they had done $15,000,000 in sales. Additionally, they were now up to eleven franchises.
In the seventh episode of Season Ten, Barbara cited Cousins Maine Lobster to the entrepreneur behind Oat Meals as the reason why she should accept her offer. Barbara said that the business had now made $40,000,000 in sales.[1]
Gothamist, a New York current events website, wrote about the opening of a Cousins Maine Lobster franchise in Manhattan and said the following[2]:
Cousins Maine Lobster, as the blaring signage informs you in the entrance-way, has been featured on a bunch of TV shows and stations, including the Food Network, CNN, the Today Show, and, most importantly and famously it seems, Shark Tank. But you should not be dissuaded by all the "As Seen On TV" marketing you'll see, because once you're settled inside, Cousins feels more like an actual NYC neighborhood restaurant than a soulless spin-off.
The opening of the New York City location was noted in episode fifteen of Season Ten, where they gave an update stating that in the six years since the original deal, the business now operated twenty-nine food trucks, twenty-one franchise locations, and ten restaurants.[3] They also state that while they had only made $150,000 in sales by the time of their Shark Tank pitch, they had now made over $50,000,000 in sales.
Barbara is also apparently pretty close with the entrepreneurs from Cousins Maine Lobster. So much so that she accompanied one of their fiancée's to Kleinfeld's in an episode of Say Yes To The Dress (which is known because Mrs. Stats Shark watches this show...)
Notes
- ↑ Interestingly, Barbara lost out on the Oat Meals deal to Lori Greiner who in turn cited her own success with Bantam Bagels, another Shark Tank heavy hitting deal.
- ↑ Source: Great Crustacean Creations At New Cousins Maine Lobster In Kips Bay
- ↑ One must presume that the difference between "franchises" and "restaurants" is the difference between the ones owned and operated by Cousin's Maine Lobster directly versus those who have been granted a franchise to operate as a location.