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‘Shark Tank’: LARQ Bottle scores $1M deal for historic $50M evaluation, fans say ‘no regular person will pay $100’

The moment LARQ Bottle evaluated their brand at $50 million, Sharks couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it

Who's thirsty? The latest deal apparently the deal with the highest evaluation ever will definitely make you crave some water. On ‘Shark Tank’ Season 12 Episode 21, an entrepreneur from Foster City, California, is thirsty for a good deal after presenting his high-tech, self-cleaning water bottle.

Justin Wang is the CEO and co-founder of the hydration brand LARQ. His product, LARQ Bottle, promises pure water beyond filtration, thanks to its award-winning design with effective UV-C LED technology for on-the-go water purification. With its proprietary and patented PureVis™ UV-C LED technology, the bottle uses 280 nanometer UV light to eradicate germs, triggering a photochemical reaction that destroys their DNA.

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What are LARQ Bottle's sales?

In 2017, LARQ first entered the market with a Kickstarter campaign that helped raise $1,374,021. A year later, in 2018, it got many customers and the brand's popularity helped boost its sales. 

The moment LARQ Bottle evaluated their brand at $50 million, Sharks couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it. Dishing out details about the sales, Wang said he got five and a half million in the first year, nine million in the second year and 14 million in the third year. What's more, he also revealed that he got six and a half million in return. 

The bottle costs him about $40 to make and is priced at about $95. LARQ Bottle PureVis™ is available for $95.00 and LARQ Bottle Movement PureVis™ costs $78.00 on the official website. The LARQ Pitcher PureVis™ which promises pure water beyond filtration is available at a discounted price of $135.00 from its usual $148.00.

Who cracked the deal?

Justin Wang stunned the Sharks and viewers as he claimed he was seeking half a million dollars for just a 1% stake. Daymond John was the first one to say he was out. Kevin O'Leary then offered $500,000 for a 4% stake. Lori Greiner wanted a 5% stake. Robert Herjavec then complicated things a little when he asked a 3% stake and another 2% for advisory. Mark Cuban opted out!

With all the offers at his hand, Wang asked the three if they would like to do it together. A $1.5 million investment for a 4.5% stake. Mr Wonderful countered it with $1.5 million for a 6% stake. Robert asked, "What say you?" When Wang said he would want 1.5% to be advisory shares, Robert opted out.

With just Kevin and Lori left and the latter unwilling to go for advisory shares, Wang finally agreed to do the deal at $1 million for a 4% stake each!

‘Asking for half a million for 1%? Is he Steve Jobs?’

Daniel Lubetzky tweeted: "@LiveLarq is an innovative product with a ton of potential. Glad Justin was able to work out a deal with @LoriGrenier and @KevinOLearyTV - congrats, guys." Fans had bizarre questions after the deal was made. "I would love a Larq bottle, but he’s asking for half a million for 1%? Is he Steve Jobs?" one tweet read and another said, "I want to know what the name stands for. #LARQ #SharkTank."

"So... #larq thinks his way of reusing a water bottle is worth 50M. Kay," one tweet read and another said, "Daymond, loved your answer, when you said I didn’t do this to give 500K to someone that has 6.5mil in the bank. I have huge respect for the answer and your passion to help others that need your help!"

‘No regular person is paying 100$ for a water bottle’ 

One viewer wrote, "1% you've lost your mind Justin." Barbara Corcoran then tweeted: "Whenever an entrepreneur says 1%, you know their sales must be good!" A third angry viewer chimed in saying, "I have a million reusable water bottles that I use (and WASH) constantly. They do not smell. Are people just not washing their bottles??"

Some, however, were not convinced. One fan said, "No regular person is paying 100$ for a water bottle." Another posted, "Welcome to the best of exploitation by the rich. right in your face. this is the golden boy and girl program."

‘Shark Tank’ Season 12 Episode 9 returned to ABC after the winter break on January 8, 2021, at 8 pm ET. Catch the latest episode featuring products like Truffle Shuffle, Suds2Go, Salad Sling and Larq on April 16, 2021, from 8 pm ET to 9 pm ET.

Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.