Do you enjoy eating healthy, natural, and gluten-free salads every day but struggle to find the right ingredients to make them? Dorene Humason has created Jaden Chinese Salad Dressing and Seasoning Mix, a perfect blend of natural spices and seasonings that helps you make fresh salads at home easily.
Did her business get a deal on Shark Tank, and what is its current status? Let’s find out.
| Company Name | Chef In Black | |
| Founder/Co-Founder | Dorene Humason | |
| Founded | 2008 | |
| Product | Chinese Salad Dressing | |
| Asked For | $50k for 10% equity | |
| Final Deal | No Deals | |
| Shark | No Sharks | |
| Episode | S1 E11 | |
| Air Date | Jan 8th, 2010 | |
| Business Status | Out of Business | |
| Website | Visit Website | |
| Headquarters | Folsom, California, United States | |
| Lifetime Sales | $0.5M *estimated | |
| Buy and Watch | Buy Now | Amazon Prime |
Business Pitch Episode Recap
Dorene shared that under her Chef In Black brand, she currently has a single Chinese salad product, which is available in 13,000 grocery stores. In the first year, the product was available in 450+ stores, generating a total of $78,000 in sales. So far this year, it has already achieved $41,000 in sales.
Recently, she changed the packaging of her product because the previous design was considered offensive, featuring an image of a Japanese prostitute.
Kevin Harrington said he is confused about the brand names “Jaden” and “Chef In Black,” so he is out. Robert Herjavec agreed with Kevin and he is also out.
Daymond John said this business is very challenging, so he is out. Kevin O’Leary also declined to invest in this business.
Barbara Corcoran offered $50k but wanted 40% ownership of the business. Dorene revealed that she had invested $300,000 of her own money into the business, so she couldn’t dilute that much but was willing to go up to 35%.
Barbara accepted this counteroffer.
Sharks Offers list!
| Sharks | Offers |
|---|---|
| Kevin Harrington | No Offer |
| Kevin O’Leary | No Offer |
| Robert Herjavec | No Offer |
| Barbara Corcoran | $50k for 40% equity |
| Daymond John | No Offer |
| Founder’s (Countered) | $50k for 35% equity |
| Final Deals | $50k for 35% equity |
Chef In Black Shark Tank Update
After the episode aired, Dorene’s business saw increasing sales for several months. She decided to shift her focus to a single Chinese salad dressing mix, abandoning the idea of multiple product launches.
During the research on the Chef In Black update, it was found that Dorene succeeded in getting her product into big box stores like Walmart. Unfortunately, Chef In Black went out of business in September 2016.
Here is a report on the updates of some businesses from Season 1.
