Bantam Bagels: Here's What Happened After Appearing On Shark Tank

From scooped bagels to flagels, bagels come in all shapes and sizes these days. Still, when many folks think of a stellar ring of perfectly baked dough, their minds stray to New York City, where fresh baked bagels are plentiful and filling. Whether you slather it with softened cream cheese or splurge and top it with avocado or lox, it is almost a meal in and of itself. Yet, if you just want a modest snack, a NYC bagel might be biting off more than you can chew. 

That mindset provoked a dream Nick Oleksak had one fateful night when an image of a donut-hole-like bagel stuffed with luscious cream cheese entered his thoughts. His wife Elyse was sold on the idea, and the two soon embarked on a journey to bring the world a bite-sized bagel enclosed around a creamy center. They invested $50,000 of their own money to get the business up and running, and before long, they were seeing success with their fledgling enterprise, Bantam Bagels, in the retail sector.

However, while the company was generating admirable revenue, Bantam Bagels' skimpy margins made it difficult to turn a profit. The Oleksaks pivoted to wholesale, selling their product on QVC with marked success. Still, they wanted to expand the business, and sought guidance on how to achieve that dream from some of the biggest names in the venture capital game: the Sharks on ABC's "Shark Tank."

With a winning product in hand and hopes to take their company to the next level, Nick and Elyse Oleksak entered the tank asking the Sharks for $275,000 in return for an 11% stake in Bantam Bagels. However, when asked about their backgrounds, they revealed they had worked on Wall St., and Nick was still working in investment banking for a six-figure salary. That made Robert Herjavec question whether the two were hungry enough for success, and he noted that they seemed to be adrift with their business model and trying too many things.

Elyse tried to assuage those fears by saying "We're coachable," but Herjavec and Mark Cuban felt that demonstrated a lack of direction and jumped ship quickly. Barbara Corcoran was more optimistic when she put out a counteroffer for 51% of the business. Not to be outdone, Kevin O'Leary offered to take the deal for 50% of the company, contingent on Nick quitting his Wall St. job, leasing a commercial kitchen, and pivoting to a direct-to-consumer sales model.

Lori Greiner took issue with those offers, throwing her hands up and saying "That makes no sense!" She offered to invest the $275,000 for 30% of the company. Still a much higher equity stake than was originally offered, Elyse asked if Greiner would consider 25%. With Corcoran trying to amend her original offer, Greiner answered Elyse's request by saying "I would if you decide right now with me." The Oleksaks accepted, and with a Shark on their team, they set out to make Bantam Bagels a household name across the country.

Just as the sales of cold brew coffee company Bruw jumped after securing a deal on "Shark Tank," Bantam Bagels was soon experiencing the effects of merely getting their product in front of more eyeballs. Before long, the company's fare was featured in Starbucks, and retail sales took off as the business expanded into thousands of stores across the country. With sales soaring, Bantam Bagels expanded its product line to include dozens of new bagel-adjacent snacks like bacon, egg, and cheese bites, pepperoni and sausage pizza bites, and French toast bites.

With Greiner's help, Bantam Bagels was reaching levels of prosperity Nick and Elyse Oleksak had only dreamed of — literally, in Nick's case. It didn't take long for corporate entities to take notice, and in 2018, Bantam Bagels was bought out by T. Marzetti to the tune of $34 million. As a 25% stakeholder, Greiner justified her investment of $275,000 with a sizable return, and the Oleksaks remained with the business in roles that would guide the future of the company.

Just as success can sneak up on you quickly, so can defeat. As supply chain issues crushed the food service industry in 2020, many businesses scaled back operations and simplified menu choices. Starbucks was no exception, and it decided that Bantam Bagels would no longer have a home with the Green Mermaid. A petition was created online to bring the beloved snacks back, but to no avail. Unfortunately, that spelled the beginning of the end for the stuffed bagel bite company that had been in business since 2013.

T. Marzetti's parent company, Lancaster Colony Corp, announced in 2022 that it would be eliminating Bantam Bagels from its portfolio. Once-active social media accounts became dormant, and the business' website replaced the "buy now" button with a "coming soon" banner for every product. The innovative bites that previously landed on "Oprah's Favorite Things" list in 2014 were no more, but Elyse Oleksak's entrepreneurial journey was far from over.

The stress of running a multi-million dollar company takes its toll, and Elyse Oleksak had been feeling the pressure mounting for years. What many would consider an unmitigated success in selling Bantam Bagels for life-changing money, Elyse had been increasingly overwhelmed by the burdens of keeping the enterprise afloat and avoiding pitfalls that could put it out of business. Yet, instead of letting those tensions pull her under, she decided to document the trials and triumphs of giving life to Bantam Bagels in a new entrepreneurial journey.

In March 2024, Elyse self-published her book "A Shark Ate My Bagel." It details Bantam Bagels' rise to fame and clues folks into some of the ways she edged out the competition. She also highlights the challenges of having a work-life balance while being a mother and simultaneously running a multi-million dollar company. Bantam Bagels may be no more, but having achieved — at least temporary — success in their attempt to bring cheesy stuffed bagel bites to the masses, the Oleksaks aren't losing much sleep over it.