ABC/Christopher Willard
Entrepreneurs Khasha Touloei and Maynard Okereke took their business, Jada Spices, to the sharks on ABC’s Shark Tank to see if they could get an investment in their vegan spice products.
The duo took their products to sharks Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary. It’s likely they’ll score an investment, possibly from Mark Cuban, who often chooses to invest in healthy food companies.
According to the episode synopsis, they are looking to prove that “they’re worth their salt as they pitch a healthy alternative to the seasoning staple.”
Here’s what you should know about Jada Spices on Shark Tank:
1. The Company Was Founded by Khasha Touloei
ABC/Christopher Willard
According to the company website, it was founded by Khasha Touloei when he was training to become a physician. At one point, he realized that he had many clients with high blood pressure and diabetes who would not listen to him regarding the diets they should stick to.
He did some research and learned that Americans get 70{c33c21346ff5e26ab8e0ae3d29ae4367143f0d27c235e34c392ea37decdb8bed} of their daily allotment of sodium from processed foods, so Touloei decided that he wanted to fix that problem for his patients that wouldn’t stick to those diets he gave them.
“We all know eating right and maintaining a healthy diet are difficult tasks, so we’re doing all the hard work for you so you can focus on enjoying what you love best,” the website reads.
2. The Products are Completely Vegan
ABC/Christopher Willard
Both the chicken salt and the turmeric salt sold by JADA spices are completely vegan.
“He took the Chicken Salt from Australia, made it vegan, decreased the sodium, took out the MSG with a goal of trying to encourage healthier cooking,” the JADA spices website reads.
They avoided basic table salts and sodium, MSG, and other unnatural ingredients when coming up with the new line of spices.
3. They Also Sell Vegan Chicken Mix
ABC/Christopher Willard
Currently, there are five separate flavors available to choose from for the chicken mix on the JADA spices website, including original, reduced-sodium, lime, red pepper and barbecue.
The serving size for the seasonings is 1/2 cup, and each serving contains 120 calories. According to the nutrition label listed on the website, it also includes a high amount of other vitamins and minerals. There are 21 grams of protein in each serving, as well as 1 gram of fiber and 0 grams of added sugars.
The “Chick’n Mix” is a plant-based dry plant mixture. It can be shaped into meatballs, nuggets, cubes and patties and works as a chicken replacement. Ingredients in the chicken mix are wheat protein, pea protein, methylcellulose, natural flavor, pea fiber, nutritional yeast, yeast extracts, garlic powder, onion powder and vitamin B12.
4. The Seasoning Comes in Six Flavors
ABC/Christopher Willard
At the time of writing, the spices are available in six different flavors when the Turmeric Salt all-purpose seasoning is included, according to the website.
Currently, the flavors available are original, reduced-sodium, lime, red pepper, barbecue, and that original turmeric salt. Each of these flavors has 0 calories per serving and includes similar ingredients.
The ingredients for each of the flavors include sea salt, spices, turmeric, onion powder and garlic powder.
5. The Founders Say Being on ‘Shark Tank’ Was an Adrenaline Rush
ABC/Christopher Willard
The founders talked about their experience on Shark Tank on their website and spoke about the Adrenaline rush that came along with going on the show.
“From creating our seasoning blend from scratch in an apartment while doing a residency to traveling to Chicago to demo at our first-ever vegan festival to now being able to present our business to a panel of billionaire moguls on Shark Tank,” the website reads. “The rush of adrenaline we experienced at this moment was a culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice.”
Shark Tank airs on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
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