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The Sharks have developed a taste for Filipino cuisine.

Kind Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky invested $250,000 during Friday's episode of ABC's Shark Tank into Fila Manila, a maker of Filipino spreads and condiments. Founded by first generation Filipino American immigrant Jake Deleon, Fila Manila sells products such as banana ketchup, ube purple yam and coconut spread, and kare kare peanut sauce direct-to-consumer as well as in select grocery stores, including some Whole Foods locations.

"Where Filipino cuisine is today is where Korean and Japanese cuisine was 10 years ago," Deleon said during Friday's episode of Shark Tank. Still, it was Fila Manila's numbers, not Deleon's predictions, that impressed the Sharks. The company generated $400,000 in annual revenue in 2022, a 700 percent increase year-over-year, Deleon said during the episode. He also touted the size of the Filipino population in the U.S.--an estimated 4.4 million, according to the 2020 census--as fuel for the popularity of his brand.

Lubetzky invested the sum in exchange for 20 percent equity, valuing the company at about $1.2 million, but offered 5 percent equity back to Deleon if he could meet certain performance benchmarks. Deleon had asked for $250,000 in exchange for 5 percent equity in the company.

"I think as an entrepreneur, you are extraordinarily credible," Lubetzky said. "It's going to be a roller coaster ride, but I'd love to ride it with you."

Shark Tank investor Lori Greiner, however, questioned the cuisine's popularity beyond the Filipino community. One of the company's problems, she said "is for people to know, what is Filipino food? I had no idea sitting here, and getting that out there is going to take a tremendous amount of time and energy."

Although Greiner and fellow Sharks Mark Cuban and Daymond John ultimately passed on backing Deleon's company--and Kevin O'Leary declined before expressing renewed interest when the entrepreneur offered royalties--Deleon ultimately accepted Lubetzky's offer.

"I'm super psyched I got a deal with Daniel. He was the Shark I was targeting, and I think Daniel's experience building Kind is going to bring Fila Manila where I want it to be," Deleon said on the show.

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