Echo Valley Meats Gets a Deal With Mark on ‘Shark Tank’: Interview With Owner

Echo Valley Meats originally entered the Shark Tank in Season 4 and did not secure a deal. However, owner and founder Dave Alwan got a second chance on the show and came back fully prepped and ready to pitch his high quality meat products to the Sharks, many of whom were loyal customers, on Season 6. The result was a deal with Mark and an expansion of his business.

We caught up with Alwan before his episode re-aired on July 17th. Here’s what he told us about…

To read all of Heavy’s Shark Tank coverage, click here.

How The Company Has Grown After the 2nd Time on the ‘Tank’:

Our online and mail order sales have increased significantly after airing on Season 6. With our prime time exposure, our customer demographics have expanded and we are delivering from New York to California. Our repeat customer ratio has sky rocketed!

Why He Got a Second Chance:

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It’s no secret that several of the Sharks have become customers. They all knew we had a great product, but we didn’t have a well-organized and fine-tuned business plan. Not receiving a deal in Season 4, made me scrutinize my business from top to bottom. I did my homework, hired great employees, made necessary changes and implemented a new management strategy. The Sharks must have continued watching us along the way. Our slow, steady and successful growth prepared me for going back into the tank in Season 6 and securing a deal with Mark.

Mark’s Involvement

Mark likes to get weekly emails along with regular sales updates. We are in contact with Mark’s team multiple times a week on new projects, and there are some exciting things in the works right now.

Their Bestsellers:

Spiral Ham, Sausage and Cheese Boxes and our steaks are the bestsellers. Our products make great seasonal gifts, corporate incentives and thank you gifts. A package from Echo Valley Meats for someone else or for yourself is perfect because it is always the right size, right color and tastes great.

The Future of the Company

We are expanding into the corporate gift and incentive market with Wicked Good Cupcakes, another Shark Tank company, within the next 30 to 60 days. Next month we will be one of the sponsors of Tommy Baldwin’s NASCAR car #7 at the night race in Bristol, Tennessee. Neiman Marcus picked three of our delicious meat products to include in their fall/holiday corporate catalog. We are planning a QVC air date this fall for the Holiday Gourmet Packages.