What Happened to Zookies Cookies? Shark Tank Update & Valuation

Every dog owner wants to feed their pet the healthiest treats possible, but reading the back of a commercial dog food bag often feels like deciphering a chemical engineering textbook.

Justin Miller and Tom Simon walked into the Shark Tank with a simple, interactive solution: a premium, bake-at-home cookie mix designed entirely for dogs. While their “Bisquick for dogs” concept hooked guest Shark Alli Webb and sparked a massive initial sales run, the volatile and highly saturated pet food market eventually took its toll.

The Bottom Line (Executive Summary)

• The Deal: Zookies Cookies secured a $50,000 investment for 30% equity from guest Shark Alli Webb during Season 10, an agreement that closed successfully off-camera.
• The Peak: Following the broadcast, the company enjoyed a massive surge in popularity, scaling their operations through Amazon and reaching over $1 million in annual revenue by 2022.
• The Current Reality: Zookies Cookies is officially out of business. The company folded on January 1, 2025, after years of declining sales and leadership departures.

What is Zookies Cookies?

Zookies Cookies produced jars of pre-mixed, bake-at-home dog treats made from all-natural, human-grade ingredients. Pet owners simply added water to the powder, mixed the dough, cut out the treats using an included bone-shaped cookie cutter, and baked them fresh in their own ovens.

The product was positioned as a fun, interactive activity for millennial pet parents who view their dogs as children. The mixes contained zero meat, gluten, grains, dairy, or artificial preservatives.

Instead, the recipes relied on wholesome staples like organic coconut flour, whole grain oats, organic sweet potatoes, and organic pumpkin. During their operational years, the company offered two primary flavors: “Peanut Barker” and “Cocomutt”. Each jar yielded roughly three dozen cookies, providing a fresh, warm treat without the mess of sourcing and measuring individual ingredients.

Industry	Founder(s)	Core Product	Retail Price	Target Audience
Pet Food & Treats	Justin Miller & Tom Simon	Bake-at-home dog treat mix	$11.00 – $13.99 per jar	Millennial dog owners & health-conscious pet parents

The Founder(s) Behind Zookies Cookies

The brains behind Zookies Cookies were not traditional culinary experts or pet industry veterans. Justin Miller and Tom Simon were highly successful tech entrepreneurs. Justin Miller, acting as the self-appointed “Chief Pawduct Officer,” previously founded and sold WedPics, a popular photo-sharing software platform. Tom Simon, the “Chief Barketing Officer,” had an equally impressive resume, having sold his software company, Source3, directly to Facebook before entering the pet space.

The “aha” moment for Zookies Cookies originated with Miller’s personal life. As a dedicated animal lover with a rescue menagerie that included two dogs, a pig, and ten chickens, he refused to feed his pets commercial treats packed with preservatives and rendered fats. Without any formal kitchen experience, he began experimenting with recipes, eventually landing on a formula his dogs loved.

The hobby turned into a viable business concept in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Looking for a way to support hurricane victims and displaced animals, Miller baked his dog cookies around the clock, selling them via social media and donating the profits to animal shelters.

The overwhelming demand from paying customers made him realize there was a massive, untapped market for healthy, interactive dog treats. He brought his fellow tech-veteran Tom Simon on board, and together they launched Zookies Cookies in late 2017.

Zookies Cookies’s Shark Tank Pitch & Deal

Justin Miller and Tom Simon stepped onto the Shark Tank carpet during Season 10, Episode 14, which aired in March 2019. They asked the panel for $50,000 in exchange for 20% equity in their company, giving the business an initial valuation of $250,000.

The pitch began with an interactive demonstration. As the founders handed out samples, they emphasized that their ingredients were entirely human-grade and encouraged the Sharks to take a bite.

The Sharks obliged, but the reaction was far from stellar. The treats, designed strictly for a dog’s palate, were incredibly dry and crunchy, causing several of the investors to immediately spit them out.

Despite the taste test misstep, the business numbers intrigued the panel. Miller and Simon revealed they had generated $40,000 in sales over their first nine months of operation. The margins were healthy; each jar cost under $2.00 to manufacture and retailed for roughly $11.00 to $13.99. However, the core objection quickly surfaced: would average consumers actually take the time to bake cookies for their dogs?

Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec both dropped out, citing the product as too much of a novelty. Mark Cuban also passed, leaving just Kevin O’Leary and guest Shark Alli Webb (founder of Drybar) in the mix. Tom Simon defended the product’s novelty factor, arguing that it made a fantastic, unique gift for pet lovers, and projected mid-six-figure sales by the end of their first full year.

Kevin O’Leary saw potential synergy with his “Something Wonderful Platform,” a curated portfolio of gifting businesses and offered $50,000 for a 33.3% stake. Alli Webb, leveraging her existing ownership stake in Healthy Spot (a premium health food retail chain for pets), offered $50,000 for 30%. Recognizing Webb’s direct connections to the boutique pet retail market, the founders accepted her offer, leaving Mr. Wonderful visibly frustrated.

