With Modern Picnic, lunch boxes have never looked so luxurious. The company sells a line of fancy food containers disguised as totes and backpacks. From the looks of it, you’d never guess it’s for food and drinks. Founder Ali Kaminetsky recently appeared on Shark Tank but didn’t land a deal. After Shark Tank, Modern Picnic is valued at $6 million.
The Story of Ali Kamenetsky
Ali invented these stylish lunch boxes while interning in the Macy’s merchandising program after graduating from college. The vivacious brunette thrived in her career and was promoted to general assistant buyer.
To save money and stay healthy, she would bring lunch to work every day. However, she didn’t like the design and durability of the lunch box. She looked around in stores but only had options for men and children. This motivated her to fill a gap in the market.
Building a Modern Picnic
The aspiring inventor created the first prototype of the modern picnic bag in 2018. Because it was a unique product, the process of making it a reality was tricky, but Ali made it work.
Within a year, she was selling vegan leather lunch boxes directly to consumers. The company went viral multiple times and received coverage from 20 prominent publications. One video on TikTok alone has garnered 3.8 million views. The power of social media!
This popularity helped the startup close a $900,000 pre-seed round led by Fandango founder Michael Cline in 2021. By 2022, Modern Picnic had grossed over $3.5 million in sales and sold over 17,000 units. By the end of the year, they had raised $102,250 from 158 investors on crowdfunding platform Republic.com.
Appeared on Shark Tank
Friends had been encouraging Kaminetsky to apply for Shark Tank since starting Modern Picnic. Being popular on TikTok certainly helped, as Shark Tank producers use TikTok to scout companies for the show. Ali entered Shark Tank seeking $400,000 in funding for a 6.5% stake, valuing the company at $6.1 million.
After Shark Tank
Modern Picnic had an impressive run on Shark Tank and is expected to see a big sales boost. The company doesn’t have many direct competitors, but that may change after the show. Companies that appear on Shark Tank tend to get copied after the show. Since this is a good product, it should also go viral again on social media.
Visit ModernPicnic.com to view all of its products and collections. The company’s Amazon store also offers the same products, and one of its best-selling items, The Luncher, has a 4.8-star rating from 265 customer reviews.
Regular prices range from $59 to $250, but if you want to buy in bulk or plan to resell, visit the wholesale page on Faire.com. Currently, Modern Picnic has four full-time employees running day-to-day operations, but it’s unclear if they will expand with the expected sales growth. The lunch box market is expected to be worth $200 billion by the end of 2030, according to verifiedmarketreports.com.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn