Beyond Sushi - Shark Tank Products

I am not vegan, but have gravitated in that direction due to taste preferences and a desire for healthful eating. The smell and taste of seafood is repulsive to me, so I will not eat sushi and I've taken a lot of flack for this as sushi has gained popularity. That is why I was especially exited to hear about Beyond Sushi . Beyond Sushi is a vegan sushi restaurant and catering service that combines fruits, vegetables, grains and other vegan ingredients into delicious sushi, wraps, soups, salads and dumplings. It was presented in the Shark Tank on Episode 3 of Season 10 by Chef and Owner Guy Vaknin.

Guy Vaknin is the chef behind Beyond Sushi. Guy and his wife and business partner, Tali, opened their first restaurant in New York City in 2012. The vegan sushi concept was successful and received rave reviews. They now have 6 locations.

Guy was asking for $1.5 million for 25% of his planned West Coast venture and 5% of his current East Coast operations. He walked away with a deal from Lori Greiner and guest shark Matt Higgins for $1.5 million for 30% of his West Coast venture and 15% of his existing East Coast operations.

Beyond Sushi had done $4 million in revenue the previous year, $2.4 million the year before and was on track to do $5.6 million in 2018.

Daymond John was the first to go out, saying he didn't know the industry. Kevin O'Leary called the valuation insane, a comment he frequently makes in the tank. Mark Cuban went out without a lot of commentary. Lori and Matt were extremely enthusiastic about the concept and the vegan trend. Lori said that she expected that the concept would do better on the West Coast than it has on the East Coast.

Chef Guy competed on "Hell's Kitchen," a Fox Network show, in 2012. Guy Vaknin grew up in Israel before moving to the United States to study computer engineering . He decided that he wanted to work in the restaurant industry and later attended culinary school and went on to become a chef with an established catering company in Manhattan.

Beyond Sushi currently operates in six locations in New York and also have a thriving catering business.