Shark Tank Pitch

De-Boned Baby Back Rib Steak Shark Tank Update

Published:

4m

Avon, OH

De-Boned Baby Back Rib Steak Shark Tank Update

Pitch Overview
NameDe-Boned Baby Back Rib Steak
Main PresentersAl Baker
Presenter Image
De-Boned Baby Back Rib Steak Entrepreneurs: Al Baker
Product Image
De-Boned Baby Back Rib Steak Product Image
Last Known in Business12/17/2022
Main Location

Avon, OH

Order Shown in Episode4
Final DealAll Sharks went Out

De-Boned Baby Back Rib Steak Shark Tank Pitch

Al "Bubba" Baker is a former pro football player who played in the NFL for 13 years. Al was rookie of the year when he played for the Detroit Lions in 1978. Now barbeque is his passion, and he runs a restaurant called World Famous Bubba's Bar-B-Q & Catering. Al set out to make ribs less messy for his wife by taking the bones out. At one point, Al quit on his rib idea, but his daughter pushed him to continue, and Al created a microwavable boneless rib called the De-Boned Baby Back Rib Steak.

Al has put every penny into this product and nearly caused them to close the family restaurant. Al has a patent on the product and the process. Beyond the paten, Al has the hands-on know-how to remove the bones he developed over 20 years. Last year, Al did $154k in sales through 48 stores.

The sharks were all surprised at how good the ribs were. Kevin finds a food patent to be rare and wants to license the patents to a large meat company. Daymond follows suit but asks for less equity. The remaining three sharks go out, and Al agrees to Daymond's deal.

Offers

Made ByLabelSharks Part of DealSummary
CompanyOffered$300k for 15% of company
SharksOfferedKevin O'Leary$300k for 49% of company contingent on a licensing deal with a large meat manufacturer
SharksDealDaymond John$300k for 30% of company contingent on a licensing deal with a large meat manufacturer
SharksOutRobert HerjavecOut
SharksOutBarbara CorcoranOut
SharksOutMark CubanOut
Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban

Out

Daymond John
Daymond John

Daymond John

Made Deal

Kevin O'Leary
Kevin O'Leary

Kevin O'Leary

Offered

Barbara Corcoran
Barbara Corcoran

Barbara Corcoran

Out

Robert Herjavec
Robert Herjavec

Robert Herjavec

Out

Updates in Shark Tank Episodes

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De-Boned Baby Back Rib Steak After Shark Tank

According to a 2021 blog post at bubbasbonelessribs.com , Al "Bubba" Baker grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, working at his uncle, Daddy Jr.'s famous barbeque restaurant in the 1950s. Al developed a passion for barbeque that stuck with him. Al opened up a few barbeque places during his football career. After retiring from football, Al ran his restaurant. When Al started selling boneless ribs, they were more expensive but sold three times more quantity than regular ribs and had a constantly full restaurant. Al knew he had something special and filed for his patents. Al spent so much time running the restaurant that he was getting very little sleep and had no time to spend with his family. He eventually closed his store and focused on a catering business and De-Boned Baby Back Rib Steak.

Al considers himself a slow learner, so he was nervous about memorizing his pitch for Shark Tank. To prepare, he practiced saying his pitch while his granddaughter did gymnastics in front of him with the TV on and while blaring music in his car.

Al "Bubba" Baker and Daymond John spoke on a news segment on YouTube , soon after airing. Daymond and Al said sales surpassed their expectations and they were working with manufacturers to process 16k orders.
In season 1, episode 1 of Beyond The Tank Al gave an update that they sold $100k in products the night Shark Tank aired. Their small co-packer limited production, so they could only meet $254k a year in sales despite demand from cruise ships, grocery chains, and more. After two years of underserving the demand, Al and Daymond made a deal with Rastelli Foods Group , which had a much greater production capacity.
In a 2019 YouTube video Daymond John reveals that the deal almost fell through several times because they could not find a co-packer willing and able to complete the complex process involved in deboning ribs. Luckily, they found Rastelli Foods, who became a partner in the business and were able to handle the food processing. They also did a deal with Carl's Jr. and Hardee's to sell boneless ribs sandwiches as part of a 60-day special.
Al's daughter, Brittani Bo Baker, who was in Shark Tank worked every part of the barbeque business with her dad for over 13 years. In 2021 she decided to take all her knowledge and start a food truck business, which she discusses in a news segment in 2021 on YouTube . Brittani has also competed in cooking competitions on Food Network. Her website is brittanibocooks.com , where she sells spice rubs and consulting services for others looking to enter the food business. She actively posts on Facebook .
Al Baker's son, James, was set to open a barbeque spot called Smokey's Barbeque in a brand new beautiful piece of real estate at the Flats East Bank in Cleveland, Ohio. Their Instagram, @smokeysflats , shows great progress throughout 2021 and was set to open in 2022. Unfortunately, the real estate developer, Scott Wolstein, who built the building and partnered with James, died of cancer in 2022, and a different restaurant took over the space, according to clevescene.com .
As of 2022 there are bone-in ribs and sauces for sale at bubbasbonelessribs.com . Al "Bubba" Baker posts on his Twitter, @Bubbasq60 , and his Instagram, @albubbabaker , where he's excited about a superhero book he is writing and hopes to release soon.

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