Wanna Date Spread Net Worth – $3 million
What is Wanna Date’s net worth? Is Wanna Date still in business?
Introduction
You’ll find sugar in some surprising foods.
Like hidden in the dressing of your Buddha Bowl or in the plant-based milk of that fruit-filled Acai smoothie you love.
It was the latter that inspired fruit lover and former juice bar staffer Melissa Bartow.
On her first day working the counter at her local smoothie bar, she realized that there were more than 15 grams of added sugar in a small sized Acai bowl.
There had to be a better way, surely.
In Melissa’s quest to find it, she went online to find a cheap food processor, and started whipping up some very experimental date butters.
Dates are high in many nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber, and can benefit digestion. They also reduce the risk of developing several diseases, according to experts.
All the sweetness of natural dates, all the thick, syrupy decadence of honey, and none of the processed sugars or harming of bees—it seemed like a perfect solution.
After months of playing around with flavor combinations—Melissa added everything from cocoa to pumpkin spice—she had her next epiphany:
She would call the brand Wanna Date?
Wanna Date? is fast becoming a go to spread for health- and taste-conscious foodies across the US.
It’s oil-free, dairy-free, vegan, Paleo diet-friendly, and can be included in the globally trending Whole 30 Challenge.
But how did it get here?
And, what is the Wanna Date net worth?
And, is it true that Wanna Date once featured on everyone’s favorite Emmy award-winning entrepreneurial show, Shark Tank?
Read on to find out.
Who is the founder?
Melissa Bartow was a 20-year-old college student looking for a part-time job near NYU when she stumbled across the idea for Wanna Date?
Now, the former Seventeen Magazine intern is a business owner, founder, and CEO with a Bachelor’s in Entrepreneurship.
Throughout her teen years in Kennesaw, Georgia, Melissa was always mindful of the food she ate.
She led an active, healthy lifestyle, and carried that over to New York City when she relocated for college.
It wasn’t until she made the move to the Big Apple that she actually tasted dates for the first time—and she loved them.
So, when the time came for Bartow to come up with a sweet, syrup-like alternative to processed sugar, she was ready.
She turned her dorm room into her very own date testing lab, experimented like a mad scientist, and tested everything on friends.
The early days
When Melissa was sure she was on to a good idea, she committed wholeheartedly.
The young student created some labels, started shopping her product around local vendors, and raised close to $10,000 in seed funding via Indiegogo.
Bartow began selling her date butters online, learning the ropes of running a startup as she went along.
Before long, though, it became clear that operating a business with this kind of demand from her dorm room wasn’t viable.
For a while, the budding entrepreneur was sleeping on a bed propped up with crates full of jars.
It was time to find some investors to help expand the manufacturing side of the business and grow the brand’s reach—and Bartow knew just where to look.
Into the Shark Tank
Melissa Bartow took Wanna Date? nationwide when she appeared on ABC’s critically acclaimed Shark Tank in January of 2020.
She pitched her budding business in season 11, episode 11, looking for an investment of $100,000 for 20% equity in Wanna Date? The bubbly young degree student handed out samples to the fearsome Shark panel, and launched into a hilarious and well thought out pitch about dates.
As cheerful and youthful as the company’s founder may be, she made sure she had her financials in order before meeting with the savvy panel of angel investors.
She broke down detailed sales reports, which revealed that she had sold an impressive $31,000 worth of product in less than 12 months—predominantly through fairs and markets.
Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary, and Lori Greiner all withdrew from the running, citing the youth of the company.
John specifically points to his fear that the product won’t be “memorable” for consumers.
Barbara Corcoran is next to back out, believing that Melissa doesn’t have enough motivation to succeed.
At the time, the young entrepreneur was being supported by her father and studying at a prestigious university, so there was no real “hunger” to succeed.
Eventually, Mark Cuban makes an offer that Melissa can’t refuse–$100,000 for a 1/3 stake in the business.
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Where is the company now?
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For starters, it’s available right across the US. Wanna Date? remains a small business in terms of operations, but the company has reported steady growth over the last 24 months.
Almost immediately following her appearance on Shark Tank, Bartow was inundated with orders.
Fortunately, thanks to Mark Cuban’s experience in production and manufacturing, the business was able to flourish under pressure.
The Wanna Date? range of spreads has expanded to include sweet treats like Birthday Cake Dough and Snickerdoodle Dough.
The range is available across 128 supermarkets in the US Midwest, and is stocked by Whole Foods stores and health food stores nationwide.
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Wanna Date Spread – Net Worth
So, how much is Wanna Date worth?
From its initial valuation of $500,000 in 2020—which Shark Kevin O’Leary doubted—the company is estimated to be valued at $3 million.
Update – Wanna Date? is still going strong with excellent reviews on Amazon.
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I am Bulgarea Candin Stefan, and I founded FamousPeopleToday.com in 2018. I’m using my bachelor’s degree in economics and 9 years of experience in blogging to guide millions of people through the incredibly complex world of celebrity net worths.