240Sweet is a family-owned gourmet marshmallow company in Columbus, Indiana. Emphasis is on family. The original company (Lemley’s Catering) was founded in the 1960s by Max Lemley. His daughter Alexa and her chef wife Sam worked for Lemley’s for years before they started making marshmallows as a way to promote the catering business. The marshmallows were so successful, the couple launched 240Sweet together in 2007.
Alexa’s elderly father Max is still involved with the manufacturing of the food — to the dismay of Sam. When Sam asks Max (who feels like he’s being hustled) to leave the manufacturing plant, he tells her to “go to hell.” It’s up to The Profit investor Marcus Lemonis to find to find a “less toxic” way to make the business thrive. It’s an emotional episode. It’s not easy watching an elderly man come between his daughter and her wife, and it’s not easy watching Sam blatantly lie to Lemonis. When Lemonis confronts Sam about firing the accountant, Lemonis reminds her: “You know she was keeping me posted on the company’s finances.” To which Sam says, “I was not aware of that.” When Lemonis gets Sam to admit that she did know that, Sam says, “I was confused about the question.” And then Sam looks Lemonis in the eye and says, “I try really hard to make sure that when I get up in the morning, I am the type of person that makes the world a better place. That is a decision I make. Now that doesn’t make me perfect.” Lemonis doesn’t buy it. The Profit airs Tuesdays at 10pm on CNBC.
