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New kitchen gadget, Banana Loca, gets deal on Shark Tank

Local inventor duo had Shark Tank's Mark Cuban & Kevin O'Leary going bananas

Entrepreneurs Bechara Jaoudeh and Renee Heath have two new business partners joining their banana bunch. Banana Loca, an innovative kitchen gadget that allows you to stuff bananas to make a fun snack, secured a deal on ABC's Shark Tank latest episode this past Friday. 

"We're so proud of our invention journey. We first connected with Shark Tank back in March 2019 at an open casting call at NYC's Javits Center. After waiting hours in line with hundreds of hopefuls, we only had a 3D printed version of Banana Loca and 60 seconds to make an impression, and that we did," said Jaoudeh. 

Sharks Mark Cuban & Kevin O'Leary exploring Banana Loca

Wanting to keep the show's producers and Sharks seeing yellow during the formal Shark Tank filming, they:

  • Brought their mascot "Loca" as their hype banana
  • Demoed their family-friendly kitchen gadget, showing the no mess approach to snack-time
  • Played their branded "Banana Loca" theme song and danced

Jaoudeh and Heath sought $250,000 in exchange for 25% of their company and there was no monkey business when negotiating. They first impressed Robert Herjavec, but Mr. Wonderful and Mark Cuban came in with a strong joint deal that was ripe for the picking.

"We're thrilled to have Mark and Kevin onboard and can't wait to see what success from the show will bring.  Keep your eyes "peeled" for our big activation for National Banana Day on April 20th, 2022," said Heath.

For more information: bananaloca.com

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