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Since it first appeared on television screens in 2009, the TV show Shark Tank has become a go-to destination for finding products and services that promise to disrupt industries and change lives. One of the rising stars of the business world seeking to break through is a dietary approach and the products that support it. This is the ketogenic diet (or keto diet) which is a high fat, low carb plan, and has helped thousands of people lose weight, improve their health and increase their energy levels. The prevalence of the keto diet over the past five to seven years hasn’t gone unnoticed by investors or Shark Tank entrepreneurs. So, how has Shark Tank met its match in the keto diet? Let’s take a look.

The Rise of the Keto Diet on Shark Tank

In step with the escalating popularity of the diet among healthy living and lifelong wellness enthusiasts, Shark Tank has since welcomed endless pitches (as of March 2023) from keto diet entrepreneurs selling everything from keto-friendly snacks, supplements and meal-delivery services to innovative kitchen gadgetry seemingly created to make the keto diet easier, healthier and more accessible. Investors – like the show’s existing panel members Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Kevin O’ Leary and guest guest sharks – are hitching a ride on the keto gravy train.

The most successful keto-related product to come out of Shark Tank is Rebel Creamery, a keto-friendly ice-cream brand that has taken the keto community by storm (thanks, partially, to the deal they secured on the show). This product’s success is the perfect example of how Shark Tank can take a product introduced on its show and take it to the mainstream.

But he also refers to another keto-focused product that had an appearance on the US version of Shark Tank – Peak Yogurt, a line of high-protein, low-carbohydrate yogurts that the company presented on the show as being suited for in-creators of all sorts – anyone following a keto or low-carb lifestyle, hence the product name. The investor Mark Cuban informed the Peak founders that he had friends on keto, with his wife and nephew having recently joined the movement, thus proving that Peak had a good audience for its product. Since it appeared on the show in 2019, the product has been building up a loyal following, expanding its product line in line with the hunger for keto dairy products.

Investment Opportunities in the Keto Industry

Shark Tank investors see the keto boom as an opportunity to profit from an ascendant and seemingly everlasting health trend that is here to stay. By backing keto-derived products, investors can ride the wave of increasing demand for healthier – and on-the-go – foodstuffs, while allaying fears of missing out. There’s no sign currently that the keto craze is beginning to ebb, so, with thousands of Google searches each month, it’s only poised to grow further. Investors are seeing, then, a wealth of investment opportunities, tapping into a sector that they’re able to invest in before it explodes.

The discrete keto customer base makes it particularly easy to identify and serve an audience and, by virtue of being the consumer of a keto product, establishes a unique social identification for the customer, giving them a discrete label to identify with around diet and nutrition, and a brand for their scarce endowments that they’re willing to pay extra for. One diet transforms both a product and the consumer needing the product to comply with that diet. This customer base guarantees that products like keto-friendly MCT coconut oil can command a niche ‘craft’ market due to the distinct welfare of keto-consuming customers making them willing (and able) to pay a significant premium.

The keto industry is now so robust that I even see an opportunity for Shark Tank investors to invest in keto-related food and beverage products as well as related technologies and services designed to help people stay on the keto diet. The keto-dietary universe is limitless. There are so many investment opportunities just waiting to be discovered. All it takes is recognising the potential because, if you can identify and add value to keto-related products, you’ll be investing in tomorrow’s market today.

The Future of Keto on Shark Tank

I see no reason that the keto diet won’t continue to be on Shark Tank, exposing more and more entrepreneurs – not just low-carbers – to the keto market, and the people watching to more keto products. After all, this diet is huge now. I’d be willing to bet that food and drink and technology entrepreneurs will continue to bring keto products to the Tank, and investors would be wise to keep their eyes open for keto products in order to accommodate their increasingly keto-conscious customers.

In the end, the union between Shark Tank and the keto diet is a winning investment formula, leveraging a well-understood eating plan that has been successfully innovated and taken mainstream. It also has the potential to yield the next great game-changing product that will alter the landscape of eating – and presumably, reap the financial rewards that come with it. Seizing on the investment potential of a concept whose time has come, and that also offers specific opportunities for innovation, the Sharks stand to profit from a trend that’s altering the way we eat, and how we think about food and nutrition.