The Shark Tank Product That Started In A Garage And Landed A $250K Offer

The term "dream entrepreneur" is not one that the group of wealthy investors on "Shark Tank" throw around lightly, but if anyone deserves such a title, it's Laura Lady. Appearing on episode 13 of the show's still ongoing 14th season, Lady made her way onto the tank to pitch her cooking oil disposal product, FryAway. The plant-based powder is able to be applied to cooking oil left on pans, turning the liquid into an organic Jello-like substance that can be disposed of or even used as compost. The product offers a fresh and more environmentally concise manner of disposing of cooking oil as opposed to pouring it down a sink drain or dumping in a landfill. 

Her initial "Shark Tank" ask was $250,000 in exchange for 10% equity in the business. Within only one year of operation, FryAway was pulling in some serious cash with $700,000 in revenue and plans to be in 1,100 Kroger stores by the end of 2022. In the end, Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner, the latter calling Lady a dream entrepreneur, chose to partner up on the deal and, after some negotiating, partnered with Lady for $250,000 for 22% equity. 

As the episode is so recent, there aren't many major developments as to how the partnership has progressed. But if Lady's ambition is anything to go off of alone, we can expect some delicious developments for the company in the near future.

While Laura Lady was lucky enough to secure a deal on "Shark Tank" for her cooking oil disposal product FryAway, it's safe to say that the hard-working businesswoman could succeed with or without a shark. Lady worked in the toy industry for nearly two decades before, helping build multi-million dollar brands through marketing and product development. A lover of fried foods, Lady sought a better way to dispose of unused cooking oil that wouldn't require pouring it down the drain. 

Disposing of cooking oils in this fashion is a major contributor to environmental issues such as fatbergs, a revolting mix of oils, fats and other waste products that can harm water supplies. Additionally, the other common method of pouring oils in a container and tossing it out can see the material sit in a landfill for hundreds of years before decomposing, as Lady explains on "Shark Tank." 

The project began in 2021 where Lady worked from her garage but it didn't take long for the product's popularity to skyrocket. Within two months of operation, Lady was making positive cash flow. The product itself was also featured on several notable outlets including Wired, Southern Living and Elite Daily even before her "Shark Tank" episode aired in January 2023. Lady was already a success story, but now with two sharks on her side, there's no question that she'll be cooking up more achievements before we know it.