Fast Casual Executive Summit

Brazilian concept TAP wins The Perfect Pitch contest at the Fast Casual Executive Summit 2025

Eight fledgling brands competed in the event, billed as a nicer version of "Shark Tank."

Cherryh Cansler, VP of events for Networld Media Group, Pedro and Cleo Uchoa, co-founders of TAP, and Zack Oates, founder of Ovation. Photo: Willie Lawless/ Networld Media Group

October 7, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media

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TAP has won The Perfect Pitch at the Fast Casual Executive Summit in Austin, Texas. The competition, which pitted eight fledgling restaurant concepts against one another, is an annual event at the summit.

Each concept gave a five-minute presentation in front of a live audience and a panel of judges. The judges offered feedback on each concept and the audience voted on the best brand. The winner received $3,500, six months of free service with Ovation and a starring role on the Fast Casual Frontrunners series to compete for a $200,00 investment from Savor.

The Perfect Pitch contestants included:

Bungraze: a flatbread hamburger concept serving grass-fed beef.
Midnight Treats: a vegan cookie and treats brand.
Smashed: a Halal smashburger concept.
Breadless: a lettuce wrap concept.
Maggie's Munchies: a cookies and dessert brand.
PastaNito: a fresh pasta and Italian concept.
Traveler's Cart: an international foods brand.
TAP: a Brazilian-style fast casual concept.

Four brands competed in round one with Tap winning with 55% of the vote. In round two, four more concepts competed, with Traveler's Cart besting the other three concepts with 39% of the vote.

Round three saw Traveler's Cart and Tap facing off, with TAP winning the contest.

TAP, which has three units in New York City and one in Miami is a gluten-free concept. With a $22 average ticket and an AUV of $2 million, the tech-based brand has a $550,000 investment to open.

Judges for the competition, billed as a "nicer" version of "Shark Tank," included Paul Barron, founder and CEO of the Fast Casual Frontrunners docuseries, Cassie Ghaffar, co-founder of Saigon Hustle, Sandy Nguyen, Saigon Hustle co-founder and Zack Oates, founder and CEO of competition sponsor Ovation.

The Fast Casual Executive Summit is operated by Networld Media Group. The next in-person restaurant event is the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit in San Diego in March.

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the Pizzamarketplace.com and QSRweb.com editor for Connect Media. An award-winning journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and, yes, she can tell you where to find the best pizza slices in the country.

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