"You get both of us" — When Shark Tank's Lori Greiner teamed up with guest investor Gwyneth Paltrow for a deal with Milkify

Dr. Berkley Luck and Pedro Silva appeared on Shark Tank season 14, episode 19, which aired on April 7, 2023. The couple sought $400,000 in exchange for 10% equity in their business, Milkify, a service that helps nursing mothers freeze-dry breast milk as a powder without a freezer. While most Sharks backed out, Lori Greiner and Gwyneth Paltrow teamed up to present them with a joint offer.

"We'll give you the $400,000 as a loan. A three-year loan but we would like 20%. But you get both of us and we will help you to take it to the next level," Lori said.

Pedro countered, asking the Shark Tank investors if they could offer $400,000 as a convertible note with the option to be paid back in three years or convert to 20% equity. After a brief deliberation, Lori and Gwyneth accepted the counteroffer, finalizing the deal with the business owners.

Milkify is still in business, however, a re-run of the episode revealed that the deal with Lori and Gwyneth had yet to be closed. Regardless, Milkify has connected with over 3000 clients across the States. They have a lifetime annual sales of over $500,000, but their official statistics are not publicly disclosed.

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"Universe of appeal is more limited than I would like" — Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran refuses to invest in Milkify

During their pitch, Dr. Luck explained that the quality of stored breast milk starts to degrade within three months. With Milkify, nursing mothers can save milk for future use without using a freezer. Their service allows mothers to freeze-dry milk without contact and convert it into a safe and convenient powder. Pedro added that it has a shelf-life of three years without refrigeration or impacting the nutrient content.

Dr. Luck then presented a demo of how the product worked. She used the powder version of her milk, and added it to a bottle of water and shook it. The Shark Tank investors were impressed by how hassle-free the procedure was.

When Lori asked the business owner if freeze-drying impacted the nutritional value of the milk, Dr. Luck assured her it did not.

"So, the research shows that there is no significant changes after you've freeze-dried breast milk. We've done our own testing to validate this with our process," she explained.

Then Gwyneth asked Dr. Luck to detail the entire process. She explained that mothers were sent shipping packages, containing pharma-grade insulated coolers. They also came with a return shipping label alongside a detailed side of packing and shipping instructions.

Pedro stated they charged $1.60 per ounce with an average order costing about $475 for four to five weeks of milk. When Lori asked the business owners how they came up with the idea, Dr. Luck, who has a PhD in molecular microbiology, revealed she developed it while working as a research scientist.

"In my research, I was studying the infant gut microbiome, and so I jumped head-first into this idea and spent the next year and a half learning everything I could about freeze-drying and leaning on my experience to design a process that was safe for doing this with breast milk," she added.

Soon after, Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary asked the husband-wife twosome to cite their sales. Pedro revealed they had $2 million in registered pre-orders. He added that lifetime sales were $525,000. In the first year of opening the company in 2021, Milkify did $184,000. At the time of taping they had made $340,000 and were looking forward to closing the year with half a million dollars.

He further told the Shark Tank panelists that after they move into a larger proof of concept facility, they would have the ability to do $3 million in revenue next year. When inquired, he stated they had not spent any money on digital advertising.

Panelist Mark Cuban chimed in, saying it was a "luxury" product, which not everyone could purchase. He removed himself from consideration citing the product's limited appeal as his main concern. Kevin O'Leary followed suit and bowed out of the discussion, disagreeing with the $4 million valuation and his compatibility with the market space.

Barbara Corcoran expressed a sentiment similar to Mark's, saying:

"I think I see the business as a supplementary business. My concern with it is it's an affluent mom, quite an affluent mom for supplementary milk to spend $500 a month for... So for that reason, I think the universe is more limited than I would like. So, I'm out."

The Shark Tank guest investor asked the business owners about their market, to which Dr. Luck answered that an estimated 2 million mothers had breast milk stored in freezers. Pedro added that 60% of their total sales came from middle and lower income households.

With three Sharks out of deliberation, Dr. Luck and Pedro requested Lori and Gwyneth to consider investing. After some back and forth, the business owners ultimately shook hands with the ladies.

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Shark Tank episodes can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.