OatMeals: When Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran and Lori Greiner fought to grab a $500k deal

Shark Tank US, an American reality TV show, first aired in 2009. To boost entrepreneurial zeal and push people across America to dive into creating and innovating new ideas, Shark Tank became one of the most loved and followed shows by viewers. The show is running its sixteenth season on ABC Network, with hundreds of deals that made it big via the show.

In Season 10 of Shark Tank, Samantha Stephens invented an ingenious way of making regular oatmeal a flavorful breakfast, lunch, or dinner meal. "Adding a modern twist to an old-fashioned favorite," Samantha created a brand called OatMeals and wanted the Sharks to invest $500k in 20% of the equity in her company.

Samantha's product distinguished itself from staple oatmeal that people eat at home by offering a variety of toppings and flavors, considering calorie intake, and introducing savory options in the meals. After pitching, the floor was open for the Sharks to try the meals and pour in their comments. Despite having a mouth full of oatmeal, the Sharks could not stop praising how great it tasted.

Out of five Sharks, Samantha received offers from two: Lori Greiner and Barbara Corcoran. While Lori asked for one-third of equity with a contingent plan to bring the products to Starbucks, Barbara offered $500k for 50% stakes in the OatMeals cart business.

---

Who did OatMeals' founder Samantha choose between Lori Greiner and Barbara Corcoran in Shark Tank?

On Season 10 of Shark Tank Samantha Stephens brought her oatmeal restaurant with the expectation of getting the Sharks on board with the vision to serve healthy and delicious meals to America. Samantha was a finance person before starting her 350-square-foot restaurant, OatMeals.

To expand and make it big, Samantha wanted the expertise and guidance of the Sharks. Being 6 years into the business, Samantha's profit did not seem promising to the other three sharks, Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban, and Daymond John. However, Barbara and Lori saw potential in the project and laid down their offers.

Lori Greiner wanted Samantha to repackage the oatmeals and be open to selling them through grocery stores and other outlets like Starbucks. Barbara, on the other hand, offered to take her brand out of the 350-square-foot restaurant and expand it into a cart business by helping her open many carts across New York City.

Lori Greiner asked for 33.3% of the stakes in her company for $500k, adding a clause that she will be working on repackaging and distributing the meals with her QVC expertise. Barbara asked for 50% stakes in Samantha's cart business for the same amount. Both offers seemed lucrative. However, Samantha had to make a choice.

Mark Cuban simplified the offers for Samantha and said:

"Sam one offer is a bet on distribution for a product you don't have. The other offer is taking what you already do and replicating in a more profitable more efficient format."

Samantha asked Lori to consider the deal at a 30% stake, but Lori was confident in her offer and declined to negotiate. After a lot of deliberation and other sharks giving their valuable opinions, Samantha decided to take Lori Greiner's offer, shocking Barbara Corcoran, who later said to Lori:

"You just stole millions of dollars from this baby and sent her down the wrong path."

Later, it was reported that Samantha's deal with Lori Greiner had not materialized, and her restaurant was hit by a bad wave during COVID-19, causing her an immense loss and shutting down her New York outlet.

---

Shark Tank Season 16 airs on ABC Network on Fridays.