Keisha Jeremie grew up in paradise on an island in the Bahamas, where she developed a passion for the fruits and spices of the island. When Keisha went away to college at the University of Virginia, she was far from home and the warm climate where she was raised. Her first batches of homemade applesauce were created as a way to combat the brutal East Coast winters.
Over the years, Keisha refined her applesauce recipe by adding fruits from the kinds of guava and tamarind trees she remembered as a little island girl. Blending guava into the applesauce took her back to the Bahamas. She could smell the summer breeze, and it felt like she was home sitting under a fruit tree without a care in the world. She set off to search for exotic flavors that would mix well with green apples in hopes that Sanaia Applesauce would take people to their own paradise experience.
Keisha invested $500,000 of her own money to get Sanaia Applesauce started. She was financially supporting her parents and siblings, so she was unable to quit her full-time job as a human resources executive to devote her full resources to working for her new company. She entered the Shark Tank to see if she could get the capital and support she needed to make Sanaia Applesauce a success.
Sanaia Applesauce in the Shark Tank
Shark Tank Season 10 Episode 2
Keisha began her pitch presentation by telling the Sharks how she wanted to shake up the applesauce market, which had up to now had been marketed almost exclusively to small kids and the elderly (or with pork chops on an episode of The Brady Bunch). She wanted to for applesauce what the yogurt industry did to carve out a unique market.
She explained that her Sanaia Applesauce is made with organic green apples baked into six flavor sensations that could be marketed as a “grown-up” version of applesauce ideal for adult snacks. As she learned everything she could about the industry, Keisha had been smart with her finances.
Sanaia Applesauce is available in two types of packaging options, a glass jar and plastic cup similar to yogurt. A six-month test pilot generated around $40,000 in sales, proving to Keisha that there is a viable market of her applesauce creations. She was asking the Sharks for a $150,000 investment in exchange for a 15% equity share of Sanaia Applesauce.
Shark Offers Begin for Sanaia Applesauce
Keisha told the Sharks that she attended a trade show with Sanaia Applesauce, which received interest in some big companies. The Sharks cautioned her that interest in the product is not that same thing as actual orders. She also said that she had a deal in the works to begin selling Sanaia Applesauce on Amazon.
Barbara is the first to make a business proposal for an investment in Sanaia Applesauce, offering the $150,000 Keisha was asking for a whopping 75% controlling interest in the company. Keisha declined the offer outright.
Kevin expressed some significant concern that Keisha had not left her human resources job with a Fortune 500 company to devote all of her time to Sanaia Applesauce. She explained that she had spent years taking care of and supporting others. This was the first time she was doing something for herself and that she had invested her entire savings into the business. She was not about to do anything that would jeopardize the security and safety of her family.
Robert sympathized with her, relating his struggles in the early years of his business career when he had a mortgage and a young child to raise. He and Kevin squabbled about the degree of dedication it takes to make a business successful, and whether Keisha had displayed enough of it to this point.
The Sharks generally seemed to enjoy the samples of Sanaia Applesauce, and they all were impressed with Keisha and her presentation. Like the rest of the panel, Mark had reservations but felt he had the resources to help her make Sanaia Applesauce a success. He offered her the $150,000 in exchange for 25% equity in the business. She readily accepted, and a deal was made.
Where is She Now? Sanaia Applesauce After Shark Tank
Since appearing on Shark Tank, Keisha left her human resources executive position. Instead of focusing on Sanaia Applesauce, she took another executive job, this time at Tory Burch, a New York fashion designer.
At the time of this writing, there are no indications Mark completed his due diligence and began working with Keisha and Sanaia Applesauce. The product is currently not available on Amazon but is stocked hundreds of Walmart locations across the country.
The Sanaia Applesauce website is still live and taking orders and has an active social media presence, but only two varieties are available for sale.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is strictly informational; SEO Insights is not affiliated with Sanaia Applesauce, SharkTank, or any of its subsidiaries.
