You would think that if a company appears on ABC’s “Shark Tank” and does not get an investment that the brand would be doomed.
That’s often true, but sometimes you have to look at why the Sharks pass. In a lot of cases, Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Damond John Lorie Grenier, Robert Herjavec, Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary, and the various guest sharks will actually like the product, but still say not.
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Sometimes, they view a business as being in a good way to make a living for the owners, but not really an investable product. In other cases, they may really like the product but own things that are similar, which precludes them from making an investment.
In the case of Joyebells, a pie company known for its sweet potato, peach and pumpkin pies, appearing in the show was a mixed blessing. The February 2025 appearance brought the brand a lot of attention, but that proved to be a mixed blessing.
Almost any company that appears on “Shark Tank” will see a big bump in sales. That creates a challenge because those orders have to be filled.
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When a company has a product, its biggest choices revolve around how to handle growth. A one-timer bump in sales can be a good thing if you work 24/7 in your little kitchen to make those pies.
It can be a company-ending problem if you scale up capacity and expense for a volume that's not sustainable in the near-term.
Joyebells got a lot of shark tank love
Joyebells founder Joy. B, Moore made a big impression on the Sharks and she had a big entrance:
Transcript:
Joy B. Moore: Helloooooo!
I'm Joy B. Moore from Richmond, Virginia, founder and CEO of Joyebells. Sharks, let's be honest. You can't just eat at everybody's house or office party, especially during the holidays unless, of course, they serving up Joyebells.
Joyebells is home to that mouth-watering southern backwoods country deliciousness, honey. And we get to share that deliciousness with our award-winning peach, pumpkin, and sweet potato pies.
Each one, legacy recipes from my third great-grandmother and handed down with love, making me and my family the sixth generation to make these family recipes and the first generation to turn all of those traditions into a business.
Moore entered the “Tank” on Season 16, seeking $600,000 for 10% equity in her premium refrigerated pie business, Joyebells.
She pitched Grenier, Cuban, O'Leary, Herjavec, and Grenier.
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“O’Leary quickly turned the conversation to valuation, questioning why the company was worth $6 million. In response, Joy revealed that she had $16.1 million in lifetime sales, which impressed the sharks. In 2023, she made $7.7 million in revenue, an 8.85% gross profit, and a 1.38% net profit. However, the sharks were alarmed to hear that sales were expected to drop to $4.3 million in the coming year,” according to Shark Tank recap.
All of the Sharks ultimately passed largely because while her sales were high, her profit margins were too low. That set the stage for the next phase in Joyebells existence.
Joyebells files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, owners file Chapter 7
CEO Joy Berry-Moore and COO Eric Moore both filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in advance of their company filing Chapter 11.
Joyebell filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 15 aafter being sued by its bank, Locus Bank, over an unpaid $350,000 loan made in May, 2023. The loan was due on May 11 of 2025 — about two months ago.
The married couple was served a delinquency notice by the bank on May 12 seeking $344,500, or nearly the entire original value of the loan.
The two noted in their Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy filing that their debts are primarily business-related with credit card debt that total around $1.27 million. The money owed to Locus is among the largest of those liabilities.
Among their other unsecured debts is $144,000 owed to the IRS and around $570,000 owed to Apple Valley Foods, a pie manufacturer in Minnesota.
The company's website is still up and you can place orders.
On the website, the company shared a past problem it had.
“The past year and a half have been a JOURNEY. We faced significant hurdles after a product manufacturing defect resulted in distribution of our peach pies with unripen peaches into the market. Coupled with communication breakdowns, this resulted in prolonged inaction of product removal from some inventories, impacting our brand relationship with our customers and partners. In response, a full review of operations was conducted,” it shared.
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After that review, the company entered what it called “The Big Reset.”
“Baby, we removed all the shelf-stable pies from the market and re-established a supply chain that aligns with Joyebells’ mission for quality. This decision was necessary to ensure that we maintain the high standards and commitment to quality that YOU expect and deserve,” it added.
