One Life Products before Shark Tank:
Morri and Marina Chowaiki, of San Diego, California, are the founders of the One Life Products. They came up with this idea when they got married and started their family. Morri had been raised as a Jew and celebrated Hanukkah whereas wife Marina had celebrated Christmas in her family. To instill both faiths into the family and into their children’s lives, they came up with the One Life Products.
The Christmas Tree is the main symbol in which those of the Christian faith convey that they are celebrating the religious holiday. In contrast, the main symbol for Hanukkah is the Star of David. Morri and Marina decided to combine these two equally important religious holidays, thus coming up with the idea of a tree-topper to represent Hanukkah that can sit on top of your regular Christmas tree. The product was quickly a success because of the large number of families out there just like Morri and Marina. So many Jews marry Christians so the One Life Products are the perfect solution for those who want to teach their children about and celebrate both holidays.
After selling the product for three years and taking out a second mortgage on their house, Morri knew it was time to seek help getting the One Life Products out onto the market. Morri also wanted to gain some extra business expertise as well as some extra revenue, and so the decision was made to bring the One Life Products into the Shark Tank. But will the sharks be feeling festive enough to invest in the One Life Products?
One Life Products in the Shark Tank:
Morri enters the shark tank alone wearing a blue Christmas hat, instantly amusing the sharks ahead of his pitch. Morri introduces the product and states he is looking for $50,000 in exchange for a fifteen per cent equity share of his company, One Life Products. Morri goes on to tell the sharks that ‘Christmukkah’ is the most wonderful time of the year, again much to the sharks’ amusement. Morri claims that with the Hanukkah tree topper, inter-faith families get the best of both worlds. There are no more debates regarding which religious holiday takes precedence. The One Life Products and namely the Hanukkah Tree Topper combines both.
Lori wants to clarify that the sharks understand the product and asks if the product is just the star that goes on top of the tree. The sharks seem intrigued and Mark asks Morri if they can take a closer look at the product.
Lori asks how much of the product has been sold. Morri explains that approximately twelve thousand of the silver tree topper has been sold in Big Box retail stores, online and in-flight magazine. The silver tree topper costs $2 to manufacture and costs $19.99. There’s a higher end tree topper in the range also which lights up. This is a new product to the One Life Products range and costs about $9 to manufacture. It retails at $39.99.
Kevin asks about sales to which Morri replies that gross sales have been approximately $150,000. When Robert asks if the gross sales have been over the past twelve months, the sharks get a shock when Morri informs them the sales have been over three full holiday seasons. There is a brief silence and some of the sharks look deeply unimpressed at this piece of information.
Morri attempts to redeem himself and explains that a survey was done in the United States and the outcome showed that over fifty per cent of all Jewish people had married a spouse of a different faith. For Morri and wife Marina who have been working hard to get the One Life Products onto the market, from the results of the survey, they feel like they have a market of approximately 1-1.5 million households. Further to that, the product is in almost two hundred stores with retailer Bed, Bath and Beyond. Robert asks about sales percentages. Morri explains that about seventy per cent of sales were done online with a further twenty per cent coming from in-flight magazine. That means only ten per cent of sales have come from the retailer.
Daymond is interested to find out what Morri is going to use the money for should one of the sharks choose to invest. Morri explains that he wants to build on the product design, launch a website of his own for the One Life Products and further to this he needs to move his business out of home where absolutely everything is done currently.
Robert asks how much money Morri has invested in the One Life Products thus far to which he replies approximately $130,000 so far. The sharks seem quite impressed at this piece of information and there is no doubt that Morri has succeeded in showing them he is serious about getting the One Life Products out there on the market.
Kevin makes the point about the business being seasonal, stating that he hates seasonal businesses. Morri agrees with Kevin that it is seasonal but he claims that his hard-work all year around ensures that this business can work. Kevin is quick to point out another flaw stating that when a family buys the One Life Products, they buy the products once and have no need to buy again. Kevin criticizes the sales once again and Morri replies that he has been invited to show case the One Life Products to a number of large chain stores across the United States. Unfortunately, this does not alter Kevin’s attitude and he declares himself out.
Lori goes on to say as hard as it is to believe she actually agrees with Kevin for once. She doesn’t believe that One Life Products is a big enough business to make it on a large scale and for that reason she declares herself out. Morri is clearly disappointed and honestly admits he wanted to do business with Lori.
Mark goes on to tell Morri that the biggest challenge with Shark Tank products is getting the products out of the home or garage setting and into an office. Morri acknowledges this and claims he does not want someone to run his business. What he is looking for however is the business expertise the sharks can provide. Mark understands what Morri is looking for but points out that unfortunately Morri is not set up to run a proper business outside his home. For that reason, he declares himself out.
Robert acknowledges that Morri has done a good job but the lack of sales remains a problem for Morri. For that reason, he also declares himself out. And then there was one. Daymond is the last remaining shark that can help Morri with his dream of making the One Life Products become successful.
Daymond is seriously considering making an offer but Kevin is trying to dissuade claiming the business will never be a multi-million-dollar business. Daymond shocks all the sharks and says he would like to take a gamble on Morri and on the One Life Products. Daymond is willing to offer the $50,000 that Morri is looking for but he wants a thirty-five per cent equity share in the company. Morri is clearly torn as Daymond is asking for a massive twenty per cent more than Morri was willing to part with. Morri asks what Daymond can bring to his company but Lori is quick to stop him indicating he has a good deal on the table. Daymond advises Morri to think about what he is going to do and urges him to make a good decision because he really wants to do the deal. After some consideration, Morri agrees to do the deal. Morri presents Daymond with his festive hat before leaving the shark tank, happy a deal has been done. A very emotional Morri calls wife Marina and their children giving them the good news. Another successful deal has come out of the shark tank.
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One Life Products Now in 2018 – After Shark Tank Update
Since doing the deal with Daymond in the Shark Tank, Morri and One Life Products have seen incredible success. When they show aired, sales of the One Life Products tripled and within a week, Daymond had licensed out the ‘Christmukkah’ tree topper. Since appearing on the Shark Tank, One Life Products has produced one of the most successful tree-toppers to grace the United States.
As Daymond has licensed out the company, Morri does not have to worry about the day-to-day running of the business. However, he is reaping the rewards financially for the success of One Life Products.
The tree topper by One Life Products is available to purchase in Sears, Home Depot, BB&B, ToysRUs and Walmart to name but a few. Furthermore, the One Life Products can be purchased on Amazon by clicking on this link here. Another successful deal to come out of the shark tank!
