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A flavored mozzarella sticks brand co-founded by the owner of popular pizzeria Tony Boloney’s holds distinction as the latest New Jersey-based business to score big on ABC’s “Shark Tank.”

During the April 18 episode of the reality competition series, Mike Hauke and Michael Burns – the Margate duo behind Mad Mutz – struck a deal with investor Lori Greiner, giving her 20% equity in exchange for $343,000 backing.

Launched in 2024, the Atlantic City venture focuses on delivering “the freshest, most exciting mozzarella experience ever.”

Thanks to a proprietary process, Mad Mutz produces full-moisture flavorful mozzarella sticks that are creamier and more stretchy than other products out there.

Made from scratch with locally sourced milk, the snack offers a higher volume of cheese with fewer breadcrumbs than standard mozzarella sticks, along with no preservatives. Additionally, Mad Mutz  infuses its frozen offerings with a range of bold, innovative flavors.

Those varieties include:

• Da Patty – Jamaican golden patty crust with a Wiri Wiri pepper fresh mozzarella
• The popper – Cream cheese-style jalapeno fresh mozzarella with a pretzel jalapeno crust
• Gluten-free Nonna – Original fresh mozzarella with Italian rosemary breadcrumb crust
• Be-Hive Yo’ Self – Vegan garlic and herb fresh mozzarella with a vegan pecorino and gluten-free herb crust
• The Stingerz – Habanero hot honey fresh mozzarella with a hot honey caramelized crust
• The Cacio Pepe – Fresh mozzarella with a pecorino & black pepper breadcrumb crust
• The Nonna – Fresh mozzarella with an Italian rosemary crumb crust
• The Gaucho – Savory chimichurri mozzarella with a garlic and herb breadcrumb crust
• The Hottie – Sharp cheddar mozzarella with a spicy cracker crumb crust
• The Truffler – Truffle mozzarella with a truffle panko breadcrumb crust
• The Lucifer – 10-pepper blend mozzarella with a 2.9 million Scoville charcoal crust
• The Ole’ Smokey – Deeply smoked mozzarella with an herby bread crumb crust
• The unicorn – Rainbow colored fresh mozzarella with a sparkly classic crumb crust made with all natural food coloring

Not like anything else

Hauke, a Freehold native, helms three successful Tony Boloney’s restaurants in Atlantic City, Hoboken and Jersey City. He said he came up with the concept of flavored, fresh mozzarella over a decade ago.

“Since then, I created a proprietary recipe for Mad Mutz mozzarella sticks that maintains their integrity when cooked in a deep fryer or air fryer at home. After gradually integrating them into my own restaurant menus, I knew that these freshly made & uniquely flavored mozzarella sticks weren’t like anything else on the market today,” he shared in a press release.

From there, Hauke teamed up with Burns, a friend and fellow entrepreneur, to expand Mad Mutz’s reach on a national scale. Burns said he knew his buddy “had something special on his hands” and that he “wanted to help take this company to the next level.”

“The exposure from being featured on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ will provide us with both the opportunity to partner with an investor with proven success and also the opportunity to get millions of eyes on our brand,” said Burns, an attorney and real estate professional.

60K sticks a day

Currently, the company’s production facility in Atlantic City – also known as the Mad Mutz Mozzarella Laboratory – can make 60,000 mozzarella sticks a day, according to Hauke.

“We are quickly approaching that number with distribution through several supermarkets, regional food distributors and direct-to-consumer shipping,” Hauke said. “Many local retailers and restaurants throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado already carry Mad Mutz and the demand is growing by the day. We are ready to take this global and we already have plans to expand our production capabilities. There are a lot of exciting developments in the pipeline.”

We are ready to take this global … There are a lot of exciting developments in the pipeline.
– Mike Hauke, Mad Mutz

Mad Mutz sells its sticks in bundles of four, eight and 16, as well as variety packs. The brand also promotes a $49.99 “Shark Bite Bundle” of five different four-packs (The Truffler, The Ole’ Smokey, The Hottie, The Nonna and The Popper).

Following last week’s episode, Reiner raved on social media about the deal. She described Mad Mutz has “the best, most delicious and interesting mozzarella sticks on the market.” Reiner went on to express excitement over working with her new partners. She also praised Hauke and Burns as “such great guys.”

Homegrown brands Scrub Daddy, RoboBurger,Rinseroo and Like Air Puffcorn have also found success on “Shark Tank.”