‘I’m Doing It For Malta’: €100,000 Shark Tank Investment Could Make Pastizzi Big In Canada
A whopping €100,000 investment in Shark Tank Malta could see pastizzi, the country’s iconic fast food, make it big in Canada.
Tereza Bugelli, a “proud Maltese woman born in Canada,” and known as Mama Malta provides a delivery service for pastizzi in Canada.
“I grew up feeling like my culture wasn’t represented,” she began, talking of the frustrations of living with locals who hadn’t the faintest clue where Malta even was.
Taking matters into her own hands, Bugelli made it her mission to make Malta known in Canada, and in her own words: “what better way to do that, than through food?”
Mama Malta’s operation heavily focuses on distributing pastizzi at major music festivals, some of which can be attended by up to 100,000 people. Festivals like these are usually attended by ‘cultural niche’ food trucks all ready to put a smile on people’s faces.
And with our little, irresistible rikotta and pea pies being sold at $2 a pop, well… you do the math.
She would also hit food alleys, a cornerstone of the ‘booming food truck industry’, but Bugelli maintained that she is “doing it for Malta”.
Her initial pitch was €100,000 for a 10% stake in her business, but she later conceded a 40% stake to businessman Mark Bajada, one of the five sharks on the show.
To Bajada, his investment in the business was a “no brainer,” not only in light of Bugelli’s projected annual turnover, but also to establish Malta’s culinary identity abroad.
“If the numbers are correct and you are making a €170,000 cost with the turnover of a million, it’s huge,” he said, shortly before launching himself in the pastizzi business.
Who would have thought our humble Maltese cuisine would be the key to unlocking such a major investment?
Do you think we’ll be seeing any more crazy pitches on the show?