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The episode aired on Friday, April 18, and featured Mike Hauke and Michael Burns, co-founders of MAD MUTZ, who pitched their bold take on mozzarella sticks — made fresh from scratch in Atlantic City with locally sourced milk, no preservatives, and a whole lot of attitude.
Greiner took the bait, offering $150K for a 20% stake in the company. After the episode, she raved on Instagram: “Oh my god I just ate the most delicious mozzarella sticks I ever had in my entire life.”
MAD MUTZ isn’t your average freezer aisle snack. The sticks come in flavors (click here for photos) like:
- Nonna (traditional Italian)
- The Truffler (black & white truffle)
- Gaucho (chimichurri)
- Hottie (flamin’ hot crust)
- Ole Smokey (smoked)
- Popper (cream cheese + jalapeño pretzel crust)
- Cacio e Pepe (pecorino + black pepper)
- Unicorn (rainbow glitter crust)
- Vegan and gluten-free options are also available.
“As crazy as it sounds, I invented flavored FRESH mozzarella more than ten years ago,” Hauke said in a statement on the MAD MUTZ website. “Since then, I created a proprietary recipe… that maintains their integrity when cooked in a deep fryer or air fryer at home.”
Hauke is no stranger to success — he’s also behind Tony Boloney’s, a beloved local restaurant chain with locations in Atlantic City, Hoboken, and Jersey City.
“We can produce 60,000 mozzarella sticks a day from our AC laboratory,” Hauke said. “We’re approaching that number.”
The brand has already expanded into supermarkets, restaurants, and distributors across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. Direct-to-consumer shipping is also available.
To celebrate their Shark Tank debut, MAD MUTZ launched the Shark Bite Bundle — a $49 sampler of their boldest bites, including:
- The Truffler
- The Hottie
- The Ole Smokey
- The Nonna
- The Popper (free bonus)
“This was the chance of a lifetime,” said co-founder Michael Burns. “We’re ready to take this global.”
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