Season/Episode	Initial Ask & Valuation	Sharks Present	Notable Offers	Final On-Air Deal
Season 10, Episode 14	$50,000 for 20% ($250k Valuation)	Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Alli Webb	Kevin O’Leary: $50k for 33.3% Alli Webb: $50k for 30%	Alli Webb: $50,000 for 30% equity

Did the Zookies Cookies Deal Actually Close?

Yes. Unlike many Shark Tank deals that fall apart during the rigorous off-camera due diligence process, the Zookies Cookies partnership with Alli Webb officially closed. The paperwork was finalized at the end of 2018, several months before their episode actually aired on national television.

Webb immediately went to work, utilizing her network to help the brand secure placement in premium pet retail stores, including her own affiliated Healthy Spot locations. Her involvement gave the brand the operational legitimacy it needed to transition from a small, hand-packed operation into a scalable retail entity.

Zookies Cookies After Shark Tank: The Current Update

The immediate aftermath of the Season 10 broadcast followed the classic “Shark Tank Effect” trajectory. When the episode aired in March 2019, the company received over 1,000 orders in less than 24 hours. Over the next five months, they pulled in $124,000 in revenue, proving that their initial proof-of-concept had national legs.

To keep up with the ballooning demand, Miller and Simon moved production out of their commercial kitchen and transitioned to a professional co-packer. They redesigned their packaging for better retail shelf appeal, expanded their e-commerce footprint onto Amazon, and utilized Alli Webb’s retail connections to get physical jars into boutique pet stores. By June 2022, Zookies Cookies hit its highest milestone, generating over $1 million in annual revenue.

However, sustaining growth in the pet industry requires relentless customer acquisition. The “novelty” objection that Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec raised in the Tank proved accurate over a longer timeline. While consumers loved buying the jars as gifts for fellow pet owners, the recurring purchase rate struggled. Most dog owners simply preferred the convenience of opening a bag of pre-made treats rather than spending 40 minutes mixing and baking dough from scratch.

Internal shifts signaled the beginning of the end. In January 2023, co-founder Tom Simon left the business entirely to take a position as the Director of Marketing at WorkDove. Justin Miller attempted to keep the brand afloat, but by late 2023, the official Zookies Cookies website went completely offline. The remaining inventory was sold through Amazon at discounted rates until the stock was entirely depleted.

According to PitchBook financial data, the company officially and permanently ceased all operations on January 1, 2025.

What is the Net Worth and Valuation of Zookies Cookie?

As of today, the net worth and business valuation of Zookies Cookies is $0, as the company is legally defunct and out of business.

During its peak operational years around 2022, when the company was generating over $1 million in annual sales, industry multiples for boutique pet food brands would have placed their estimated valuation between $1.5 million and $2.5 million. The initial Shark Tank valuation was set at $250,000, and Alli Webb’s accepted deal briefly valued the company at roughly $166,666.

Because both founders had already experienced lucrative exits in the tech sector prior to starting this company (with Miller selling WedPics and Simon selling Source3 to Facebook), the failure of Zookies Cookies did not severely impact their personal financial standing. Both men simply moved on to other executive roles in the software and marketing industries.

Is Zookies Cookies Still in Business?

No. Zookies Cookies is entirely out of business. The company’s digital footprint has been completely scrubbed from the internet. The primary e-commerce website domain expired in late 2023, and their social media profiles have been abandoned.

Furthermore, all vendor listings on Amazon and boutique pet retail sites show the product as permanently out of stock. Corporate intelligence data confirms the legal entity was dissolved in early 2025.

Where to Buy Zookies Cookies Alternatives

Since you can no longer purchase Zookies Cookies, pet owners looking for healthy, interactive treat options have several modern alternatives to explore.

1. Premium Pre-Made Treats

If your primary concern is ingredient quality rather than the baking experience, the market is currently flooded with human-grade, limited-ingredient dog treats. Brands like Bocce’s Bakery and The Honest Kitchen offer biscuits made with the exact same flavor profiles—such as peanut butter, pumpkin, and oats—without the need to turn on your oven.

2. DIY Dog Treat Recipes

For pet parents who genuinely enjoy the baking process, creating treats from scratch is much cheaper than buying a pre-made mix. You can easily replicate the Zookies Cookies experience by blending standard oat flour, xylitol-free peanut butter, and unsweetened pumpkin puree in your own kitchen. Many modern pet blogs and Pinterest boards offer hundreds of free, safe, and vet-approved recipes that yield the same warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven result that Justin Miller and Tom Simon originally pitched in the Tank.

3. Modern Mix Brands

While Zookies Cookies failed to capture the long-term market, a few boutique brands still operate in the “dog baking mix” space. Companies like Puppy Cake focus specifically on dog-friendly cake and icing mixes for pet birthdays and special occasions, proving that the interactive pet food model still thrives when tied directly to specific celebrations rather than everyday treating.