Basking Ridge Inventor Goes 'Bananas' On Shark Tank, Lands Deal

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Basking Ridge inventor Renee Heath and her partner Bechara Jaoudeh created an innovative and "ap-peeling" new kitchen gadget that impressed ABC's "Shark Tank" entrepreneurs landing them a deal on a recent episode.

The business partners came up with "Banana Loca" in May of 2019 after Jaoudeh was looking for a healthier snack option.

"Jaoudeh is from Lebanon and there it is very common to have pita bread and Nutella and bananas as a snack for kids," said Heath.

In an effort to slim down and remove pita from the snack, Jaoudeh found it hard to cut and spread a topping on the bananas since they are very slippery.

The pair took this to the next level by coming up with the idea to inject the banana itself with a filling.

They hired an industrial engineer to help come up with a simple and easy way to core the banana and then inject it without a filling getting stuck, such as peanut butter.

"We wanted it to be easy for anyone to use from kids to grandparents," said Heath.

In July 2021, Banana Loca was invited on the show to demonstrate their product. They appeared on the Dec. 13, 2021, episode just prior to Christmas. During the show, they were able to impress Robert Herjavec, but "Mr. Wonderful" Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban came in strong with a joint deal.

"They 100 percent loved the idea. They thought it was genius," said Heath.

The exposure of the show drove sales through the rood. Heath wouldn't say how much they sold but did say it was in the "tens of thousands of units" within a month.

To purchase a Banana Loca, find recipes and more visit bananaloca.com or amazon.com/Banana-Loca-Kitchen-Gadget or follow them on social media @mybananaloca.

See below for a demonstration on Banana Loca:

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