What Happened To Milk And Brookies After Shark Tank?
Imagine a hybrid of chewy, fluffy cookies and dense, cakey brownies. Brookies are sweet and decadent and come in a satisfying muffin shape. This novel baked treat was conceived by Jovon English when she craved a brownie and a cookie and decided there must be a way to have both. This became Milk and Brookies, presented in Season 7, Episode 4 of "Shark Tank," which aired on October 16, 2015.
English's partners Naimah Harris and Marques Brooks joined her for the pitch. To familiarize the Sharks with their product, Harris said, "Brookies are cookie-brownie mashups. It's what you would get if a brownie liked a cookie, put a ring on it, and then had a baby."
In 2014, before the trio appeared on "Shark Tank," they sold their signature brookies via a direct-to-consumer website and quickly made $14,000 in profit. However, an inability to keep up with demand led them to offer the Sharks a 20% stake in their company for $200,000.
What happened to Milk and Brookies on Shark Tank?
At the beginning of their presentation, Marques Brooks explained how the brookie could become L.A'.s signature hybrid dessert, much like New York's cronut and San Francisco's cruffin, which are croissant-hybrid treats. The partners explained that, while they have eight signature brownie-cookie flavors, their fans (affectionately deemed "brookie monsters") also had the option to custom order flavor combinations with 750 options — much to the Sharks' chagrin.
After making their initial pitch, Brooks distributed a sample of their staple flavors with a small milk jug for each Shark. Everyone was impressed with the super-sweet treats, though Kevin O'Leary noted the dessert was "exceptionally rich" and estimated it was between 400 and 500 calories, to which Barbara Corcoran and Lori Greiner quickly replied, "Don't tell us!"
Even though the Sharks liked the brookies, everyone opted out of investing in the company. O'Leary quickly pointed out that 750 options are far too many. The Sharks were also concerned that all three partners had full-time jobs. To make this business successful, the Sharks felt it would need to be more than just a moonlight gig. Mark Cuban and O'Leary said they saw the business as a hobby and dropped out. Corcoran, Greiner, and Robert Herjavec said Milk and Brookies came on the show before they were ready to expand their business.
Milk and Brookies after Shark Tank
While the Milk and Brookies trio left the show without a deal, that wasn't the end of the company's story. After the episode aired, The Gazette Review reported an estimated 3,000% growth overnight, proving that "Shark Tank" can boost sales dramatically, even if no one chooses to invest in the company. This is especially likely to happen if the Sharks enjoy the product.
Milk and Brookies took O'Leary's advice and drastically reduced its flavor offerings. As of August 15, 2023, the company only sells seven brookie flavors: the OG, turtle, peanut butter, snickerdoodle, sugar, blondie, oatmeal raisin, and a variety pack.
Milk and Brookies also drastically increased its prices. In the "Shark Tank" episode, the company founders disclosed they were selling a 6-pack of brookies for between $14 and $17. Today, most varieties come in a 4-pack, starting at $24. However, the turtle brookie, which combines fudge brownies, pecans, and caramel, starts at $36, while a variety 6-pack totals $42.
Is Milk and Brookies still in business?
According to Linkedin, Jovon English remains the owner and CEO of Milk and Brookies but also has a full-time position with another company. Marques Brooks is still listed as the Chief Operating Officer of Milk and Brookies but also works as the COO of another company. There's no profile available for Naimah Harris, so it is unclear whether she still has a role in the company. Additionally, there have been no updates about whether the company has received new investments or taken on additional partners, but Milk and Brookies is still in business.
There is little information about Milk and Brookies, so we can only guess whether the partners still make their signature desserts in a residential or commercial kitchen. Reducing the number of flavor offerings, thus slashing inventory and overhead costs and sharply increasing prices, likely made its business model far more sustainable. According to social media, the company occasionally has sales around specific retail events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but that doesn't appear to be a significant part of its business.
What's next for Milk and Brookies?
While the founders haven't made public statements regarding plans for Milk and Brookies, it appears to be doing well with sales via its direct-to-consumer website. Likewise, the company's Instagram occasionally posts about pop-up events, typically in the greater Los Angeles area. Though information about Milk and Brookies' future is sparse, there's reason to believe it's bright. Companies offering desserts for delivery are a huge market right now, with companies like Crumbl rapidly expanding and gourmet businesses like Milk Bar now offering its prized desserts for delivery.
As of August 2, 2023, Milk and Brookies re-released its blondie flavor (due to popular demand) and has oatmeal raisin listed as a new flavor on the website. This indicates that Milk and Brookies will not return to its 750-plus options for brookie monsters but may continue to create new flavors based on fan preference and trends. While Milk and Brookies seems successful after "Shark Tank," its website has a notification stating complications due to COVID-19 may cause shipping delays, which indicates it still may be struggling with pandemic-related issues.