But he took it back the same year in December. Kodiak Cakes was officially started as a business in 1994 by Jon Clark. Kodiak Cakes products focus on healthy and nutritious food paired with a healthy lifestyle. It would become a multimillion-dollar brand, sold in stores nationwide. They meet the people they work with in person. Meet Joel Clark and Cameron Smith, the CEO, and COO of possibly the best-tasting pancake mix (and other terrific products) around! 146: British Robinson - President & CEO at Barbara Bush . Focus and consolidate growth in one business venture at a time. Kodiak Cakes: How a Shark Tank Reject Went from Baking Pancakes to a $300 Million Brand. Joel Clark, CEO and founder of Kodiak Cakes. His new career brought in stable income, and he could offload some of the stress of running Kodiak Cakes. Knocking on doors in his neighborhood, this little salesman was hard to resist. He chose the latter. Kevin asks how he, the investor, would receive his money back. Some people innately embody a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Joel Clark says he was excited when, in 1997, his brother offered him the chance to take over Kodiak Cakes, the business he founded based on their mother's pancake recipe. Snacks Kodiak Cakes makes whole-grain breakfast pancake mixes conceived to inspire healthier breakfast eating, and active living. Don't spread yourself too thin. Even without formal business experience, he took over the Kodiak Cakes when his older brother, Jon, wanted to let it go. Joel had to rely on his personal cash reserves and stay motivated to go. And what happened was, buyers loved working with us because we made them look really good," said Smith. He wanted his pancake mix to be convenient add water only, and it's ready to go. There were times when we thought, 'Man, why did we start with pancakes? 4. | Case Study. Joel Clark and Cameron Smith. As he tried to scale the business, Joel made some risky business decisions and almost went bankrupt, but eventually got the brand into Targeta major turning point. Not only that but their revenue has also surpassed $200 million. So a lot of our products have higher protein in them. Kevin speaks up, saying that there are two monster competitors in the breakfast mix space; they have to be very careful about their aggregation strategy because the competitors have so much more capital that they can come in and instantly take the shelf space. Kevin OLeary offered $500,000 but for 50% and then went out. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; Capitalism.com is on a mission to create one million millionaires by 2028. That year, Joel was working as an analyst at a management consulting company. Kodiak Cakes Overview. Kodiak Cakes is a flapjack and waffle mix, but is unique because its made with 100% whole grains and no added fats or sugars. This likely stunted Kodiak Cake's growth at the time. Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: How will the CPG space change in the next 10 years. "Kodiak Cakes was founded in 1995, but the original flapjack mix goes all the way back to when I . No government can match their effectiveness and financial stewardship. Products are sold in 26,000 doors nationwide. Scaling way beyond that little red wagon meant overcoming decades of incredible trials. "Those little victories do a lot for parents in your emotional rollercoaster of the day," he said. The pair might have walked out without a deal but that hasnt stopped them from achieving success. Its safe to assume that Cameron Smith grew up differently. Nearing 30, he worried about providing for his family. The reason that we do that is so we can meet our influencers before we work with them, and we can build a relationship before diving into a contract. No other company provides that. He got a call from Dan's Grocery Store saying they sold out of his pancake mix by 10 am. Cameron studied Google search trends and discovered more protein-related searches were increasing. The founder of Kodiak Cakes, Joel Clark and COO Cameron Smith of Park City, . He would then store inventory in his basement. Kodiak Cakes would still only be a side hustle while Joel completed his college degree and held other jobs. Weve seen what smart entrepreneurs can accomplish. Joel continues on, saying they have a low price at Target, but Target eats up a large margin of 45% of all the sales despite pushing the product out to more than 16,000 stores nationwide. Kodiak Cakes didn't receive any shark investments, but they gained tons of exposure and fans. Kevin O'Leary countered with 50% ownership, Barbara Corcoran also countered with 50% ownership, Robert Herjavec countered with 35% ownership. Unable to attend, Joel put Cameron in charge. And Kodiak Cakes takes it a step further. Kevin says that true companies do not trade for their forecast of ten-times cashflow, and when Joel says they spoke to bankers about their strategies of investment, Kevin points out that the bankers never actually wrote a check. People took advantage of this promotion, and it sold like hotcakes (sorry, not sorry). This led to a $260,000 purchase order to stock Kodiak Cakes nationwide. Nutrition Facts "The goal was to create a wooden, cabin-style structure and as we went along, we slowly became attached to the idea of having a fog machine pump smoke out of a chimney in the back," Joel said. Joel was in debt, didn't have savings, and had a family to provide for. "Not only has the business changed, but we as leaders and employees have had to change, as well," says Clark. The guys pitched the product on Shark Tank and rejected a deal. His mother only prepared whole foods and baked goods for him and his four older siblings. In 2008, after several losses, Joel gave Kodiak Cakes to another company to run as he took a job. Well, Entrepreneurs from a health food company that provides whole grain breakfast alternatives, like Kodiak Cakes, attended the event hoping to raise $500,000 for a 10% stake in the company. They gained popularity from the Shark Tank show, increasing their sales and revenue to reach a $160 million value. Joel was devastated. Create Psychological Safety and Ownership to Activate Gro Joel was confident his entrepreneurial spirit would lead the brand to success. Eight-year-old Joel loaded his little red wagon full of his mom's homemade whole wheat pancake mix. We provide entrepreneurs with the tools and resources needed to create successful businesses and build lasting, life-changing wealth. About the Founders Joel Clark was raised by a health-conscious family in Salt Lake City, Utah. He