'Shark Tank' Introduces The Paleo Diet Bar

Most of the famous investors on Shark Tank will tell you, it just takes the right person saying yes to get a good company off the ground. For the inventors of one of this week's Shark Tank products, the Paleo Diet Bar, Shauna and Todd Sledge, that right person was Dr. Loren Cordain — the creator of the Paleo Diet. In fact, as Westword reported, the Sledges' meal-replacement bar was the first product that Cordain ever endorsed as compliant with a Paleo (short for paleolithic) lifestyle. The Sledges told the Coloradoan that though Cordain was "being courted by two larger companies" for a Paleo bar endorsement, it was their carefully created concoction that won him over.

At some point, you have probably met someone who was trying the Paleo Diet. The Paleo diet may be healthy, but in a post-caveman world, it is tough to adhere to. According to Cordain's own website, the diet calls to eliminate grains, legumes, dairy, potatoes, refined sugars and oils, salt, and processed foods. Allowed on the dinner table are grass-fed meats, seafood, eggs, nuts and seeds, healthful oils, fruits, and vegetables. The Sledges' Paleo Bar is the only meal-replacement bar that can claim to stick to those standards and they're taking it to Shark Tank to bring the Colorado company to the masses. Here's what you should know about the company before its bigShark Tank debut.

The Start: Braap Nutrition

Both health nuts, Shauna and Todd Sledge have been in the health food business for years. According to the Paleo Diet Bar website, they first began making nutrition bars with clean, quality ingredients under their company, Braaap Nutrition, LLC, acquiring national distribution for their gluten, soy, and preservative-free bars. But as they became involved with the Crossfit community where a Paleo lifestyle is especially prominent, they "realized the widespread demand for gluten and dairy-free products."

The Paleo Endorsement

The Sledges wanted to create a next-level nutrition bar where its consumer never had to wonder if they were really eating Paleo, and that meant they needed one thing: a Paleo Diet endorsement, the first of its kind. They reached out and partnered with Dr. Cordain not as a business partner, but as a joint venture to continue his research that has improved the lives of many health concious individuals. After six months in Research & Development, and 500 pounds of raw research material, they created The Paleo Diet Bar. When the Sledges' bar was first endorsed in 2013, Dr. Cordain told Westword.com that the reasoning was simple: The Paleo Diet Bar has "a recipe that carries nutritional weight and is scientifically sound."

Getting A Bar Of Your Own & A Deal For The Company

With the Paleo endorsment signaling that the bar is truly a healthy alternative, the Sledges' product is in a good spot to reach a key market, what the website calls "outdoor enthusiasts and adventure junkies." This bar is for people who don't just want to think they're eating healthy, their lifestyle requires them to know exactly what is going into their bodies. If you fit that description, you should be happy to know that the Paleo Diet Bar is currently available on the company's website in two different flavors, cinnamon raisin and cranberry almond. A pack of 12 bars costs $45.48, or you can get a sampler pack containing one of each flavor for $8.50. The bars are also available in stores throughout the central and western United States.

The generally health savvy Sharks should not only be able to appreciate that, but see its market value, and the Paleo Diet Bar's potential to grow into other pre-packaged Paleo products. The only problem might be that Braaap Nutrition appears to still be a functioning "sister company" under the ownership of Shauna and Todd. Historically, the Sharks haven't liked when their is a viable business connected to the one they're being pitched that they're not also being offered a share of. Hopefully, the Sledges are coming in with a fully constructed plan to bring a Shark into the fold of their very healthy businesses.

Image: Michael Desmond/ABC