What Happened To Wanna Date After Shark Tank?
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Over the years, we've seen plenty of memorable "Shark Tank" food companies pitch innovative products, be it vegan sushi or sea moss supplements. When it comes to spreads like peanut butter, Melissa Bartow tried to revolutionize the industry with her Wanna Date? date spread.
While serving acai bowls in college, Bartow wondered if she could use dates as a natural sweetener in nut butter-esque spreads. She set about creating a sweet, low-sugar date spread. Dates are packed with nutrients, per Healthline, and though they're high in calories and sugar, Bartow created an around 30-calorie-per-serving spread by blending the dried fruit with water and seasonings only — without oil, sweetener, or fillers. The primary selling point of Bartow's date spreads is their lack of added sugars.
Bartow got the idea while taking a crowdfunding video production class at NYU. To get her business off the ground, she posted a video about Wanna Date on IndieGoGo in March of 2018 and made about $2,250.
How do Wanna Date date spreads compare to nut butters?
While popular peanut butter brands like Jif and Skippy contain 2 grams and 3 grams of added sugar, respectively, Wanna Date does not include any added sugars. Instead, the only sugar present in the date spreads is from the dates themselves. What is more, dates and Wanna Date spreads are packed with fiber, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins like A, B-6, and K.
The spreads also do not contain any sodium, fat, or cholesterol. For comparison, while Jif peanut butter is similarly high in potassium and low in cholesterol, a single serving contains 16g of fat and 140 mg of sodium. Bartow's spreads are also oil-free, vegan-friendly, and perfect for foodies who are allergic to nut butters.
By the time she appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2020, she had made $31,000 in sales. Bartow asked the sharks for an investment of $100,000 in exchange for 20% equity, and almost immediately, she was met with skepticism. Sharks Barbara Cocoran and Lori Greiner worried about Bartow's inexperience and drive, but ultimately, Mark Cuban made an offer of $100,000 for 33%. Given that Cuban took a chance on Wanna Date, fans may be all the more curious as to where the company is today.
Where is Wanna Date today?
At the time of her "Shark Tank" appearance, Melissa Bartow sold five flavors of Wanna Date spreads – original, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice. However, the company has since added a cookie-flavored date spread, as well as date doughs in the flavors chocolate brownie, birthday cake, and snickerdoodle.
Per the Wanna Date website, each 10.5 oz. jar of date spread costs $12, and each 12 oz. bag of date dough mix costs $14. These products are also on Amazon, selling in 2-packs and 3-packs. More excitingly, Bartow's spreads have made their way into more than 120 grocery stores across the U.S. — including the ever-desirable Whole Foods Market.
As of 2023, Wanna Date? has more than $5 million in total sales and a valuation of $2 million. According to Bartow's LinkedIn profile, she is still very much involved in the company but also works as a Pilates studio manager and yoga instructor in New York.