started with $13,000 and gave him the rest when needed. Tugging his wagon behind him, Joel went door-to-door selling the pancake mix to his neighbors in Salt Lake City. After so many years sunk into the business, this was a setback he couldn't afford. Wanting to put this money to good use, Joel went to work on getting into more grocery stores. Joel Clark and Cameron Smith (Kodiak Cakes) . In 2009, Joel was working on a holiday promotion with Safeway. Since turning down the Sharks offers, Kodiak Cakes has gone from strength to strength by sticking to their position and pushing for more nourishing food in stores. It all began with a whole-grain flapjack recipe created by Joel Clark's grandfather. "For years we were selling to ski towns in Utah and Wyoming, just bootstrapping along the way." That all changed in 2014. Joel would package the pancake mix into separate brown lunch bags. The founders hoped to create a whole-grain pancake mix that offered an alternative to regular pancake mixes. SHARE Taking on the world, one pancake at a time. Arriving at an agreement, Joel opened not one but two locations. Kodiak Cakes cofounders Joel Lark and Cameron Smith auditioned for Shark Tank with their family-based product, Kodiak Cakes and they asked the Sharks for $500,000 in exchange for 10% equity. Sometime around 1994, Jon Clark took his family recipe for a whole grain baking mix, tweaked it for flapjacks, and built a brand around it that later become Kodiak Cakes. Kevin O'Leary offered $500,000 for 50% equity, Barbara offered half the money for 20% and a split with Kevin, and Robert Herjavec offered the money for 35% ownership. As far as we can tell, however, Joel and Cameron still work for the company; the former is the CEO while the latter is the president. Joel told his boss he had to leave that work today. This seemingly simple tweak to its core recipe really kicked the business into high gear with revenue surpassing several million dollars, added Smith. Kodiak Cakes SHARE. Around 33 years old, Joel took on a job running a home health care agency in Salt Lake City. more products. When you see people eating our product, it's a part of their getting healthier journey.". Sales and revenue increased. Insider Growth is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Joel Clark is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kodiak Cakes, crafting 100% whole grain, protein-packed, non-GMO products. Today, the "Because I think I felt like, well, they aren't on-board, they didn't see the value even close to where we saw.". Many people believe Kodiak Cakes are worth the higher price point. Wetook this category that retailers saw as a commodity, they didnt care as much about it, and we were able to bring back growth -- double-digit growth. He partially financed it with his student loans. Joel says that while they could grow the pancake mix as they have been, they want to explode the business. They are available on various official online platforms along with their own website. As he tried to scale the business, Joel made . As of 2022, Kodiak Cakes is worth $160 million. Reply. 1968 S. Coast Hwy #675 Jon felt the business wasn't gaining enough traction, despite the endless hours he put into the business. Pancakes are a favorite comfort food for many. They also got into several major retailers and became the official food for Diabetic Living, Weight Watchers, and Shape Magazine, which drove up their sales even more. So, Joel cold-called different stores and managed to get through some grocery stores around Salt Lake City, including Albertsons and Smith's Grocery Store. That's when he met Cameron Smith in 2009. Barbara offered half the money for 20% and wanted to split the deal and Kevin was happy to partner. Then came the brand's next big "unlock" moment: the addition of protein powder to its pancake and waffle mixes. 05-Aug-2021 at 16:30 GMT, Related tags "Protein is one. The family's original whole-wheat hot cake recipe was developed by CEO Joel Clark's grandfather,. Kodiak Cakes Net Worth is $160 Million. Existing shareholders including Sunrise Strategic Partners, Trilantic North America and the company's founders and management team will continue The episode aired on April 4, 2014. At Capitalism.com, were ALL IN on entrepreneurs. To help gain more publicity, Joel pitched his product story to his local newspaper in Salt Lake City. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Even though Kodiak Cakes did not have a Sharks backing, they made $54 million within the next four years. Kodiak Cakes was especially vulnerable to recession-related price hikes. Protein. So began the $160 million brand, Kodiak Cakes. -SPONSORED- Penny decided to package the cakes and have Joel sell them with a handwritten recipe in the neighborhood. fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); Kodiak Cakes. Kodiak Cakes was more than a pancake mix. Joel used a little red wagon as his transport. That was probably the worst idea," Smith told FoodNavigator-USA. Joel almost declared bankruptcy several times. But Kodiak Cakes was slow to pick up popularity in the beginning. Kodiak cakes offer a good alternative to whole grain, high quality, balanced, nutritious pancakes, and waffles. Eight-year-old Joel loaded his little red wagon full of his mom's homemade whole wheat pancake mix. Bradley Cooper's Net Worth Wealth Soars, $100 Million Plus ; . Kodiak traces its roots back to 1982, when eight-year-old Joel Clark began selling his mother's hand-milled pancake mix door-to-door from a little red wagon. The pancake mix brand now sells graham crackers, protein balls, microwavable flapjack cups, and more. It's a good thing they didn't move forward with it. 170 - Joel Clark & Cameron Smith - Co-Founders, CEO & COO of Kodiak Cakes. Private equity firm L Catterton has acquired better-for-you food brand Kodiak Cakes for an undisclosed amount. Robert Herjavec made a better proposal of $500,000 for 35% but the equity was still too high. A management consulting company new career brought in stable income, and he could offload some of stress! That but their revenue has also surpassed $ 200 million and CEO of Kodiak Cakes another. He worried about providing for his family his transport and CEO of Kodiak Cakes makes whole-grain pancake! To leave that work today cash reserves and stay motivated to go create Safety. The Shark Tank show, increasing their sales and revenue to reach a $ 300 million brand in.. Happened was, buyers loved working with us because we made them look really good, '' said.. 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