Modern Picnic Update | Shark Tank Season 15
New York-based brand Modern Picnic designs fashionable, insulated, and vegan leather lunch bags for modern professional women, which got featured in Shark Tank (Season 15).
Apart from being sustainable and functional, these lunch boxes resemble chic handbags in which women can carry their lunches to work in style. In the tank, Modern Picnic founder Ali Kaminetsky asked for $400,000 in return for 6.5% equity in her company.
The Sharks liked Modern Picnic’s innovative lunch bags, yet they were unhappy about Ali’s overspending on marketing to acquire customers. Will any sharks invest in her company, and what happened after Shark Tank? Find out in the Modern Picnic Shark Tank update.
If you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to read the whole story, here’s a brief overview of what happened to Modern Picnic after Shark Tank.
Ali Kaminetsky’s ask was $400,000 for 6.5% equity in Modern Picnic, but she left without a deal. However, the successful entrepreneurs advised her to lower the marketing expenses. The company saw a boost in sales, and popular websites like Forbes, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar covered the story when the episode was aired.
It’s too early to see any significant differences in company valuation. Hopefully, Ali has utilized the popularity in the right way, and Modern Picnic is doing great business.
| Company Name | Modern Picnic |
|---|---|
| Founders | Ali Kaminetsky |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Products | Fashionable lunch boxes |
| Ask | $400,000 for 6.5% equity |
| Deal | No deal |
| Sharks | No sharks |
About Modern Picnic Brand
Ali Kaminetsky moved to New York City in 2016 to start a retail job after graduating from college. There, she had the idea for Modern Picnic.
She immediately noticed no sophisticated options were available for ladies to carry their lunch to work.
Conventional lunchboxes were designated for kids and men, yet nothing fit the necessities of fashion-entered working ladies.
After spotting a market gap, Kaminetsky decided to create the ideal lunch bag for women.
Launching her “Modern Picnic” brand in 2018, Ali started selling chic, luxury vegan leather bags with insulated interiors that kept food and drinks cold.
The bags look like designer handbags on the outside, but inside, they have compartments for food, snacks, and utensils.
The lunch bags of Modern Picnic combine style, functionality, and efficiency to improve the lunchtime experience for women in the workforce.
The Launcher, their first product, set a new standard for elevated lunch experiences.
Each of the various lunch bags from Modern Picnic serve a distinct purpose, such as:
- The Luncher: The original and top-selling design holding a meal and drink in an insulated, wipeable interior that resembles a trendy purse on the outside. Available in 9 attractive colors, each priced at $159.
- The Large Luncher: A more fantastic rendition for fitting various meals and beverages while looking classy. It retails for $189.
- The Tote: A stylish leather tote bag with an insulated pouch for storing lunch separately from other daily necessities. The elegant addition to the collection, the Tote, costs $250 and comes with a free pouch.
- The Backpack: A leather backpack with an insulated lunch compartment and a padded laptop case. The Backpack, which costs $210 and includes a padded laptop sleeve, is an excellent option for office-goers.
- The Snacker: A portable leather pouch for discreetly carrying smaller snacks or lunches. The Snacker and the Pouch, designed for little needs, cost $59 and $79, respectively.
In addition, Modern Picnic sells food containers that complement the $20 lunch boxes and create a greatly coordinated set.
Not only do the Wicker Collection, the Kids Collection, and the Pets Collection add variety to their product line, but they also meet specific lifestyle requirements.
For those looking for a customized touch, clients can have their items monogrammed.
These products are available on e-commerce platforms like Amazon and eBay, as well as the brand’s website.
Ali Kaminetsky cold-called over 1,500 investors to secure $900,000 in investments for the business. After that, she did a seed round and raised an extra $900,000.
The estimated worth of Modern Picnic is $5 million. Since the product has an average order value of $155, Ali refers to Modern Picnic as an “attainable luxury.”
Their gross margin stands at 60%. E-commerce sales account for 70%; the rest is from wholesale and retail.
Ali told the sharks that her products are accessible in Saks, The Container Store, and Bloomingdales.
What Happened To Modern Picnic in Shark Tank?
Appearing on Shark Tank, Ali Kaminetsky introduced her tote line Modern Picnic, and she was seeking $400,000 for a 6.5% stake at a Valuation of $6.15 million.
Ali started her pitch by describing the need for stylish, eco-friendly lunch bags for modern women and how she created Modern Picnic.
After explaining the product’s history, Ali then showed her the first product, a clean, functional launcher with a wipeable interior to protect against everyday spills.
Kevin O’Leary said, “The issue is you can’t sell this in retail because people are going to compare it to purses, not understanding the vision of the lunch box.”
Thus, the business should be online. The founder informed us that they started selling wholesale this year and that sales now make up 20% of their total sales. Kevin inquired further about the company.
She anticipates making $2 million in sales, having sold 40,000 units so far for less than $6 million. However, she expects a profit loss of just under $100,000.
Mark Cuban asked, “Where are you spending the money? Where’s the $1.2 million of gross margin going?”
Kaminetsky responded, “In recent years, we’ve really created an emphasis on having a healthy, diversified marketing mix. We do affiliate marketing, TikTok, email, SMS, and we’ve got a very optimized website.”
Robert Herjavec wanted to know, “How much did you actually spend on advertising?”
Ali said she relied on digital marketing and burned through 25% of its income.
Guest Shark Emma Grede inquired about the total cost of marketing. Ali answered that it was around 50%.
On hearing the numbers, The sharks comprehended that the organization was overpaying to get clients.
Kevin refused to invest in a fashion line, so he is out.
Mark encouraged Ali to have more trust in her item and back off from promoting it. With that, he also goes out.
Robert appreciated Ali’s presentation, but the numbers don’t make sense to him. Therefore, he goes out as well.
Lori Greiner disliked how much Ali raised because she thought it was too much and too soon for a young company. That’s why she is additionally out.
Lastly, Emma Grede urges Ali to reduce spending on advertising. She said, “I love the product. I’ll be a customer.” and refrained from investing.
Ali had to leave Shark Tank without a deal as the sharks made no offers.
Shark Tank Modern Picnic Update
Modern Picnic’s sales have increased significantly since they appeared on the Shark Tank show.
They have kept extending their product line to blend style with function, effectively utilizing the platform given by the show.
The development demonstrates a positive response from the market and the potential for additional extension.
Famous publications like Forbes, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar have paid much attention to the brand’s novel approach to modernizing lunchtime essentials.
However, Modern Picnic gained recognition because of its appearance in “Shark Tank,” which brought the brand to a broader audience and established it as a market pioneer.
Modern Picnic enables women to feel confident and put-together at work, even when carrying their meals.
The aesthetic and practical requirements of women have been addressed explicitly by Kaminetsky’s design, which has undoubtedly filled a definite market void.
The worldwide market value of insulated lunch boxes is $0.40 billion and is expected to reach $0.69 billion by 2029, indicating the further expansion possibilities of Modern Picnic.
Also Read:
Ali Kaminetsky is the CEO and founder of Modern Picnic, a company that makes stylish lunch bags for women.
The products of Modern Picnic are designed in New York City and created abroad.
Along with their website, Modern Picnic’s lunch bags are available on e-commerce platforms like Amazon and eBay.
Conclusion
Despite Ali’s flawless presentation and her product’s incredible margins, the company’s growth is hampered by overpaying to find customers. That’s why no Sharks invested in Modern Picnic.
But she got plenty of valuable feedback from the sharks. Now that she has the show’s name recognition, we can only hope that she will be able to follow the sharks’ advice and spend less money on advertising!
