I saw a company on Shark Tank last week here in Austin, Texas, only two hours from me. He grew a food truck to multiple food trucks and something like ten company owned stores. Very impressive. It was oriental BBQ.
All of the Sharks loved the food and had nothing bad to say about it. However, none were interested in investing in it. Just because the business is tough and nothing he was doing wrong.
The thing is, I was watching that, and the way he did the food is the way Chipotle does. Calories were never mentioned once. I want to check it out myself. I get the impression it's an oriental Chipotle BBQ style. It should have been explained that way to the Sharks IFF that is what it is. I want to see if I need to keep it on my radar. His food was a lot of protein and he had some rice burritos instead of flower burritos. It just unique.
If he has a "burrito bowl" version, and if he puts calories on the menu, and if he understands that, or if the right investor(s) understand that, it could be huge I think. I don't think the Sharks saw that angle. One thing about that Chipotle that many people don't understand about the customers like me and part of its success is that you can build your own "buttito bowl" to spec. And I can make it 370 calories with no rice, black beans, chicken, fajita vegetables, all three sauces, and lettuce. Maybe quacamole which is so good for you for 200 calories more, IFF it's in my daily budget. That is so healthy and so filling, but with a high sodium content - the only downside but is unavoidable for restaurants. It's a preservative and one of only two numbers that are suspect and controversial (cholesterol being the other), and it can be counterbalanced with a lot of potassium and 500 mg easily released in sweat on a 3-mile fun jog.
I want to check out that Asian BBQ chain and I want to be an early investor if I like what I see. The Sharks don't get the above.
